God as the Efficient Cause of the world according to Nyaya-Vaisesika

The Naiyayika regards God as the efficient cause (nimittakarana) of the world. God is not its material cause, as He is for Vedanta. He does not create the world out of nothing by a mere fist of will. mere fiat of will. He fashions the world out of the pre-existing atoms in timo and space. He combines and arranges them in a particular order. He gives them unity, order and harmony. He does not create the atoms of earth, water, light and air. He does not create other, time and space. He combines the atoms into diads, diads into triads, triads into quartrads, quartrads into more complex things. He is not the creator of souls. Atoms and souls are co-eternal with Him. They can neither be created nor destroyed by Hime Some Vedantists maintain that Brehman is modified into the world, even as clay is modified into earthen vessels. Though Brahman is modified he does not lose his eternal nature. This is the doctrine of modification of Brahman (Brahmaparinamavada). Others maintain that 1. Vatsyayana, Nyaya-Bhasya, 4.1.21.

423 Brahman appears to be the phenomenal world-appearance through the limiting adjunct of beginningless cosmic nescience, which is the matrix of empirical names and forms. This is the doctrine of appearance of Bretman (Brahmavivartavada). Brahmn limited by cosmic nescience (maya, avidya) is the ruler of the world. Rulership consists in the power of consciousness (Cetnasakti) and the power of creation (kriyasakti), which exist in the Lord. He is the material cause of the world. Neither non-existence, mor prakrti, nor atoms are its material cause, because they are unconscious. The sruti says: "That resolved: I shall become many." material cause of the world. So God is the Vecaspati criticizes the Vedanta doctrine. If Brahmon is modified into the world, as clay is modified into earthen vessels, he is either entirely modified or partially modified. If He is entirely modified into the world He loses His essential nature. If He is partially modified into the world, he has parts and is non-eternal. If Bratman is eternal in spite of his being modified into the world, then it also is eternal because it is characterized by the characteristics of its cause. Honce the world is not the modification of Brahman. If Brahman appears as the false diverse world-appearance through the

424 A limiting adjuncts of empirical names and forms, which are modifications of beginningless cosmic nescience, then also the same difficulty will arise. One, partless, conscious, self-luminous Brahman cannot appear as th unconscious, material world of menifold objects. If one Bratman appears as many objects, he loses his identity. Then what is the status of the world appearance? It has the reality of Brahman, that is its ground. So it also is real and eternal. An illusion is due to the perception of the common characters of two objects and the non-perception of their individual peculiarities. nacre is misapprehended as silver owing to the perception of brightness, which is their common character, and the non-perception of their individual peculiarities. One who knows the real character of a nacre, never misapprehends it as silver. But Brahman is ora, partless, conscious and self-luminous, while the world is manifold, possessed of parts, unconscious and non-luminous. Ilence there can be no perception of their common character and non-perception of their individual characters. Therefore, one, homogeneous, self-luminous Brahman carmot appear as the manifold, heterogeneous, non-intelligent world-appearance. Further, Jayanta urges that Brahman being pure and taintless cannot be the material cause of the impurities of the world. appearance. The world is real and non-eternal. It is

425 material, and cannot be a modification of consciousnes se That the world is a false appearance of Brahmon, is an irrational doctrine. 1 The Samkhya regards Prakrti as the material cause of the world, which is modified into the physical world, organisms, sense-organs, manas, intellect (Buddhi) and egoism (ahamkara) for the enjoyments and sufferings of the finite souls (purusa). Prakrti is unconscious, active, modifiable, end eternal. The souls are conscious, inactive, unmodifiable and eternal. Prakrti is equipoise of sattva, rajas and tamas, which are in the nature of pleasure, pain and delusion. Prakrti evolves into mahat, buddhi or cosmic intellect, which evolves into ahaikara or cosmic egoism Ahamkara evolves into the manas or mind, the five cognitive senses, and the five motor senses, on the one hand, and the primal matter (bhutadi), the five subtle essences (tanmatra) and the five elements of earth, water, (tarmatra) light, air and other. The five tarmetras of colour, sound, taste, odour and touch produce the five elements or substances. The finite souls are in th nature of transcendental consciousness; they are inactivo and indifferent. They are reflected in transparent buddhis 1. Vacaspati Misra, Nyaya Vartika Tatparya Tika, IV.1.20; Jyanta Bhatt, Nyaya Manjari, Page 536.

426 in which sattva predominates, which are modified into the form of objects; the mental modes are reflected in the conscious souls, and appear to be cognitions of the souls, though they are unconscious modes of Buddhi. The inactive souls appear to be active owing to their reflection in buddhis. Erroneous identification of the souls with buddhis is the cause of their apparent bondage. Discrimination of the souls from buddhis is the cause of their apparent release. In reality, the souls are eternally pure, conscious and liberated. When they have discriminative knowledge of their essential nature as pure, transcendental consciousness, Prakrti ceases to evolve for them. But all souls are not liberated at the sam time. So the evolution of Prakrti contimes. Pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, volition, merit and demerit are modifications of unconscious buddhi. Cognitions of objects due to the sense-object-intercourse also are modes of buddhi. The pure self transcends them all. The Nyaya refutes the Sankhya doctrine. Pleasure, pain and delusion are feelings of a conscious self, which are produced by physical objects. The physical elements are composed of these feelings is incomprehensible. Buddhi is the knowledge of objects. Egoism is selfconscious. They cannot produce the external sense-orgense

427 Substances have qualities. But the subtle essences of odour, colour, sound, taste and touch cannot produce the physical substances of earth, water, light, air and other. Cognition, pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, volition, marit and demerit can exist in a conscious self but not in an unconscious buddhi. The self knows an object which is determined by buddhi owing to its reflection in buddhi which is reflected back in the self. But the self is immutable and immovable, and cannot be reflected in buddhi. If buddhi is reflected in the self, then it becomes known like buddhi. But the self by nature is knower and can never be known. Further, if the self is by nature a knower, its reflection in buddhi is needless. If the self and buddhi are reflected in each other, and erroneously identified with each other, how can the former be known to be conscious and inactive and the latter be known to be unconscious and active? The self cannot have cognition without an eternal internal organ, which is its instrument. The assumption of eternal unconscious buddhi is needless, and the attribution of cognition, volition and the like to it is unwarranted. It is absurd to maintain that unconscious Prakrti binds the soul to the chain of birth and death. Who guides Prakrti not to bind the soul which has discrimination of itself from Prekrti? The self by its very nature is

428 But knower; it is said to know its intrinsic nature in release. But why does not Prakrti bind a released soul? The soul is said to be in the nature of pure consciousness. pure consciousness unproduced by an object is never experienced. So it cannot exist in the self in release, because there is no intercourse of the sense-organs with objects at the time cognition, desire, volition and the like are the qualities of the conscious and active self, and not of unconscious Prakrti or buddhi. If they are the qualities of buddhi, then its origin is due to merits and demerits, which are the auxiliary causes of all effects. These unseen agencies (adrsta) are modifications which can exist in Prakrti, and cannot be destroyed because Prakrti is eternal. If they exist in buddhi, which is supposed to be eternal, then reflection of the self and buddhi in each other will continue for ever, and the unseen agencies of buddhi vill always be attributed to the self, which cannot be released. Unconscious Prakrti cannot evolve and dissolve for the soul's bondage and release. Inactive souls cannot direct the evolution and dissolution of Prakrti. Further, bondage and release of the souls are not real, but apparent. evolution and dissolution of Prakrti are apparent only Hence the Sankhya doctrine is not tenable. 1 1. Uddyotakara, Nyaya Vartika, IV.1.21.