Philosophy and Religion / J. C. Chatterji: Hindu Realism

Jagadish Chandra Chatterji

Hindu Realism

A—The Analytic Aspect

The Manas.

The existence of the next and final class of Realities, namely, Manas, is supported in the following way.¹

Evidence of Manas.

We have seen that the Atman is the basis of consciousness and experience. It is in that, that consciousness inheres. But the Atman is all-pervading, and therefore it is always present everywhere, always in contact with every sense. The senses again come into special relations with sense-objects, which are then perceived by the Atman. But it is observed that the Atman does not always perceive an external object, even when the latter is in relation with a sense, or senses, by which it is perceived. The Atman is there, because it is present everywhere, and always; and the object may also be there, and its relation to the sense, by means of which it is perceived, may be there too; and still the perception does not take place. This happens not only when one is deeply absorbed in one thing to the exclusion of others, but under ordinary conditions. What is the reason of this? The only way in which it can be explained is this:—For the perception of things the Atman requires not only the senses, but something else as well, which being absent, the object in question cannot be perceived, even when it is in relation with the senses by means of which the Atman can perceive it. When this something, the missing link, is supplied between, so to say, the Atman and the senses, and thereby a special relation is established between the Atman and the object, then at once perception takes place. It must be there, otherwise there is no reason why there should not be any knowledge and any perception, even when the senses are in relation with the sense-objects. This something is called Manas.

Succession in Experience Proves Manas.

That the Manas exists, is also seen from the fact that we can know things in succession. The Atman being present always and everywhere, there is no reason why things should be known in succession. This succession of knowledge can be explained by the fact that knowledge is got by the movement of Manas, which now connects with this thing, and now with that; and this enables the Atman to know things one after the other.

Manas Is Needed as an Organ for Experiencing Thoughts, Feelings and so on.

Then again it is observed that the Atman, which is the only experienceer, is conscious of the sensible objects, such as colour, odour, and so on, by means of the sense organs. We never know a sense-object without the use of an organ. But these are not the only objects of which the Atman is conscious. It is conscious of such things as pleasure and pain, that is to say, of the objects of the nature of feeling. And, if in the case of every one of the sense-objects, the Atman has to use an organ, an instrument, by means of which alone, it can perceive its object, it is only reasonable to infer that, in the case of the objects of other classes also, of which the Atman is conscious, it has to use an organ.

Recollection of Things Forgotten Also Proves Manas.

Then there are those objects of consciousness which the Atman knows as thoughts and ideas, and which are sometimes present as actual objects of consciousness, and sometimes disappear, to be remembered again when the occasion or need arises. Both for the knowledge, for the first time, of these thoughts and ideas, as well as for calling them back to memory, when they are for the time being forgotten, or at any rate, are not prominently before the Atman as conscious objects, an organ is needed.

Organ Is Needed for Experiencing Thoughts and Feelings.

Nor can it be said, that while the organs are certainly needed for the perception of the sense-objects, no such instrument is required for the awareness of pleasure, pain, thoughts, ideas, and so on, because they are purely subjective or internal. For, the fact that thoughts and ideas are sometimes known, and sometimes forgotten, shows that there must be an instrument which makes such a phenomenon possible. It cannot be said that the ideas that are now forgotten, but can be remembered with some effort, are absolutely absent from the Atman. They are somewhere in the Atman. How is it then that they are not always remembered? The only explanation is that there must be some organ, without the use of which the Atman cannot be aware of things, which are retained even in itself; and that in order to be aware of, i.e., to remember, any one of them, the Atman has to direct this organ towards that thing or object, when it rises up, so to say, in consciousness again; that is to say, is remembered. And this something which may be directed by the Atman, to this or that object of thought or idea, which may have been forgotten, but is remembered now, is Manas.

Only one Manas in Each.

This Manas, in each sentient being, is only one, not many, as indicated by the fact that we can be conscious of things in succession. If there were more than one Manas in a man, there would be simultaneous perception of many objects even when succession was desired. For, there is no reason why, when a man fixed one Manas to one thing, the other Manases should not be bringing about perception in regard to other things.

It might perhaps be said here that although there may not be more than one Manas, as there are more senses than one, for the perception of variety of objects, yet there may be a plurality of mental organs. For, if the perception of sense-objects requires the sense-organs as well as the Manas, the awareness of mental objects should require the Manas plus something else. This would undoubtedly be the case, if the mental objects were, even when in relation with the Manas, sometimes known and sometimes unknown, as the sense-objects are even when they are in relation with the senses. But that is not the case. There is, therefore, no need to suppose that there may be some other organ behind the Manas. There is, therefore, only one Manas in each, not many.

Manas Is Eternal.

Manas is also eternal. For it cannot be conceived as being produced, as there are no simpler factors or parts out of which it could be produced. And if it is not produced, it must be indestructible and therefore eternal.

Manas Has no Magnitude Whatever.

Being eternal, it is without any magnitude. For, as said before, an eternal Reality must either be of infinite magnitude, like the Atman, or without any magnitude.² All others, being of limited or measurable magnitude, are divisible into component parts or factors, and therefore perishable. Bat as eternal Manas cannot be of infinite magnitude, it must be without any magnitude whatever. It cannot, be of infinite magnitude, because if it were, there could not be any succession of perception or forgetfulness and calling back to memory. For, Manas has no special and specific qualities of its own, such as odour, flavour, luminosity, temperature, or sound or consciousness: therefore it cannot be considered as having any special relation with anything. Being without special qualities, and therefore without special relations, if Manas were also of infinite magnitude like Kala and Dik, it would be equally and generally related with everything at the same time; and, as a consequence, there would be an equal and simultaneous knowledge of everything on the part of the Atman. In fact, in that case, there would be no necessity for a Manas. Atman by itself would experience all things all at once. But Manas is wanted to enable the Atman to have experience, not simultaneously of all things at once but in succession. We must, therefore, regard Manas as not of infinite magnitude. And not being of infinite magnitude and yet being eternal, it must be without any magnitude whatever.

Manas Moves Extremely Quickly.

Being without magnitude, it must be conceived as a thing which is capable of extremely quick movement. For, otherwise, there could not be those perceptions of things which seem simultaneous.

Manas and Atman.

Such a Manas, it is obvious, is quite different from the Atman which must be conceived as of infinite magnitude and as the basis of experience, whereas the Manas is only an instrument of experience.

An Infinite Number of Manases.

Finally, there must be an infinite number of Manases, as there are an infinite number of Atmans, one in each experiencing entity.

The Principles Summarised.

These, then, are the Realities which are found to constitute the world, when the same is examined from the Creationist or Realistic standpoint. There is nothing else which can be called absolutely real, that is to say, self-subsisting; and all the infinite variety of things in the Universe, all facts of experience, can be explained by these factors, and their attributes. And the recognition of these factors of the Universe may be called, as suggested before, the analytic aspect of the Universe from the Creationist standpoint.

Before we pass on to an exposition of what may be called the synthetic aspect of the Universe from the same standpoint, and see how all phenomena can be explained by means of these factors, let us first, for the sake of convenience, recapitulate the principles.

These are:—

(1-4) Four classes of Paramanus, which are without any magnitude, but are self-subsisting and supersensible Realities. They are the forces, stimuli or things, which produce the perceptible objects having temperature, colour, flavour and odour, as their special qualities, besides others which constitute their general qualities;

(5) The Akasha, Ether or Ethereal Space, which is an all-pervading Reality of infinite magnitude. It provides the expanse, room or space in which all discrete things move and serves as the medium of connection between discrete and separated things. It is also the background in which sound as an intangible and ethereal quality inheres;

(6) Kala, or the principle or force of universal movement, which urges things onward; and by bringing them into existence, changing and finally’ carrying them out of existence, gives rise to the notions, in the percipient, of past, present and future, of old and new;

(7) Dik, or the principle or force which holds things together in their various relative positions even while they are being driven on by Kala; and thus gives rise, in the percipient, to the notions of ‘here and there,’ or ‘near and far;’

(8) The Atmans, which are the bases of consciousness and experience in all experiencing entities and are eternal and infinite. Being of infinite magnitude, they are, every one of them, in general touch with everything, but they come into special relation with one or other object as its experiencer by means of the Manas and senses; and

(9) The Manases, of which there is only one in each experiencing entity. This Manas in each is the force or power, which is the direct instrument of knowledge and experience. Manas is without any magnitude whatever and therefore non-spatial.

Of these, the four classes of Paramanus and Manases are without any magnitude whatever and are discrete and infinite in number, and Akasha, Kala and Dik are each a single reality having universal scope and operation; while the Atmans are Realities which have each equally universal scope, but are infinite in number.

Footnotes

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