Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna
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The translator’s English as printed (Avinash Chandra Kaviratna). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
t This is an important aphorism, bearing upon the transmigration of the Soul from body to body in different orders of Being. First comes the general proposition that one cannot be the controller of another. The truth of this is presumed. Hence arises the question, — what is it that forces or compels the Soul or Self to take birth in a different order of Being after the dissolution of its or his previous material tenement ? The answer is that it is the Soul or Self that controls itself in the matter of a new birth or acceptance of a new material tenement.
p. 22
CHARAKA SAMH/TA.
He is self-dependant who does those acts the fruits whereof he enjoys himself.
He is self-dependant who restrains his passions.
He is self-dependant who renounces everything.*^
Since the Soul, though pervading all things, becomes invested with body and, dwelling in those respective senses of his with which he comes into contact, becomes cognisant of all perceptions, therefore he does not become cognisant of all perceptions indwell¬ ing in all abodes. f85
[Some of the printed Bengal texts are vicious. Gangadhara gives the cor¬ rect reading which is “ Yatha swenatmanatmanam sarvvah sarvvasu yon'shu, pranaistantrayate Prani, &c.”]
Nothing else than the Self causes the Self, along with the life-breaths, to take a new birth. The Self is a free agent in the matter and owns no force out of itself. This, however, should be understood with a limitation. A man is seen to take service under another man. Such service may at first be-dooked upon as implying a surrender of the servant’s will to that of the employer. Yet, in reality, it is not so. The servant requires necessaries of life. His de¬ sire to have them is his own. He may entertain that desire or dismiss it. He is a free agent in the matter, for in serving his employer he seeks to gratify or fulfil his own desire. It is in this sense that the Self impels itself in the matter of a new birth. The acts of a particular life determine the next life. But what are those acts ? They are the result of one’s free will.
One, therefore, of one’s own free will, takes up a new tenement after the dis¬ solution of the previous one.
* What the Rishi wishes to explain is, — who is to be called a * vacin ’ or self-dependant (implying free) person ? Ordinarily, one who does not serve an¬ other is regarded as a 1 vacin ’ or free person. This, however, is not so, for ‘ vacin ’ includes others as well. He who does such acts the fruits whereof are enjoyed by himself is as much a vacin as he who does not serve others. This has been explained in the previous note. ' A servant does not really give up his own will by accepting service. What he really does is to consult his own will when he engages to serve an employer. Two other defi¬ nitions of ‘ vacin ’ are given, viz., one who restrains his passions and practices self- denial, and one who betakes himself to a life of renunciation or ‘ Sanyasa ’ for attaining to Emancipation from rebirth.
t This is as literal a rendering of the verse as possible ; yet it cannot be hoped that the sense is capable of being caught by the general reader. What the Rishi says is this : the Soul is ‘ Sarvvagata,’ meaning omnipresent or-.pervading everything in the universe. This characteristic belongs to it when it is
CHARAKA SAMHITA.
p. 23
Since it pervades all things and is great, therefore arises its condition of unrestricted puissance. By restraining, again, the Manas (in Yoga), the Soul beholds all that is removed from its vicinage.86
Inseparably connected with Manas which follows acts and body, the Soul, though dwelling in one (particular) form of Being’ should be known as dwelling in all forms of Being.*87 in its own unperverted nature. But when it is affected by the attributes of ‘ Rajas ’ (passion) an ‘ Tamas ’ (darkness) or ‘ Avidya ’ it becomes perverted and falls away from its original nature. It then becomes invested with body, that is, takes birth as this person and that, or individualises itself into thousands and thousands of persons or living creatures. When so born, the Soul becomes cognisant of all perceptions through the aid of those senses (belonging to par¬ ticular bodies) with which it comes into contact. Taking the soul, therefore, as representing the sum total of individualised creatures, the Rish: says that it becomes cognisant of perceptions through the media of the senses belonging to each particular body. It loses, however, the capacity of universal percep¬ tion which belongs to it in its own unperverted nature. The perceptions of the born Soul, through the senses of a particular body are not its perceptions through the senses of another body.
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