different proportions. The living creature, however, does not see it
(through ignorance). Sound, the organs of hearing, and all holes,--these
three,--spring from Space as their progenitor. Touch, action, and skin
are the triple attributes of the Wind. Form, eye, and digestion are the
triple attributes of Fire or Energy. Taste, all liquid secretions, and
the tongue represent the three attributes of Water. Scents, the nose, and
the body are the triple properties of Earth. The great (primal) elements
are five. The mind is the sixth. The senses and the mind, O Bharata, are
(the sources of all) the perceptions of a living creature.[602] The
seventh is called the understanding; and the eighth is the soul.[603] The
senses are for perceiving; the mind (unable to deal with those
perceptions) produces uncertainty. The understanding reduces all
perceptions to certainty. The Soul exists as a witness (without acting).
All that is above the two feet, all that is behind, and all that is
above, are seen by the Soul. Know that the Soul pervades the entire being
without any space being left unoccupied. All men should know the senses,
the mind, and the understanding fully. The three states or qualities
called Darkness, Passion, and Goodness, exist, dependent on the senses,
the mind, and the understanding.[604] Man, by apprehending with the aid
of his intelligence, the manner in which creatures come and leave the
world, is sure to gradually attain to steadfast tranquillity. The three
qualities (already mentioned, viz., Darkness, Passion, and Goodness),
lead the understanding (to worldly attachments). In this respect, the
Understanding (or Intelligence) is identical with the Senses and the
Mind. The Understanding, therefore, is identical with the six (the five
senses and the mind), and also with the objects comprehended by it. When,
however, the Understanding is destroyed, the three qualities (of
Darkness, Passion, and Goodness) are incapable of leading to action.[605]
This universe of immobile and mobile things consists of that
intelligence. It is from that Intelligence that everything arises and it
is into it that everything subsides. For this reason, the scriptures
indicate that everything is a manifestation of Intelligence. That by
which one hears is the ear. That by which one smells is called the organ
of smell, and that by which one distinguishes the tastes is called the
tongue. By the coat that covers the body one acquires perception o