he sacrifices of others,
in teaching pupils, making gifts and accepting them; in performing
sacrifices and studying the scriptures, and doing all other acts and
rites of this kind. The Soul regards himself as concerned with birth and
death and disputes and slaughter. All these, the learned say, constitute
the path of acts good and bad. It is the goddess Prakriti who causes
birth and death. When the time approaches for universal Destruction, all
existent objects and attributes are withdrawn by the Supreme Soul which
then exists alone like the Sun withdrawing at evening all his rays; and
when the time comes for Creation He once more creates and spreads them
out like the Sun shedding and spreading out his rays when morning comes.
Even thus the Soul, for the sake of sport, repeatedly regards himself
invested with all these conditions, which are his own forms and
attributes, infinite in number, and agreeable to himself. It is this way
that the Soul, though really transcending the three attributes, becomes
attached to the path of acts and creates by modification Prakriti
invested with the attributes of birth and death and identical with all
acts and conditions which are characterised by the three attributes of
Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Arrived at the path of action, the Soul regards
particular acts to be endued with particular characteristics and
productive of particular ends. O monarch, the whole of this universe has
been blinded by Prakriti and all things have been diversely overwhelmed
(through Prakriti) by the attributes of Rajas and Tamas. It is in
consequence of the Soul being invested by Prakriti that these pairs of
opposites productive of happiness and woe, repeatedly come. It is in
consequence of this Ignorance that Jiva regards these sorrows to be his
and imagines them as pursuing him. Indeed, O monarch, through that
Ignorance it is that Jiva imagines he should anyhow cross those sorrows,
and that he should, going into the regions of the gods, enjoy the
felicity that awaits all his good acts. It is through Ignorance that he
thinks he should enjoy and endure these delights and these woes here in
this world. Through Ignorance Jiva thinks,--"I should secure my happiness.
By continually doing good acts, I may have happiness in this life till
its close and I shall be happy in all my future lives. Though, again the
(evil) acts I do in this life unending sorrow may become mine. The status
of humanity is fraught with great mi