xplained as the principle of correlation between the experiencer and
that which is experienced. It is only after these that we come to
Maya, meaning not so much illusion as the substratum in which Karma
inheres or the protoplasm from which all things grow. Between Maya and
Purusha come five more _tattvas_, called envelopes. Their effect is to
enclose and limit, thus turning the divine spirit into a human soul.

Saktist accounts of the evolutionary process give greater prominence
to the part played by Sakti and are usually metaphysiological, if the
word may be pardoned, inasmuch as they regard the cosmic process as
the growth of an embryo, an idea which is as old as the Vedas.[786] It
is impossible to describe even in outline these manifold cosmologies
but they generally speak of Sakti, who in one sense is identical with
Siva and merely his active form but in another sense is identified
with Prakriti, coming into contact with the form of Siva called
Prakasa or light and then solidifying into a drop (Bindu) or germ
which divides. At some point in this process arise Nada or sound, and
Sabda-brahman, the sound-Brahman, which manifests itself in various
energies and assumes in the human body the form of the mysterious
coiled force called Kundalini.[787] Some of the older Vishnuite
writings use similar language of Sakti, under the name of Lakshmi, but
in the Visishtadvaita of Ramanuja and subsequent teachers there is
little disposition to dwell on any feminine energy in discussing the
process of evolution.

Of all the Darsanas the most extraordinary is that called Rasesvara
or the mercurial system.[788] According to it quicksilver, if eaten or
otherwise applied, not only preserves the body from decay but delivers
from transmigration the soul which inhabits this glorified body.
Quicksilver is even asserted to be identical with the supreme self.
This curious Darsana is represented as revealed by Siva to Sakti and
it is only an extreme example of the tantric doctrine that spiritual
results can be obtained by physical means. The practice of taking
mercury to secure health and long life must have been prevalent in
medieval India for it is mentioned by both Marco Polo and
Bernier.[789]

5

A people among whom the Vedanta could obtain a large following must
have been prone to think little of the things which we see compared
with the unseen of which they are the manifestation. It is, therefore,
not surprising if materialism