d
there was a pralaya. At the end of it, it is the same inherent purpose
of the prak@rti that wakes it up for the formation of a suitable
world for the experiences of the puru@sas by which its quiescent
state is disturbed. This is but another way of looking at the
inherent teleology of the prak@rti, which demands that a state of
pralaya should cease and a state of world-framing activity should
begin. Since there is a purpose in the gu@nas which brought
them to a state of equilibrium, the state of equilibrium also presupposes
that it also may be broken up again when the purpose
so demands. Thus the inherent purpose of the prak@rti brought
about the state of pralaya and then broke it up for the creative
work again, and it is this natural change in the prak@rti that may
be regarded from another point of view as the transcendental
influence of the puru@sas.

Mahat and Aha@mkara.

The first evolute of the prak@rti is generated by a preponderance
of the sattva (intelligence-stuff). This is indeed the earliest state
from which all the rest of the world has sprung forth; and it is a
state in which the stuff of sattva predominates. It thus holds

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[Footnote 1: The Yoga answer is of course different. It believes that the
disturbance of the equilibrium of prak@rti for new creation takes place by
the will of Is'vara (God).]

249

within it the minds (_buddhi_) of all puru@sas which were lost in the
prak@rti during the pralaya. The very first work of the evolution
of prak@rti to serve the puru@sas is thus manifested by the separating
out of the old buddhis or minds (of the puru@sas) which hold within
themselves the old specific ignorance (_avidya_) inherent in them
with reference to each puru@sa with which any particular buddhi
is associated from beginningless time before the pralaya. This
state of evolution consisting of all the collected minds (buddhi)
or all the puru@sas is therefore called _buddhitattva._ It is a state
which holds or comprehends within it the buddhis of all individuals.
The individual buddhis of individual puru@sas are on one
hand integrated with the buddhitattva and on the other associated
with their specific puru@sas. When some buddhis once begin to
be separated from the prak@rti, other buddhi evolutions take
place. In other words, we are to understand that once the transformation
of buddhis is effected for the service of the puru@s