Sacred Texts  Hinduism  Index  Previous  Next 

2. And some (state the soul to be) the shaper; and sons, and so on.

And the followers of one sâkhâ state in their text that the dreaming soul is the shaper of its desires: 'He, the person who is awake in those who sleep, shaping one desired thing (kâma) after the other.' The term 'kâma' there denotes not mere desires, but such things as sons and the like which are objects of desire. For sons and so on are introduced as 'kâmas' in previous passages: 'Ask for all kâmas according to thy wish'; 'Choose sons and grandsons living a hundred years' (Ka. Up. I, 1, 25; 23). The individual soul thus creates chariots, and so on, in its dreams. That the soul has the power of realising all its

p. 602

wishes is known from the declaration of Pragâpati. It is therefore able to create, even in the absence of special instruments.--This view is set aside by the next Sûtra.


Next: 3. But it is mere Mâyâ; on account of the true nature of the soul not being fully manifested