same meaning in that object which it saw earlier, and then there is a different
attitude of the mind in respect of the object.
The transformation of an object can be internal or external. When it is internal, the
external form may be maintained, but the internal attitude changes. Let’s take a
person, for instance. We may have one attitude towards a person one particular day,
but though the person is the same—the shape, form, etc. are the same—the mind may
change tomorrow and then the attitude may not be identical. Hence, the internal
change may bring about a change in the attitude of the mind towards the object. Also,
the external form may change as well; that is called the death of the body. Then the
object does not exist there. That is what we call bereavement, and the mind feels that
it has lost its object.
The mind has not lost anything. Things have assumed their original form, and the
purpose of prakriti is being fulfilled by the various mutations it undergoes for
various reasons which are cosmical in their nature. It is not that the whole universe
exists only for one individual and that everything should take place according to that
individual’s wishes. It is not so. There are infinite purposes hidden in the bosom of
prakriti for the purpose of bringing about umpteen uncounted experiences in all the
individuals that exist throughout the cosmos. Thus, the particular unique character
of an object, which is the gunas assuming a particular shape or a form at a given
moment of time, is not the explanation of the whole subject. It is only a phenomenon
that is presented before the mind, and merely because the mind corresponds to the
character of the object for the time being, it mistakes it for the total reality.
Really speaking, there is no such thing as an individual object. Isolated objects do not
exist in this world because of the fact that every object is constituted of the same
gunas—sattva, rajas and tamas—which also are the constituents of every other
object in this world. If every object is made up of the same substance, namely the
gunas, what is the reason behind the perception of variety in objects? If variety does
not exist, the world will cease to be. The whole drama of existence continues because
of the belief in the diversity of things. And diversity is illusory, merely on the ground
that the shapes which are the causes of the perception of variety are presented by the
mutation of the gunas, and these gunas will not rest in that shape for all time.
Therefore, there is a continuous transformation going on of the individual and the
outside universe—internally and externally—so that any kind of permanent attitude
that we may have towards an object, or sets of objects, would be a false notion.
This analysis of the nature of the object and its relationship with the mind that
cognises it would help greatly in the breaking of the bond of karma, which has been
strengthened very much by the attachment of the mind to the object on account of
this false notion. The bond of karma has to be snapped. Only then there will be
liberation, not otherwise. And the karma cannot end as long as the causes of karma
persist. What are the causes? One of them is the object. What is the object? The
object is nothing but the presentation of the three gunas; and we are mistaking it for
a particular object, a solid thing, independent absolutely, quite different from
anything else. Thus, we have a special evaluation of that particular object, due to
which there is the impression formed in the mind by the object; and we know what
happens further. There is a repetition of this action by the mind continuously, even
in recurring births.