Elan Vital See RAWAT, PREM.
elements, five
In Hindu science, the five gross elements that
make up the universe are ether/space (akasha),
wind/air (vayu), fire (tejas or agni), water (ap or
jala), and earth (PRITHIVI). They are enumerated
among the 24 categories of all reality of SAMKHYA,
a philosophical system originating in c. 500 B.C.E.,
and YOGA. These elements are in fact accepted as
the basic elements of all material reality by the
Hindu tradition in general. Though they seem
simple elemental categories, one must see them as
abstractions that contain in elemental terms much
more than they signify as individual words. Via
the TANMATRAS, or subtle elements, the five basic
elements relate directly to the five senses in order:
hearing (ether), touch (wind), sight (fire), taste
(water), smell (earth).Further reading: Benimadhab Barua, A History of Pre-
Buddhistic Indian Philosophy (Delhi: Motilal Banarsi-
dass, 1970); Frits Staal, Concepts of Science in Europe
and Asia (Leiden: International Institute for Asian
Studies, 1993).Elephanta
The famous SHIVA cave temple at Elephanta, a
small island in the harbor of Bombay (Mumbai),
is hollowed out from solid rock. It was createdA Brahmin householder performing water ablutions at dawn on the banks of the Ganges River in Benares
(Varanasi) (Constance A. Jones)K 148 Elan Vital