doctrine. The advances which have taken place in the field of physical sciences and the
light which this has thrown on the structure of matter and the nature of physical phe-
nomena has now placed us in a position to be able to gain a faint glimpse into the es-
sential nature of the Gunas. It is true that this knowledge is connected with the super-
ficial aspects of the Gunas but the student can, by the exercise of deep thought and
intuition, gain some understanding of the subject, enough to convince him that the
Gunas are not a mere elusive phantom of philosophy but are part of that profound mys-
tery which surrounds the founding of a manifested Universe. This is not the place to
deal exhaustively with this interesting but abstruse subject but a few ideas may be dis-
cussed to enable the student to know in which direction he should seek for more
knowledge if he wants to understand the subject more fully. This discussion will in-
volve some knowledge of modern scientific ideas though an effort will be made to
keep it as free from technicalities as possible. After all, if we want to understand any
problem in terms of modern scientific facts we must have at least a general knowledge
of those facts.
What is the essential nature of the phenomena which we perceive through the
instrumentality of the sense-organs? The first point we should note in arriving at an
answer to this question is that an object of perception will be found on analysis to con-
sist of a number of properties or Dharmas cognized through the sense-organs. That
every object is merely a bundle of properties and our knowledge with regard to that
object is confined to the direct or indirect observation of these properties is a well-
known philosophical conception which every student can understand.
The second question which arises is: What is the nature of these properties or
rather on what does the cognition of these properties depend? If we analyse the flux of
physical phenomena around us in the light of modern scientific knowledge we shall
find three principles of a fundamental character underlying these phenomena. These
three principles which ultimately determine the nature of every phenomenon are all
connected with motion and may be called different aspects of motion. It is very diffi-
cult to express these principles by means of single words, for no words with a suffi-
ciently comprehensive meaning are known, but for want of better words we may call
them: (1) vibration which involves rhythmic motion of particles, (2) mobility which
involves non-rhythmic motion of particles with transference of energy, (3) inertia
which involves relative position of particles. These principles are really the three fun-
damental aspects of motion and may be crudely illustrated respectively by a number of
ben green
(Ben Green)
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