erties which it has at a particular moment. There is no other way. This ‘bundle of
properties’ which in their totality constitute the thing must therefore be a unique com-
bination of the three Gunas since each property taken by itself is nothing more than a
peculiar combination of the Gunas. Anyone with some knowledge of modern Science
can take up any physical object and break it up into its physical and chemical compo-
nents—into molecules, atoms, electrons, etc. and these ultimately resolve into different
kinds of forces and motions. Nothing material in the usual sense is left over if we take
into consideration the fact that matter and energy are interconvertible. As far as we can
see, it is all a play of different kinds of forces and motions of extraordinary variety and
complexity. It is true we do not yet know exactly the nature of the nucleus of the at-
oms but from the trend of researches in this field it is very probable that this also will
be found to be nothing more than a combination of different kinds of motions. So that,
as far as it goes, modern Science corroborates the truth of the Yogic doctrine that every
object which we perceive with our mind is merely a unique transformation of the three
Gunas. It should be noted that the clue to the meaning of the Sutra lies in the word
Ekatvat which does not mean here ‘oneness’ but ‘uniqueness’. Interpreted in this way
the Sutra fits in perfectly in the chain of reasoning adopted by Patanjali to explain the
theory of mental perception.
- The object being the same the difference in the two (the object and its
cognition) are due to their (of the minds) separate path.
If each object is a unique transformation of the three Gunas and has thus a defi-
nite identity of its own why then does it appear different to different minds? It is a
matter of common experience that no two minds see the same thing alike. There is al-
ways a difference in cognition thougu the thing is the same. The reason for this differ-
ence, as pointed out in this Sutra, lies in the fact that the minds which cognize the