applause (for
his virtues), or who is of tranquil soul, or possessed of ascetic merit,
unto a Brahmana who is such, unto one's son or dutiful disciple, this
discourse containing the very essence of duties should be communicated,
but on no account should it be communicated to others. If any person
makes a gift of the whole earth with all her treasures, unto one
conversant with truth, the latter would still regard the gift of this
knowledge to be very much superior to that gift. I shall now discourse to
thee on a subject that is a greater mystery than this, a subject that is
connected with the Soul, that transcends the ordinary understandings of
human beings, that has been beheld by the foremost of Rishis, that has
been treated in the Upanishads, and that forms the topic of thy inquiry.
Tell me what after this is in thy mind? Tell me in what thou has still
any doubt? Listen, for here I am, O son, faces turned towards all
directions. The Sun and the Moon are thy two seated before thee! Upon
what indeed, shall I once more speak to thee?'"'"

SECTION CCXLVII

"'"Suka said, 'O illustrious one, O foremost of Rishis, once again
discourse to me on Adhyatma more elaborately. Tell me what, indeed, is
Adhyatma and whence does it come?'[1041]

"'"Vyasa said, 'That, O son, which is regarded as Adhyatma with reference
to human beings, I shall now mention to thee, and listen to the
explanation I give (of Adhyatma). Earth, water, light, wind, and space,
are the great entities that form the component parts of all creatures,
and, though really one, are yet regarded different like the waves of the
ocean (which though identical with respect to their constituent substance
are yet counted as different from one another). Like a tortoise
stretching out its limbs and withdrawing them again, the great entities
(already named), by dwelling in numberless small forms, undergo
transformations (called creation and destruction). All this universe of
mobile and immobile objects hath for its component parts these five
entities. Everything, in respect of its creation and destruction, is
referable to this fivefold entity. These five entities occur in all
existent things. The Creator of all things, however, hath made an unequal
distribution of those entities (by placing them in different things in
different proportions) for serving different ends.'[1042]

"'"Suka said, 'How may one succeed in understanding that unequal
distribution (of the five gre