Page:A History of Indian Philosophy Vol 1.djvu/279

 VII] Instinct a1td Desire 26 3 Apart from the perceptions and the life-functions, buddhi, or rather citta as Yoga describes it, contains within it the root im- pressions (sa1!lskllras) and the tastes and instincts or tendencies of all past lives (viisa1/ii)l. These sarp.skaras are revived under suit- able associations. Every man had had infinite numbers of births in their past lives as man and as some animal. In all these lives the same citta was always following him. The citta has thus collected within itself the instincts and tendencies of all those different animal lives. It is knotted with these vasanas like a net. Ifa man passes into a dog life by rebirth, the vasanas of a dog life, which the man must have had in some of his previous infinite number of births, are revived, and the man's tendencies become like those of a dog. He forgets the experiences of his previous life and becomes attached to enjoyment in the manner of a dog. It is by the revival of the vasana suitable to each particular birth that there cannot be any collision such as might have occurred if the instincts and tendencies of a previous dog-life were active when anyone was born as man. The sarp.skaras represent the root impressions by which any habit of life that man has lived through, or any pleasure in which he took delight for some time, or any passions which were I The word sarpskara is used by Pal)ini who probably preceded Budrlha in three different senses: (I) improving a thing as distinguished from generating a new quality (Sata utkarfiidhiillaf!Z sa,!lskiira(z, Kasika on Pal)ini, VI. ii. 16), (2) conglomeration or aggregation, and (3) adornment (Pal)ini, VI. i. 137, (38). In the Pi!akas the word salikhara is used in various senses such as constructing, preparing, perfecting, embel- lishing, aggregation, matter, karma, the skandhas (collected by Childers). In fact saiIkhara stands for almost anything of which impt:rmanence could be predicated. But in spite of so many diversities of meaning I venture to suggest that the meaning of aggregation (sa11lavdya of Piil)ini) is prominent. The word sal!zskaroti is used in Kauitaki, II. 6, Chandogya, IV. xvi. 2,3, 4, viii. 8, 5, and Brhadaral)yaka, VI. iii. I, in the sense of improving. I have not yet come across any literary use of the second meaning in Sanskrit. The meaning of sal}1skara in Hindu philosophy is altogether different. It means the impressions (which exist sub-consciously in the mind) of the objects experienced. All our experiences whether cognitive, emotional or conative exist in sub-conscious states and may under suitable conditions be reproduced as memory (smrti). The word vasana (Yoga sutra, IV. 24) seems to be a later word. The earlier U paniads do not mention it and so far as I know it is not mentioned in the Pilli pi!akas. Abhidhii1Zappadipikii of Ioggalliina mentions .it, and it occurs in the lIuktika U paniad. It comes from {he root" vas" to stay. It is often loosely used in the sense of sal!lskara, and in Vyasabhiifya they are identified in IV. 9, But vasanii generally refers to the tendencies of past lives most of which lie dormant in the mind. Only those appear which can find scope in this life. But sarpskaras are the sub-conscious states which are being constantly generated by experience. Vasanas are innate sal}1skaras not acquired in this life. See Vyiisabhiifya, Tatlviiva;liiradi and }'oga'lllzrttika, II. 13.