"God is not this not this". - Brihad Ar. Up. "Other than the known is God, other than the unknown too." - SwetaS. Up.

We present our readers to-day a table of the 36 tattas derived from Maya, together with the other postulates of the Siddhanta school, with which they are connected in advaita relation. In Tamil, small tracts called kattalai exist, which describe and define these tattvas. These tattvas are variously enumerated as 19 or 25 or 36 or 96. Both Siddhantins and Vedantins (Idealists) accept the number 36 or 96, but they differ in several particulars. 'Thirty-six' when still more analysed give 'Ninety-six'. The more simpler form of the table is herein given, and this requires to be carefully studied. A careful and precise definition of these tattvas has to follow, but we do not attempt it here for want of space. Rev. Hoisington has translated one of these tracts, as also Rev. Foulkes of Salem. Both these books unfortunately are out of print. We will proceed to explain the table briefly, stating at the same time its points of difference from other Schools. We have to premise first, that the tattvas which are enumerated here are all produced out of and form sub-divisions only of Maya and the term as such does not cover either Anava, or Karman or Atman or. God. These tattvas form as it were different coats or vestures, of different texture at different times and at different stages, to the .soul undergoing evolution with intent to rid itself of its coil (Anava) in strict accordance with the Law of Karma. These form however no vestures for the Supreme Being and He is accordingly addressed as 'Tattvatita,' 'Beyond the tattvas.'. The soul is also sometimes called so, as lying outside the category,of the thirty-six tattvas.

But a distinction has however to be made between the two. The soul, a subject, when united^to the objective

(material) body, becomes in a sense objective. But the supreme subject can never become objective. The enumeration of the tattvas begins from the lowest and the grossest, which is the earth. And philosophic enquiry also proceeds, and ought to proceed from the lowest, the things known, to the Highest, the Unknown. This is the pure inductive method. And when we come to enquire of the manner in which this enquiry has proceeded, we will find that each school holds on to one or another of the tattvas or something else, as the highest and truest existence, and refuse to recognize that anything else can be real or true. As such we find lokayatas (materialists) occupy the lowest rung of the ladder. We say lowest from our standpoint, and we beg their pardon for saying so. In their own estimation, they are postulating the Highest possible existence, and every other postulate is only a hoax. The Lokayata will only recognize the first four tattvas, earth, water, fire and air, and will not recognize even the AkaS as a real element. The Buddhists and Jains also recognize only these four elements.

If you point to existence of mental powers, the Lokayatas will refer all of them, as being merely functions of the brain or other organs of the body, and that all these functions are mere phenomena produced out of and caused by the bodily powers. We proceed a step higher, and we come to those who admit the mental powers to be substance, and would reduce all the bodily functions and powers to mere phenomena, and assert that beyond this mind (Buddhi), nothing can there be. If you assert that there is such a thing as an Atman, they will think you are a fool; and if they want however to take you in, they will only assert that what we have all along believed in, as Atman and God, cannot be anything but this Buddhi, and they will call this by every name you have learned, to apply to what you regard as higher things. Passing beyond this Buddhi we reach its immediate cause the Mulaprakriti. With most Indian theistic schools, they do not carry their notion of matter beyond this Mulaprakriti, standing at the head of the first twenty-four tattvas.

They fail to see that matter can assume even finer and more intelligent forms than these 24 tattvas; and as people, lower down, have mistaken the gross forms as Manas, and Buddhi itself as soul and God, these higher forms of matter have also been mistaken for soul and God ; and the mistake is made more natural, as the souls whose vestures are formed out of these rarer forms of matter, are more and more advanced spiritually and intellectually. It will be seen that what is called Guna (meaning merely quality) is the special essence of Mulaprakriti or matter at this stage, and this Guna which divides itself as Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, does not pertain to any higher forms of matter than Mulaprakriti. And this Mulaprakriti forms the special vesture of the lowest classes of souls called Sa-kala. And these souls range from the greatest Gods to the minutest living germ; each is clothed with the Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The highest of these classes of souls are clothed with very great powers, and they become the lords of this universe in different manvantras.

And these three beings are Rudra, Vishnu, and Brahma. And having regard to the greatness of these jivas from our own low position, we need not wonder why people have often mistaken these jivas to be the Supreme God Himself. And a more grosser mistake was never made than when it is (foolishly) asserted that this Saguna-Rudra-Jiva is the Pati postulated by the Saiva-Siddhantins. And some of these latter class of people crow over the former, and say that the worship of this lower Brahm (Saguna-Rudra or Isvara) is all well for a time, but that is no good and cannot secure any Moksha Sadhana and that the belief in the Nirguna Brahm is alone capable of freeing one from one's bonds. But that is making very great stock out of the difference between Saguna and Nirguna beings. That this is not in fact any very important factor, will be made manifest from the fact that instead of one Nirguna Being, as believed in by the Hindu Idealists, there are a host of such Beings, who possess no vestures formed of the three gunas.