Page 30 - Hinduism
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CHAPTER IV
PRAKṚTI
Every religion deals with the nature and function of the three ultimate entities - Nature, Self and God and their relation. But, it is Hinduism that makes the study exact by calling them acit, cit and Īśvara or Prakṛti, Puruṣa and Puruṣottama or pāśa, paśu and pati and defining their relative positions. The meaning and value of Nature or prakṛti will be just considered. Nature refers to the objects in the world, like houses trees, rivers, seas and mountains. It also includes the sky, the Sun, the Moon and the stars. The scientist is interested in studying the phenomena of nature in all their details. While the Chemist seeks to know the various metals and non- metals that compose the world, the Astronomer enquires into the nature of the heavenly bodies, like the Sun, the Moon and the stars. The Biologist desires to understand the nature and function of the body. While the scientist observes the phenomena of nature and tries to know the general laws underlying them, the religious man seeks to know Nature and distinguish it from the Jīva and God. His primary interest is the knowledge of God who is the creator of the world and his mind goes from the created over to the creator.
We perceive the world around us through the five senses, namely, the eye, the ear, the nose, the
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