Vaisheshika - Views By The Vedanta School

Views By The Vedanta School

The Vaisheshikas say that the visible universe is created from an original stock of atoms (janim asataḥ). As Kaṇāda's Vaiśeṣika Sūtra (7.1.26) states, nityaṃ parimaṇḍalam (that which is of the smallest size, the atom, is eternal), he and his followers also postulate eternality for other, nonatomic entities, including the souls who become embodied, and even a Supreme Soul. But in Vaiśeṣika cosmology the souls and the Supersoul play only token roles in the atomic production of the universe. The Brahma Sutra (2.2.12) says ubhayathāpi na karmatas tad-abhavaḥ. According to this sūtra, one cannot claim that, at the time of creation, atoms first combine together because they are impelled by some karmic impulse adhering in the atoms themselves, since atoms by themselves, in their primeval state before combining into complex objects, have no ethical responsibility that might lead them to acquire pious and sinful reactions. Nor can the initial combination of atoms be explained as a result of the residual karma of the living entities who lie dormant prior to creation, since these reactions are each jiva's own and cannot be transferred from them even to other jīvas, what to speak of inert atoms.