Sachchidananda 'The Life Divine' Book I,Ch.9, 10, 11, 12 - Track 705
So, these are the five elements which are explained to be the result of the original force. First there is force which vibrates, the very first vibration is akasha and then this vibration meets another vibration coming out of the same force. Meeting of vibration with a vibration is what we call air. If there is only one vibration there wouldn’t be air. Air is the result of vibration meeting vibration, but in vibration meeting vibration we cannot arrive at any kind of stability, not the real stability but the apparent stability. There is a need of a welder and the welder is Agni. Even now when you want to weld two element you use the fire, so the welder is needed, so this is the third element by which the form which is every form is nothing but meeting of vibration with vibration. So, the first forms, in air there are no visible forms. Air is only vibration meeting vibration. There are no forms created. It is only when agni comes into the picture that the first forms takes place, but these take a more concrete form in the principle of the liquid. It’s not a very concrete form but still although it slips away through our fingers but there is something like a form which when further condensed is the pure physical the real earth where the physicality, the concreteness, the stability of forms are achieved. According to materialism the whole world is nothing but this matter in these five conditions and modern physics actually even minuses is out akasha, ether. There are only four, but if akasha is equal to space then that is not eliminated. All this is space. Space is not denied by the modern physics.
Now according to them the whole world is nothing but a vast movement of energy or force. At one time even force was not recognized by modern physics, by physics. What was recognized was only pure matter. It was felt that matter that we see can be broken up ultimately into atoms, indivisible atoms go on reducing any piece of rock or any pebble or any kind of sand, particle of sand. Make it as minute as possible. Ultimately according to this theory you could arrive at subtlest kind of indivisible atoms which cannot be further divided, which is indivisible. This was an idea at one time, but as physics developed they found that even behind atoms there are sub-atomic particles and at one time it was felt that there are only a few sub-atomic particles. Now as they are moving forward they find that there are hundreds of sub-atomic particles. How in such a small atom, how such hundreds of sub-atomic elements or whatever you might call is a miracle. I mean modern physicists really admit that as we go deeper and deeper into quantum physics. You go to the minutest quantum; minutest atom or intra-atom there is so much wealth in it. It’s amazing and not only that but you find a system in it. It is not something that is arbitrary but that is system. Just as we have a solar system and in which the sun is the center and planets are moving around. Similarly there is a nucleus round which electrons are moving about speedily and the nature of this solar system, the microcosmic solar system is still under investigation and great mysteries are still being revealed more and more, but one thing has become clear that even if at the depth of it there is a nucleus which you can call mass. What we call matter even it may be tiniest that mass is capable of being converted into energy and one of the important contributions that Einstein made in modern physics is that there is a mathematical equation of that mass and energy. It’s not arbitrary as it were that’s mass of any kind can produce any kind of energy and he gave his famous equation called E = MC2, E stands for energy, M stands for mass and C stands for the speed of light, square of it. Square of the speed of the light, multiplied by the speed of mass can be equal to the energy that it can emit out. If a given mass is transformed into an energy that energy will be equal to that mass multiplied by square of the speed of light. So although it is still not yet reached the point where it can be said that matter is energy or energy is matter at least it is very clear that matter can be converted into energy and the latest theory is that you cannot even say that matter is really matter. From one point of view it is really matter or what is called particle. From another point of view the same thing can be seen as a wave which is a movement of energy. The same thing which you can call matter from one point of view you can call it something that is particle from another point of view the same thing is a wave. So, modern physics has become very near to what was seen in Sankhya philosophy that ultimately all of it can be reduced to force or energy which was called prakriti in the terms of Sankhya. Force which can either manifest itself vyakta or which remains un-manifest which is called avyakta. According to sankhya the original position of Prakriti is avyakta then there is a disturbance in it, first disturbance takes place and how that disturbance takes place is a very important question and which Sankhyan students do not very clearly understand or underline but we shall come to that in due course. The avyakta prakriti is a force but in a state of equilibrium so that there is no movement. Then there comes about a disturbance in that equilibrium as a result of which it starts its movement and that movement is first very subtle even subtler than akasha which we spoke it is called mahat in Sankhya, the first manifestation that takes place is mahat − the vast, that mahat is also called buddhi, the power of discrimination. A force which can play with force therefore discrimination. Out of that Buddhi a further principle is derived of ahankara, of egoism.