But there are a few facts among those admitted by these philosophers which are sufficient for us to demolish their theory.  In every portion of the human body a constant change goes on without intermission.  Every tissue, every muscular fibre and nerve-tube, and every ganglionic centre in the brain, is undergoing an incessant change.  In the course of a man’s lifetime there may be a series of complete tranformations of the substance of his brain.  Nevertheless, the memory of his past mental states remains unaltered.  There may be additions of new subjective experiences and some mental states may be altogether forgotten, but no individual mental state is altered.  The person’s sense of personal identity remains the same throughout these constant alterations in the brain substance.* It is able to survive all these changes, and it can survive also the complete destruction of the material substance of the brain.

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* This is also sound Buddhist philosophy, the transformation in
question being known as the change of the skandhas.—­Ed. Theos.
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This individuality arising from mental consciousness has its seat of existence, according to our philosophers, in an occult power or force, which keeps a registry, as it were, of all our mental impressions.  The power itself is indestructible, though by the operation of certain antagonistic causes its impressions may in course of time be effaced, in part or wholly.

I may mention in this connection that our philosophers have associated seven occult powers with the seven principles or entities above-mentioned.  These seven occult powers in the microcosm correspond with, or are the counterparts of, the occult powers in the macrocosm.  The mental and spiritual consciousness of the individual becomes the general consciousness of Brahmam, when the barrier of individuality is wholly removed, and when the seven powers in the microcosm are placed en rapport with the seven powers in the macrocosm.

There is nothing very strange in a power, or force, or sakti, carrying with it impressions of sensations, ideas, thoughts, or other subjective experiences.  It is now a well-known fact, that an electric or magnetic current can convey in some mysterious manner impressions of sound or speech, with all their individual peculiarities; similarly, I can convey my thoughts to you by a transmission of energy or power.

Now, this fifth principle represents in our philosophy the mind, or, to speak more correctly, the power or force above described, the impressions of the mental states therein, and the notion of self-identity or Ahankaram generated by their collective operation.  This principle is called merely physical intelligence in the “Fragments.”  I do not know what is really meant by this expression.  It may be taken to mean that intelligence which exists in a very low state of development in the lower animals.  Mind may exist in different stages of development, from the very lowest forms of organic life, where the signs of its existence or operation can hardly be distinctly realized, up to man, in whom it reaches its highest state of development.