91. SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 103

SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 103

aspect manifests itself in the form of rest of the conscious aspect of individual on his limited self. This rest is distinct from that of the Supreme Lord on Himself, which is technically called "Ananda". To distinguish it from "Ananda" it is called "Sukha". Thus "Sattva" is limited self-luminosity and limited illumination of the objective world. In so far as it represents the aspect of "Prakasa" and "Sukha", it represents the aspect of "Ananda". "Tamas" is complete obscuration of both, "Satta" and "Ananda" in their limited manifestation. It Is, there- fore, characterised by absence of both the limited light of knowledge and Sukha. It is utter darkness, total ignorance. It is a negative quality. It is negation of both pleasure and pain. It is utter senselessness. Rajas is the mixture of the two. In it light and darkness are in union. In it being and not-being shine together exactly as do light and shade in a picture or as various colours do in the plumage of a peacock. It is charac- terised by restlessness and therefore, it is of the nature of pain. For, pain is nothing but absence of rest. It is not purely negative. It has positive element also in it. It is action inasmuch as it is a combination of being and not- being and, therefore, involves succession, which is the chief characteristic of action.

Pleasure and pain have objective reference. In pleasure the object shines in all its aspects, desired by the perceiving subject. Thus we are pleased when we see our sons possessed of all the qualities which we desire in them. But when we see them suffering from some ailment and do not find them in perfect health, as we desire them to be, we are pained. In the former case there is the consciousness of "being" only. In the latter case consciousness of "being". is mixed up with that of "not-being". lanbivibn lo eoiileup