CHAPTER XXXII.                           323

Hindus believe, the stars are moving and their spheres Page 165.
revolving according to their pre-established order, and
in cousequence the process of coming into existence
is developed on the surface of the earth without any
interruption.

On the contrary, during the night of Brahman the
spheres rest from their motions, and all the stars, as
well as their apsides and nodes, stand still in one
particular place.

In consequence all the affairs of the earth are in one
and the same unchanging condition, therefore the coming
into existence has ceased, because he who makes things
come into existence rests. So both the processes of act¬
ing and of being acted upon are suspended; the elements
rest from entering into new metamorphoses and com¬
binations, as they rest now in (lacuna; perhaps: the
night), and they prepare themselves to belong to new
beings, which will come into existence on the following
day of Brahman.

In this way existence circulates during the life of
Brahman, a subject which we shall propound in its
proper place.

According to these notions of the Hindus, creation Critical
and destruction only refer to the surface of the earth, the author.
By such a creation, not one piece of clay comes into
existence which did not exist before, and by such a
destruction not one piece of clay which exists ceases to
exist. It is quite impossible that the Hindus should
have the notion of a creation as long as they believe
that matter existed from all eternity.

The Hindus represent to their common people the Brahman's

■1                         -ii-ifT-ii                      1   waking and

two durations here mentioned, the day of Brahman and sleeping.
the night of Brahman, as his waking and sleeping ; and
we do not disapprove of these terms, as they denote
something which has a beginning and end.    Further,
the whole of the life of Brahman, consisting of a sue-