Nitāi: "Although originally one, taste becomes manifold as astringent, sweet, bitter, pungent, sour and salty due to contact with other substances."
Prabhupāda:
- kaṣāyo madhuras tiktaḥ
- kaṭv amla iti naikadhā
- bhautikānāṁ vikāreṇa
- rasa eko vibhidyate
- (SB 3.26.42)
Rasa, taste, is one, but it becomes varieties by different combination of bhautikānām, material elements. This is chemistry. Chemistry means mixing of different chemicals and produce another element. Just like soap. Soap is mixture of fat and soda. So fat, oil, is something else, and soda is another thing, but if you carefully mix them together, it becomes soap. So the whole world is the mixture of these five elements: kṣitir āp... Fire, water... Tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayaḥ. The Sanskrit word is tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayaḥ. Mṛd means this earth, and tejas means fire, and vāri means water. You take earth mixed with water and put it into the fire; it becomes brick. Then you take another mixture; that becomes cement. And take the help of cement and take the help of brick; then construct a house.