The Essentialities of Sāṁkhya Philosophy

Titas Bandyopadhyay-236149101

Introduction

Sāṁkhya philosophy forms one of the deepest schools of Indian philosophy, which also postulates a dualistic view of
reality. Stemming from procedures of ancient literature, Sāṁkhya enables to express the relationship between mind
and matter in its central ideas: Purusha (mind) and Prakriti (matter). This paper provides information regarding the
important features of Sāṁkhya philosophy, the evolution towards the present day, principal ideas of Sāṁkhya
philosophy and its usefulness today. The name ‘Sāṁkhya ’ or ‘Sankhya’ literally means ‘Enumeration’. Sage Kapila,
credited with creating the Sāṁkhya Sutra, developed this earliest philosophical school. He is the descendant of Manu,
the primal human being, the grandson of the creator-god Brahma, and an avatar of Lord Vishnu. Sage Kapila is
described in the Bhagavad Gita as a recluse adept in the Yogic Siddhas. This school is well-known for its system of
scientific inquiry. This school of thought adhered to Dvaitavada, or Dualism, which holds that the soul and matter are
two different beings. This concept serves as the cornerstone for all meaningful knowledge, as man’s misery is thought
to be caused mostly by a lack of information.

Historical Development

Sāṁkhya has its origin in the Vedic literature and the early Upanishads, where traces of proto-Sāṁkhya can be traced
as early as 8th or 7th centuries BC. The Rsis who were the first systematic and classical pioneers of Sāṁkhya
philosophy are believed to be the author of this composition ‘Sāṁkhya karika’ written in 4th century A.D by Ishvara
Krishna which gives an elaborative account of the components of this philosophy (Larson, 1998). Over the years, this
school of thought has gradually behaved in relation to several modifications, largely evidenced in the department of
Yoga and Vedanta (Muni, 2021).

The historical development of Sāṁkhya philosophy can be traced through several stages, including:

• Ancient speculations: This period lasted from the 8th or 9th century BCE to the 5th century BCE and included
speculative Vedic hymns and the oldest Upanishads.
• Proto-Sāṁkhya speculations: This period lasted from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century CE, and included
the middle Upanishads, the Buddhacarita, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Mahabharata.
• Classical Sāṁkhya : This period lasted from the 1st to the 10th century CE.
• Renaissance of later Sāṁkhya : This period lasted from the 15th to the 17th century.
Moreover, Sāṅkhya concepts and terminology frequently appear in the portion of the Vedas known as the Upaniṣads,
notably in the Kaṭha and the Śvetāśvatara. The older (6th cent. BCE?) Chāndogya Upaniṣad presents an important
forerunner of the guṇa-theory, although the terminology is different. And before that, in the Creation-hymn of the
Ṛg-Veda (X. 129) we find ideas of the evolution of a material principle and of cosmic dualism, in the company of words
that later became the names of the guṇa-s.
Core concepts:

Dualism: Purusha & Prakriti

Among the philosophies of Sāṁkhya , what stands out is its dualistic perspective in proposing two constituents that
are distinct and self-sustaining, that is, Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is the pure consciousness or the self, while
Prakriti refers to the physical world and its manifestation, including the mind, feelings and the body (Kumar, 1983;
Sharma, 2021). This duality, furthermore, states that Prakriti is changeable and subject to evolution while Purusha is
immutable and everlasting as a mere witness to the acts of Prakriti.

There are different phases of development in Sankhya philosophy. The defining concept is that Purusha and Prakriti
are enough to explain the cosmos.

• The Purusha attracts Prakriti to itself, just like a magnet attracts iron shavings, and then the development process
starts.

• The pure consciousness of Purusha without any physical form merges with Prakriti, and Buddhi or spiritual
awareness is created.

• Next is the evolution of Ahamkara or individual ego. Mistakenly thinks that this ego is the basis of his existence.

• The Ahamkara is divided into gross elements – space, air, fire, water, and earth.

• Five sense objects – sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell.

• Five knowledge-acquiring senses – ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose.

• Five working senses – voice, legs, arms, reproductive organs, and evacuating organs.

The whole Universe is the combination of these in different quantities and qualities and to which Purusha is added.

The Three Gunas

Prakriti is also analyzed in depth through its three basic characteristics known as gunas Sattva (purity, equilibrium),
Rajas (energy, desire) and Tamas (darkness, lethargy) (Srinivasan, 2020). These gunas work hand in hand across its
entirety within different configurations to impact all that is; mental activity action and the physical body including the
environment. The prevalence of a particular guna as opposed to the other’s is what constitutes the different phases
of existence and thus character as well as reality (Biswas & Prakash, 2022).

• Tamas stands for darkness, ignorance, and inertia or indifference.

• Rajas stand for passion, emotion, energy, and expansiveness.
• Sattva denotes goodness, enlightenment, and knowledge.

According to the Sankhya view, Prakriti is the only active element while Purusha is inactive and only observes and
experiences. Only when the spirit within recognizes that it is totally different from Prakriti and wishes to remove itself
from its confines can the being attain Moksha or Salvation.

The Concept of Liberation (Moksha)

A central objective of Sāṁkhya is the attainment of moksha, or liberation, which is achieved by recognizing the
distinction between Purusha and Prakriti (Sinha, 2022). This realization allows individuals to transcend the cycle of
birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). According to Sāṁkhya , ignorance (avidya) regarding the nature of self leads to
suffering; thus, liberation is attained through knowledge and discernment (viveka) between these two principles
(Srivastava, 2019).

This discriminative knowledge is known as viveka jñāna. In almost all the philosophies, there is the constant repetition
of the fact that material life is not of primary importance and death does not mean the final release of the soul.
Sāṁkhya philosophy accepts two kinds of mukti, both jīvana mukti and videha mukti. Jīvana mukti is the state of
liberation which is attained while the individual is still living in this world. This is possible only when the right
knowledge of discrimination is attained. On the other hand, videha mukti is attained after death of the individual.

The concept of Kaivalya in Sāṁkhya philosophy: Kaivalya in Sanskrit means separateness. When the consciousness
of an individual, soul, or Purusha, realizes that it is separate from matter or Prakriti and tries to liberate itself from it,
then it goes forth on its journey of attaining Moksha.
The process of Kaivalya can be explained thus:

• Purusha and Prakriti are eternal, but both have different natures.

• Purusha is constant, but Prakriti undergoes a constant change.

• However, they sometimes combine, when Purusha becomes enamored with Prakriti, and they mingle together.
• Because of the effects of past karma, Purusha ignores its true nature and thinks that it is one with the material
world.

• Purusha then undergoes a series of reincarnations.

• When Purusha ultimately realizes that it is totally different from Prakriti, only then does it undergo total
separateness.

This procedure of separateness is known as Kaivalya. The cause-effect relation is the source of all creation in the
Universe, and everything is bound by it.

Epistemology and Metaphysics

According to Sāṁkhya , any event or thing in general, if it adheres to the definition, is valid. To this philosophical
activity, this is the framework of rationalism. This rationalism thus permeates its philosophical activity, enabling it to
be rationalistic and indeed analytic of reality. Systems like Advaita Vedanta, which centres around the theme of non-
duality do not find any justification within Sāṁkhya 's way of knowing.

The Sāṁkhya philosophy recognizes three independent sources of valid knowledge (Pramāna). These are; perception,
inference, and verbal testimony (sabda). According to the Sāṁkhya, self possess knowledge. To have knowledge of
an object there should be contact between object and sense organs. Again, the connection must found between mind
and sense organs. Lastly, mind is related to mahat for cognition. Thus the mahat becomes transformed into the form
of particular objects. Mahat being unconscious and physical entity can’t generate knowledge alone. Hence, it requires
a conscious and eternal entity like Purusa. Since Purusa is pure consciousness helps Prakrti to generate knowledge.
The Sāṁkhya Philosophy accepts two sorts of perception, savikalpaka and nirvikalpaka as Nyaya advocates.

Metaphysics: Sāṅkhya is very fond of numbers, and in its classical form it is the system of 25 realities (tattva-s). In
standard categories it is a dualism of puruṣa (person) and Prakṛti (nature); but Prakṛti has two basic forms, vyakta,
“manifest,” and avyakta, “unmanifest,” so there are three basic principles. Puruṣa and the avyakta are the first two
tattva-s; the remaining twenty-three from intellect to the elements belong to the manifest nature. The relation of
the unmanifest and manifest nature is somewhat vague, perhaps because there were conflicting opinions on this
question. Later authors understand it as a cosmogonical relation: the unmanifest was the initial state of Prakṛti, where
the guṇa-s were in equilibrium. Due to the effect of the puruṣa-s this changed and evolved the manifold universe that
we see, the manifest. This view nicely conforms to the standard Hindu image of cosmic cycles of creation and
destruction; but it is problematic logically (without supposing God) and Īśvarakṛṣṇa – without directly opposing it –
does not seem to accept it. He says that we do not grasp the unmanifest because it is subtle, not because it does not
exist; and that implies that it exists also at present, as an imperceptible homogenous substrate of the world.

Influence on other philosophies

Sāṁkhya , a classical Indian philosophy, has influenced many other schools of thought, including: \
Yoga: The theoretical foundation of Yoga is Sāṁkhya , and the philosophy of Yoga was derived almost entirely from
Sāṁkhya . Yoga borrows metaphysical concepts from Sāṁkhya , such as Purusha and Prakriti, and builds upon them
with practical methods for achieving liberation.

Other Indian philosophies: Sāṁkhya 's enumerative method has influenced other Indian philosophies, which also
enumerate various elements of existence.

Intellectual discourses:Sāṁkhya 's ideas have shaped intellectual discourses on metaphysics, psychology, and
epistemology.

Existential issues: Sāṁkhya 's ideas have given rise to robust debates on existential issues.

Sāṁkhya is also noteworthy for being an atheistic philosophy in Hinduism. Sāṁkhya has been readily accepted by
many other Indian systems of philosophy, Yoga in particular. A practical methodology for reaching this goal through
the discipline of the body, mind, and spirit is outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, which incorporates many ontological
and epistemological insights from the Sāṁkhya school (Oppenheim, 2016).The Sāṁkhya -Vedanta dialectic, besides
advancing epistemological positions and doing phenomenological studies on the relations between Atman and
Brahman, has its own methodological peculiarities as well (Srinivasan, 2020).

Contemporary relevance

In the current world, the most important principles of the Sāṁkhya philosophy are garnered and utilized in numerous
domains such as psychology, ecology, wellness programs. There are possibilities to apply the understanding of the
gunas to explain human actions and cognitive processes, whilst its advocacy of equilibrium dovetails well with present
day therapies (Griffiths, 2021). Moreover, dualism in Sāṁkhya always makes a case for a more meditative approach
to humanity’s interaction with its environment, reinforcing a sustainable environment’s perspective (Biswas &
Prakash, 2022).

Conclusion

Sāṁkhya stands out as a non-linear, non-monistic, but rather a dualistic approach owing to its systemic assurance of
sha and its complementarity approach to understanding consciousness and matter. Its historical importance, basic
ideas, and doctrine of deliverance are still alive in modern views and affect many areas of psychological and
philosophical trends. Through describing the complex relationship between Purusha and Prakriti, Sāṁkhya provides
significant understanding of the essence of life and the way to achieve enlightenment.

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https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/38170/1/Unit-3.pdf

https://iep.utm.edu/sankhya/