Skip to main content

Samkhya Philosophy

 Samkhya Philosophy

Samkhya is one of the six systems of Indian Philosophy (Shad-Darshana). It is of 2 types – Seshwar Samkhya (believe in God) Nirishwar Samkhya (don’t believe in God), Samkhya is regarded as the most ancient of the Indian Schools of thought. The only available Samkhya works now are Samkhya Sutras of Panchshikha and Samkhya Karika of Ishwar Krishna, Currently, the text that is widely studied as the original text on Samkhya is “Samkhya Karika” by Ishwar Krishna. A philosophy founded by the sage Kapil, author of the Samkhya Karika’s which gives a complete knowledge of Prakriti and Purusha.


Samkhya word also denotes knowledge & number, Samkhya literally means correct proper discriminative knowledge as it discern everything through analysis. It enumerates 25 principal elements of cosmic evolution. 25 Tatvas of the universe are first mentioned in this Darshana hence known as a Sankhya Darshana.

 Samkhya is primarily concerned with the “25 categories of existence/evolution – tattvas”. It gives a complete knowledge of Prakriti and Purusha, prakriti—the dual polarity, viewed as the foundation of all existence. Prakriti, out of which all things evolve, is the unity of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Sankhya and Yoga are considered an inseparable pair whose principles permeate all of Hinduism.

Samkhya is realistic and dualistic philpsophy, which upholds 2 ultimate realities Purusha (consciousness or spirit) and Prakriti (everything that is not conscious). Of these, Purusha is not changeful, and Prakriti is made up of the three Gunas and is changeful, Prakriti evolves into Mahat or Buddhi (pure intellect), which evolves into Ahamkara (ego or & "I-ness"). When Sattva predominates, Ahamkara evolves into ten Indriya (sense organs) e.g., five Karmendriyas (organs of action) and five Jnanendriyas (organs of perception) which receive instructions from Manas (supervisor of the senses). When Tamas is predominant, Ahamkara evolves into five Tanmatras (rudimentary or subtle elements), which further evolve into the five Mahabhutas - Prithvi, Jal, Tejas, Vayu and Akasha. These Pancha-mahabhutas (five great element are the grossest evolutes of Prakriti and the entire material world is composed of a combination of them.


 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yog Asana-Techniques For Physical Comfort

  Yog Asana-Techniques For Physical Comfort Yoga is an experiential science. One needs to practice asanas or poses to understand the beauty of Yoga. The aim of Yoga is to bring harmony between the body, breath and mind. Yoga includes asanas which can be practiced by anyone – be it as a beginner, intermediate or advanced level. Once you begin, you need strength and flexibility to move on to the next level of asanas practice. People have a wrong notion that Yoga is only about twisting, bending, or stretching. The true purpose of easy and difficult Yoga asanas is to create awareness and build the physical and mental strength of an individual. Yoga poses, requires immense strength, flexibility, regular practice, steadiness, and stability to perform the asana, achieve the final position, and maintain the asana for a minute. First, we begin with physical asana and then gradually advance towards keeping a psychological equilibrium in every kind of environment or situation. Yoga is t...

7 Chakra Meditation (Part 2)

  Know Your 7 Chakras  Nāḍī (Sanskrit: नाडी, lit. 'tube, pipe, nerve, blood vessel, pulse') is a term for the channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual knowledge, the energies such as prana of the physical body, the subtle body, and the causal body are said to flow. the Nadis are said to connect at special points of intensity, the chakras. All Nadis are said to originate from one of two centers; the heart and the Kanda, the latter being an egg-shaped bulb in the pelvic area, just below the navel. The three principal Nadis run from the base of the spine to the head and are the Ida on the left, the Sushumna in the center, and the Pingala on the right. Ultimately the goal is to unblock these Nadis to bring liberation.  In this universe everything is vibration, every chakra has a different frequency and has a particular sound and colors. Your body consists of 7 chakras, these 7 chakras are named as follows: 1. Muladhara Chakra or...

Meditation - A Balance State Of Mind

 Meditation -A Balance State Of Mind One should aim to attain a state of perfect equilibrium where your body, mind and breath are completely under control. Meditation can bring about a balance between the different states of the mind. The generic meaning of meditation is the “healing of the mind or to take control of the mind”. This is because the mind, a faculty of the soul, is very inquisitive, curious and travels with great speed. The mind is where all the thoughts are created or generated. It is like an antenna where all signals are received. On average, while one is awake, 25-40 thoughts per minute enter the mind of which less than 10 percent are positive. The rest are idle, wasteful, or negative. In scientific terms, meditation simply means the management of your thoughts. It is to have the ability to think of what you want and when you want, without interference from other thoughts. Meditation is to develop the ability to concentrate on a particular subject without being att...