Samkhya
Samkhya is one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy, known for its emphasis on understanding existence through enumeration and dualistic principles. The term itself is derived from Sanskrit, meaning "counting" or "reckoning," reflecting its methodical approach to examining the nature of reality. Central to Samkhya is the distinction between two fundamental realities: purusha (pure consciousness) and prakriti (nature or the phenomenal world). This philosophy addresses the suffering inherent in human existence, positing that the ultimate goal is to achieve liberation from this suffering through the understanding of these dualities.
The philosophical roots of Samkhya can be traced back to ancient texts, including the Samkhyakarika, attributed to Ishvarakrsna, which outlines its principles. While there is no single foundational text, its ideas have been influential across other Hindu scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Samkhya's methodological approach involves categorizing and analyzing the components of the universe, which can lead to deeper insights into the nature of consciousness and existence. Notably, it is considered compatible with practical applications in modern psychological contexts, offering tools for addressing mental health challenges by fostering a sense of detachment from the physical self and cultivating a witness consciousness. Samkhya’s teachings are thus relevant not only to practitioners of Hindu philosophy but also to those seeking a framework for understanding the human condition.
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Samkhya
Classical Indian philosophy has six darshanas,or visions, for perceiving reality: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purvamimansa,Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga. The Sanskrit term Samkhya has been derived from the root morpheme -khya (counting) and prefix sam- (reckoning). This system of Indian philosophy observes accuracy in thinking by ideas of examination, calculation, and description through the enumeration of constituents. It deals with the existence of the world, its objects, and how they hold the ultimate reality. Samkhya and Yoga, the two ancient Vedic and Vedanta philosophies, are considered to be two expressions of the same system. In the Shantiparva episode of Mahabharata there is a reference to Samkhya, nasti samhkyasam gyanam nasti yogsam balam, which means, there is no knowledge paralleled to Samkhya and no power greater than Yoga. Similarly, the Bhagavad Gita (a part of the epic Mahabharata) states that differences between Samkhya and Yoga are made by mindless people; learned persons consider them one. If you practice one appropriately, you will receive the fruit of both. Both systems accept the essential duality between consciousness and the world with an aim of complete detachment of self from the world.
Background
Samkya, one of the most ancient and orthodox systems of philosophy, has had a deep and widespread influence over Indian thought for centuries. Since there is no definitive sutra, or text, of this philosophy, the history of Samkhya literature can be categorized into three periods: (1) speculations beginning from the Vedic hymns until the start of the Christian era, known as pre-Samkhya; (2) Samkhyakarika (650 BCE) and various commentaries on it, known as the classical period; and (3) Samkhyasutra and related texts, associated with Samkhya.
Some Hindu philosophers believe that Samkhyakarika, written by Ishvarakrsna, is the only text of classical Samkhya,yet some believe that Samkhya-Sutra, written by Kapila, is the earliest text. The Samkhyakarika has 73 verse forms that highlight the principles of the Hindu philosophical system known as Samkhya. In both, Samkhya sutra and Samkhyakarika, we find directions for society, telling people about the existence and reality of this world and its objects. The later texts, many of which have not yet been translated and studied, mainly show the development and transformation of the Samkhya school during the centuries. The available texts confirm the fundamental dualism found in classical Samkhya, that is, between purusha (spirit) and prakriti (nature), which is further divided into order and chaos, male and female, being and nonbeing, light and darkness, etc.
The beliefs of Samkhya philosophy are also found in other major Hindu texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Though there is no clear documentation that Samkhya philosophy and the Upanishads developed at the same time, there is a popular assumption that speculations and competing ideas developed along with some embryonic forms of Samkhya with the Upanishads. A rough estimate, though not unanimously accepted, of date is between 900 BCE and 600 BCE. Many characteristic ideas and themes of Samkhya are also found in the early prose Upanishads, such as Aitareya, Bhrihad Aranyak, Chandogya, and Kausitaki.
Overview
Generally, the orthodox Indian philosophical thoughts teach that this world is an illusion (a cause of suffering) and God is the ultimate reality. The chief aim of Samkhya is similar to this: to reduce the suffering of human beings in the world where they live. For example, the first line of Samkhya darshan, atha trividha-duḥkha-atyanta-nivṛttiḥ–atyanta-puruṣa-arthaḥ, translates to "now, the ultimate purpose of a human being is the ultimate cessation of threefold suffering" (1.1). For this, Samkhya proposes metaphysical dualism: the distinction between pure consciousness (purusha) and the phenomenal world (prakrti).
Those who believe in the doctrine derived from morphological analysis of Samkhya, based on number, claim that this philosophy talks about (1) the enumeration and calculation of the existing objects in this world, (2) the discovery of their uses, and (3) determining how we get to know that these things exist. For them, according to Samkhya, all psychological and physical processes are systemically interconnected. Objects and things have different sizes, features, characteristics, steps, figures and colours, yet this living world is the combination of manifestations of different objects—their interconnection is in a causally deterministic realm. Doctrine based on enumeration leads to endless questions, such as how many objects are there in this world; what is the real cause of them; who is God; is God one or many; and what is the existence of the self and how many selves exist?
But those who consider Samkhya as a system or school of perfect knowledge claim that the Samkhya philosophy describes the affairs of the world in a very orderly and perfect manner. And they say that this living world becomes manifest when it reacts to being witnessed by individual nodes of pure consciousness, where each individual represents a "pure transcendental subject," which is a passive observer of this phenomenal world (Osto 1). The followers of this school/system doctrine thus believe that Samkhya deals with perfect knowledge, and they state that if someone understands this philosophy correctly then they can also get the perfect knowledge of this world and about the existence of the objects of the world.
Non Hindus and atheists can equally be benefitted from the Samkhya system. In a "no God supreme being" scenario, as classical Samkhya postulates, the material world can be taken as given. There then is a possibility of transcendence where each individual has a potential to rise above the human condition and reach beyond the limitations of social conditioning, physical body, individuality, historical context, and space-time continuum. If Samkhya were seen as a psychological tool in place of a metaphysical one, then this ancient system would be applied to the problems of modern life, such as alienation, depression, mental illness, anxiety, social insecurity, and other mental disorders, in a number of valuable ways. Practitioners can consciously learn to disassociate and detach themselves from the psychophysical entity and "realize witness consciousness" (Osto 2).
Bibliography
Bryant, Edwin F. "Agency in Sāṃkhya and Yoga." Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in Indian Philosophy, edited by Matthew R. Dasti and Bryant, Oxford UP, 2014, pp. 16–39.
Colebrooke, H. T. Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus. Reprint ed., BiblioBazaar, 2009.
Couture, André. "Sāṃkhya and Yoga: Towards an Integrative Approach." Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2016. doi:10.1007/s10781-016-9307-x.
Hawley, Jack. Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners. New World Library, 2001.
Kapila, Narendra, et al. The Samkhya Philosophy. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2003. Print.
Larson, Gerald James, and Ram Shankar Bhattacharya. Sāṃkhya, a Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy. Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, edited by Karl Potter, vol. 4, Princeton UP, 2016.
Narayan, R K. The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Foreword by Wendy Doniger, U of Chicago P, 2013.
Osto, D. E. Modern Samkhya: Ancient Spirituality for the Contemporary Atheist. Palmerston North, 2016.