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Ontologies of Indian Philosophy

Assignment 2

Avni Verma

200902040

Ug3 CSD

Yoga v/s Sankhya System

 Introduction:

The six systems of Indian philosophy are: Nyaya, Vasiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa

and Uttara Mimamsa.

Each of these systems differs in one way or the other in terms of its concepts, phenomena, laws,

dogmas and founders which are sages of the highest order that have devoted their lives for the

study and propagation of philosophy. Each system of Indian philosophy is called a Darshana.

Thus the Sanskrit word „Shad-Darshana‟ refers to „the six systems of philosophy‟. If we

improvise more on the meaning of Darshana it means insight or exploring the insight.

The Sankhya and Yoga are two of the most ancient philosophies of Hinduism which

profoundly affected the religious thinking and spiritual practices of many ancient traditions of 

the Indian subcontinent. The Bhagavadgita has many verses and an entire chapter devoted to the

teachings of Sankhya and Yoga suggesting to their popularity and importance in ancient times.

The philosophies of Sankhya and Yoga were part of the vedic (which follow Vedas but still not

necessarily believe in GOD) traditions of ancient India.

SANKHYA SYSTEM : 

Sage Kapila (Son of Devahuti, grandson of Svayambhu which was the son of Bhramha) founded

the Sankhya system of philosophy which was commented on later by Ishvara Krishna of the 5th

Century AD. In fact it can be said that the Sankhya system laid the firm foundation for the

Advaita Vedanta later on. Swami Vivekananda once said that the Vedanta system of Advaita

owed a lot to Sage Kapila, the founder of the Sankhya system of philosophy. According to the

Sankhya school, all knowledge is possible through three  pramanas (means of valid knowledge)

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  Pratyak  ṣa  – knowledge through senses

   Anuman  – logical knowledge

  Sabda  – verbal Knowledge.

  Sankhaya accepts only two realities, namely, the Prakriti or the insentient nature and the

Purusha or the soul.

  Three „gunas‟ or „qualities‟ of Prakriti are Sattva, Rajas and Tams. Sattva gives rise to

happiness or pleasure, Rajas produced pain and suffering whereas Tamas gives rise to

inactivity.

  Purusa is not responsible for Prakriti‟s transformations, it is responsible for its own

changes instead.

  The three qualities mentioned above reside in the Prakriti, a state of perfect balance. The

entire universe is born out of the Prakriti or the primordial matter. Purusha on the other

hand is as innumerable as there are living beings.  Purusha is all-pervading and eternal. He is consciousness in its very essence. Sankhya

believes in the creation of the universe as a result of the union between Prakriti and

Purusha. Kapila describes an interesting process of evolution of the world.

  The very first evolute that issues forth from the Prakriti by the combination of the three

gunas is the Mahat or the cosmic intellect. Cosmic ego is born out of the cosmic intellect.

There are various evolutes issuing forth from the different parts of the cosmic ego

characterized by the gunas.

YOGA SYSTEM:

  The word yoga is derived from the root “yuj”, which means to unite or to join together.

The practice of yoga may lead to the union of the human with the divine - all within the

self. The aim of yoga is the transformation of human beings from their natural form to a

perfected form.

  Almost nothing is known about the sage Patanjali who wrote the Yoga Sutra. Some

commentators identify the author of the Yoga Sutras with the Patanjali who wrote the

Mahabhashya or Great Commentary on Panini‟s famous treatise on Sanskrit grammar 

sometime between the third and first centuries.

  According to Patanjali‟s Yoga Sutra, the classical text on yoga, the purpose of yoga is to

lead to a silence of the mind. This silence is the prerequisite for the mind to be able toaccurately reflect objective reality without its own subjective distortions. Yoga does not

create this reality, which is above the mind, but only prepares the mind to apprehend it,

by assisting in the transformation of the mind.  The Yoga system may be examined from two points of view. It is characterised by Mind-

energy and the Mind may be examined with reference to Buddhi, and the five senses. The

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Yoga system is, therefore, connected with Buddhi on the one hand and the five senses on

the other; and as Buddhi is greater than the senses and is characterised by peace, whilethe senses are characterised by activity, one aspect of the Yoga system, and its

corresponding religion, is related to peace, born of withdrawing oneself into Buddhi, and

the other to activity and power, born of the association of the Mind with the senses. 

In India, Yoga is not merely a Philosophy but way of living. The Ancient School of Yogaoffers many cleaning processes, Asanas, Pranayama, Mudras, Meditations & relaxation

techniques.  It has been said that each system of thought has a corresponding system of religion to

illustrate it; and that in the case of Yoga the system of religion is associated with Siva or

Mahadeva.

  It has been observed that the Yoga system of philosophy is related to the Mahadevasystem of religion, according to which the union of Purusha and Prakrti is represented in

a very special and obvious manner by means of the Lingam or the Phallic emblem,

indicating that the male and female are always together from the very beginning of life,

and together they make it manifest.

YOGA v/s SANKHYA SYSTEM:

General Notion: The removal of pain is the chief problem of the Sankhya too, and it examines

the relation of knowledge to action at considerable length, for it too partakes of the character of the intellect, and lays special emphasis on discrimination, an attribute of the intellect, as a means

of securing freedom from pain. But its object is more to amplify than to integrate the different

points of view of knowledge and action; and so it comes to the conclusion that there is no joy inlife, and a man can attain his end only by means of renunciation of all actions. It admits,

however, that a person must act so long as he lives; but he should do so sparingly, till gradually

all action comes to an end, and he is made free. Action, according to the Sankhya, is thus anecessary evil, and not a necessary good.

The point of view of Yoga is not exactly the same. As it attempts to integrate knowledge

with action, it lays equal emphasis on both, and stresses the importance of knowledge as well asaction. It points out that there is a measure of joy in life, and explains how great and good things

can be achieved in the world by means of this integration. But it also believes that a time must

come at last when all action comes to an end; and so a total cessation of action must still beregarded as the ultimate end of life.

God: Yoga also takes us a step further towards the idea of God. The Sankhya, as we have seen,

dispenses with His necessity; but it has no objection to the existence of a God who is like aliberated soul, having nothing whatever to do with the world: only such a God can be of little use

to man.

Yoga takes up the Sankhya idea of God, as corresponding to that of a liberated soul, but

points out that He has an important place in our life, and we can attain our goal by devotion toHim. Thus we have in Yoga what may be called a personal God; but it does not say that He is a

creator in any real sense of the term.

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Evolution of ideas: Yoga is thus a further stage in this scheme of thought, but has a great deal in

common with the Sankhya. Indeed, as the Bhagavad Gita tells us, there is little differencebetween the two systems; but their conclusions are not identical, for their points of view are not

the same. Yoga recognizes the importance of action, though it gives an equal or perhaps even a

higher place to knowledge; and so paves the way for the final conclusion of Vedanta. That

system, as we shall see, attempts to evolve a perfect harmony between knowledge and action;and includes all ideas of creation, by Prakrti or an Unseen Power or the great forces of Nature as

well as a personal God in its conception of Brahma, who is both personal and impersonal, and

combines Purusha and Prak.rti into, one. Indeed, as we have observed, Prakrti itself istransformed into God by being associated with the idea of Sacrifice, and so becomes Sat-chit-

ananda goodness, intelligence, and joy.

 My Critical Views:

  One significant aspect of Sankhya and Yoga is they are complimentary.

  Yoga accepts the basic tenets of Sankhya with a few exceptions as the basis of the

techniques and practices it recommends to liberate the individual beings from the bondsof Prakriti.

  Sankhya deals with the arrangement of the cosmos and how its various constituent parts

or elements manifested. Yoga deals with the possibility of their underlying integration

and how they could be realigned in the interest of the conscious elements that are situated

in it.

  The Sankhya system presents you with a vision of how you became involved with the

material processes of nature while the yoga system provides you with a solution by which

you can free yourself from your involvement with nature and connect yourself with your

original state of pure consciousness.

  The concepts and techniques of yoga are the effective solutions to the problems of 

suffering, bondage and ignorance highlighted by the philosophy of Sankhya. Sankhya

speaks of the evolution and yoga of involution. Sankhya speaks of soul's entanglement

and enslavement and yoga of its freedom and purity.

Class Homework

Qualities of Matter:

  Shape   Volume

  Size    Density

  Color   Touch

  Texture   Smell 

   Mass