Unit 5: Sāṃkhya and Vedānta

Sāṃkhya School

Sāṃkhya is one of the oldest Āstika schools, founded by the sage Kapila. It is a system of dualistic realism. It is 'realistic' because it believes both mind and matter are real. It is 'dualistic' because it posits two ultimate, independent, and eternal realities:

1. Puruṣa (Consciousness, the Self)
2. Prakṛti (Matter, Nature)

The entire universe is an interplay between these two principles. Sāṃkhya is also (in its classical form) atheistic, as it explains the universe without any need for a God.

Prakṛti (Nature/Matter)

Prakṛti is the "primal matter" or "nature." It is the uncaused, unconscious, and active principle. It is the material cause of the entire physical and mental universe (everything except Puruṣa).

• Unconscious (Jaḍa): Prakṛti has no consciousness of its own.
• Active (Sakriyā): It is always in motion, always changing.
• The Three Guṇas: Prakṛti is not a single substance, but a state of equilibrium of three "qualities" or "constituents" called Guṇas:
  1. Sattva: The quality of lightness, purity, pleasure, and illumination (e.g., knowledge, happiness, goodness).
  2. Rajas: The quality of activity, motion, passion, and pain (e.g., ambition, desire, restlessness).
  3. Tamas: The quality of inertia, darkness, heaviness, and indifference (e.g., laziness, ignorance, delusion).
• In the state of dissolution (Pralaya), the three Guṇas are in perfect balance, and Prakṛti is unmanifest. Creation (evolution) begins when this equilibrium is disturbed.

Puruṣa (Consciousness/Self)

Puruṣa is the "self" or "pure consciousness." It is the conscious principle.

• Conscious (Cetanā): Its sole nature *is* consciousness.
• Inactive (Niṣkriyā) / Passive: Puruṣa is a pure, silent witness (Sākṣī). It does not *act* or *change*.
• Plurality of Puruṣas: Unlike Advaita Vedānta, Sāṃkhya believes in an infinite plurality of Puruṣas. Each living being has its own individual, eternal Puruṣa. (Their argument: if there were only one Puruṣa, then when one person attains liberation, everyone should be liberated.)

Sāṃkhya Theory of Evolution (Pariṇāma)

This explains how the unconscious Prakṛti creates the entire universe. This is an "evolution," not a "creation" (as there is no creator God). The process begins when the presence of Puruṣa disturbs the equilibrium of the Guṇas in Prakṛti.

Sāṃkhya also follows Satkāryavāda: the doctrine that the *effect* (kārya) *pre-exists* (sat) in its material cause (kāraṇa). (e.g., The pot *already exists* in the clay). This is called Pariṇāma-vāda (theory of transformation), as the cause (Prakṛti) *transforms* into the effect (the world).

Advaita Vedānta (School of Non-Dualism)

Advaita Vedānta, most famously consolidated by Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, is the school of "non-dualism." It is a monistic system, meaning it posits only *one* ultimate reality.

Śaṅkara's entire philosophy can be summarized in one-half verse:

Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithyā, Jīvo Brahmaiva Nāparah
(Brahman alone is Real, the world is unreal/illusory, and the individual self (Jīva) is non-different from Brahman.)

Concept of Brahman

Brahman is the one, single, undivided, and ultimate reality. It is not "a" god, but the very "ground of all being" from which everything arises.

• Nature: Its true nature is described as Sat-Cit-Ānanda (Pure Being, Pure Consciousness, Pure Bliss).
• Nirguṇa Brahman: This is Brahman as it *truly* is—without qualities (nir-guṇa), attributes, or form. It is the higher, absolute, unchanging reality. It is beyond all thought and speech.
• Saguṇa Brahman: This is Brahman as it *appears* to us from our human, worldly perspective. It is Brahman "with qualities" (sa-guṇa), conceived as the personal God (Īśvara) who is the creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe. Saguṇa Brahman is the *object of worship* (Bhakti), but Nirguṇa Brahman is the *goal of knowledge* (Jñāna).

From the absolute point of view (Pāramārthika), only Nirguṇa Brahman is real. Īśvara, the Jīva (individual soul), and the Jagat (world) are all *appearances* caused by Māyā.

Concept of Māyā

If Brahman is the only reality, where does this vast, differentiated world (Jagat) come from? Śaṅkara explains this through the concept of Māyā.

Māyā is the inexplicable power of Brahman that makes the "one" Brahman appear as the "many" (the world and individuals). It is the principle of illusion or appearance.

• Two Powers: Māyā has two functions:
  1. Āvaraṇa-śakti (Veiling Power): It "veils" or "conceals" the true nature of Brahman (just as clouds conceal the sun).
  2. Vikṣepa-śakti (Projecting Power): It "projects" the unreal world of names and forms onto Brahman (just as ignorance projects a "snake" onto a "rope" in the dark).
• Mithyā (Unreal): The world (Jagat) is described as Mithyā. This does *not* mean it is "non-existent" (like a square circle). It means it is "unreal" or "illusory"—it is an appearance. It is not* real in the absolute sense (like Brahman), but it is not non-existent either. It has a practical, empirical reality (Vyāvahārika Sattā), just as a dream is "real" while you are dreaming.
• Avidyā (Ignorance): From the individual's perspective, Māyā is called Avidyā (Ignorance). It is this ignorance (not knowing "I am Brahman") that causes the Jīva (individual soul) to see itself as separate, limited, and bound to the world.
• Liberation (Moksha): Liberation is the *removal* of this Avidyā through Jñāna (knowledge), which results in the direct realization (Anubhava) that "Aham Brahmāsmi" (I am Brahman). Nothing new is gained; one simply "wakes up" to the reality that was true all along.

Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta (School of Qualified Non-Dualism)

Rāmānujācārya was the chief proponent of Viśiṣṭādvaita, or "qualified non-dualism." He agreed with Śaṅkara that Brahman is the only ultimate reality (non-dualism), but he *disagreed* with Śaṅkara's concepts of an attributeless (Nirguṇa) Brahman and an illusory (Mithyā) world.

Rāmānuja's concept of Brahman

Rāmānuja's Brahman *is* Saguṇa Brahman (Brahman with qualities). This is the *only* Brahman; the idea of a Nirguṇa Brahman is a logical contradiction for Rāmānuja (how can a "reality" have no qualities?).

Brahman, for Rāmānuja, is the one, supreme, personal God (identified with Viṣṇu). He is a single, unified reality, but He is not a simple, homogenous substance.

Brahman's "body" consists of two real and eternal parts:

1. Cit (Conscious): The innumerable, individual souls (Jīvas).
2. Acit (Unconscious): The material world (Prakṛti/Matter).

This is the "Brahman-Jīva-Jagat" complex. Brahman is the "soul" (Ātman) of this complex, and the souls and the world are His "body" (Śarīra). The body cannot exist without the soul, and the soul controls the body from within. This is a "body-soul" relationship (Śarīra-Śarīri-Bhāva).

Thus, souls and matter are *real*, *eternal*, and *dependent* on Brahman. They are not illusory (like in Advaita) nor independent (like in Sāṃkhya). They are "modes" (Prakāra) of Brahman.

Rāmānuja's Critique of Śaṅkara’s Māyā

Rāmānuja launched a powerful and systematic critique against Śaṅkara's doctrine of Māyā/Avidyā. He argued that the concept is illogical and not supported by scripture. His main arguments (often called the Saptavidha-Anupapatti or "seven-fold untenability") include:

1. Locus of Māyā (Āśraya-anupapatti): *Where* does Māyā reside? It cannot be in Brahman (because Brahman is pure knowledge and cannot be "ignorant"). It cannot be in the Jīva (because the Jīva itself is a *product* of Māyā, which is circular reasoning).
2. Nature of Māyā (Svarūpa-anupapatti): *What* is Māyā? Is it real or unreal? If it's *real*, you have dualism (Brahman and Māyā), which Advaita denies. If it's *unreal*, how can it "project" a real-looking world? If it is "inexplicable," this is just a way of hiding a logical flaw.
3. Obscuring Nature (Tirodhāna-anupapatti): How can Māyā "conceal" Brahman? Brahman is said to be self-luminous, pure consciousness. Concealing it is like saying "darkness can cover the sun." It's impossible.
4. Contradiction with Knowledge (Nivartaka-anupapatti): Advaita says Māyā/Avidyā is "removed by knowledge" (Jñāna). But Rāmānuja argues that knowledge only reveals what *is* or *is not*; it cannot *destroy* a positive entity like Māyā is claimed to be.
5. No Source of Knowledge (Pramāṇa-anupapatti): Which Pramāṇa (source of knowledge) *proves* that Māyā exists? It cannot be *Perception* (we see a real world, not an illusion). It cannot be *Inference* (there is no logical basis). And it cannot be *Scripture* (Rāmānuja argues the Vedas declare the world is a real creation of God, not an illusion).