Samkhya, also Sankhya, (Sanskrit: सांख्य) is a school of Indian philosophy, and is one of the six ''astika'' or Hindu philosophical schools of India. It is regarded as the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism. Its philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two eternal realities: purusha and prakrti; it is therefore a strongly ''dualist'' and ''enumerationist'' philosophy, characterized by a worldview that sees the universe as an evolving mixture of distinct dualities (light/dark, male/female, etc). Historically, the Sankhya school has been closely associated with the Hindu Yoga school of philosophy. The sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Sankhya school, although no historical verification is possible. The definitive text of classical Sankhya is the ''Sankhya Karika'', written by ''Ishvara Krishna'', circa 200 CE. == The metaphysics of Samkhya == Metaphysically, Samkhya maintains a radical duality between spirit/consciousness (''Purusha'') and matter (''Prakrti''). All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of ''Prakrti'', or primal nature (from which all physical bodies are derived). Each sentient being is a ''Purusha'', and is limitless and unrestricted to its body. ''Bondage'' arises when the ''Purusha'' is misled as to its own identity and confuses itself with the physical body. The spirit is liberated with the realization that it is distinct from and not restricted to physical matter. The evolution of primal nature is also considered to be purposeful - Prakrti evolves ''for'' the spirit in bondage. The spirit itself is only a witness to the evolution. The evolution obeys cause-and-effect relationships, with primal nature itself being the material cause of all physical creation. The cause and effect theory of Sankhya is called ''Satkaarya-vaada'', and holds that nothing can really be created from or destroyed into nothingness - all evolution is simply the transformation of primal nature from one form to another. All matter has three fundamental ''guna''s or attributes - ''Rajas'' (creative attribute), ''Satva'' (preservationist attribute) and ''tamas'' (destructive attribute). The evolution of matter occurs when the relative strengths of the attributes changes. The evolution ceases when the spirit realises that it is distinct from primal nature and thus cannot evolve. This destroys the purpose of evolution, thus stopping Prakrti from evolving for Purusha. The purushas (souls) are many, conscious and devoid of all qualities. They are the silent spectators of prakrti (matter or nature), which is composed of three gunas (dispositions): satva, rajas and tamas (steadiness, activity and dullness). When the equilibrium of the gunas is disturbed, the world order evolves. This disturbance is due to the proximity of Purusha and prakrti. Liberation (kaivalya), then, consists of the realisation of the difference between the two. This was a dualistic philosophy. But there are differences between the Samkhya and Western forms of dualism. In the West, the fundamental distinction is between mind and body. In Samkhya, however, it is between the self (purusha) and matter, and the latter incorporates what Westerners would normally refer to as "mind". This means that the Self as the Samkhya understands it is more transcendent than "mind". Samkhyan cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti is crucial to Patanjali's yoga system. The evolution of forms at the basis of Samkhya is quite unique. It is the influence of Samkhya that evolution has been discussed in ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Mahabharata and the Yoga Vasishtha. Sankhya also has a strong cognitive theory built into it; curiously, while consciousness/spirit is considered to be radically different from any physical entities, the mind (''manas''), ego (''ahamkara'') and intellect (''buddhi'') are all considered to be manifestations of Prakrti (physical entity). There is no philosophical place for a creator God in the Sankhya philosophy; indeed, the concept of God was incorporated into the Sankhya viewpoint only after it became associated with the theistic Yoga system of philosophy. == Also see == * Hinduism * Yoga * Darshanas * Hindu philosophy * Indian philosophy == External links == * [http://www.philo.demon.co.uk/enumerat.htm Sankhya philosophy] * [http://www.cse.iitd.ac.in/~csu01118/6Coffee.pdf How to drink Coffee - Sankhya view] - an introduction to the Sankhya theory of cognition, illustrated in the process of drinking coffee. * [http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0303001 Comparison between Indian and Greek cosmology] Hindu philosophical conceptsMetaphysics hi:साङ्ख्य
Interesting article. However, this sentence in the third to last paragraph doesn't scan. ''It is the influence of Samkhya that evolution has been discussed in ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Mahabharata and the Yoga Vasishtha.'' I'm not sure what the intended meaning is so I haven't tried to fix it up. User:Oska 11:28, Aug 18, 2004 (UTC) : I think whoever wrote that was trying to imply that theories of evolution in Hinduism were bolstered or even, perhaps, completely the result of Samkhya philosophy. The avatars of Vishnu, for instance, reflect a perfect evolutionary theory in many regards. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 18:22, Aug 18, 2004 (UTC)
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Words begining with Samkhya:
Samkhya
Samkhya
Samkhya_cosmology
Samkhya_philosophy
Samkhya
Samkhya, also Sankhya, (Sanskrit: सांख्य) is a school of Indian philosophy, and is one of the six ''astika'' or Hindu philosophical schools of India. It is regarded as the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism. Its philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two eternal realities: purusha and prakrti; it is therefore a strongly ''dualist'' and ''enumerationist'' philosophy, characterized by a worldview that sees the universe as an evolving mixture of distinct dualities (light/dark, male/female, etc). Historically, the Sankhya school has been closely associated with the Hindu Yoga school of philosophy. The sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Sankhya school, although no historical verification is possible. The definitive text of classical Sankhya is the ''Sankhya Karika'', written by ''Ishvara Krishna'', circa 200 CE. == The metaphysics of Samkhya == Metaphysically, Samkhya maintains a radical duality between spirit/consciousness (''Purusha'') and matter (''Prakrti''). All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of ''Prakrti'', or primal nature (from which all physical bodies are derived). Each sentient being is a ''Purusha'', and is limitless and unrestricted to its body. ''Bondage'' arises when the ''Purusha'' is misled as to its own identity and confuses itself with the physical body. The spirit is liberated with the realization that it is distinct from and not restricted to physical matter. The evolution of primal nature is also considered to be purposeful - Prakrti evolves ''for'' the spirit in bondage. The spirit itself is only a witness to the evolution. The evolution obeys cause-and-effect relationships, with primal nature itself being the material cause of all physical creation. The cause and effect theory of Sankhya is called ''Satkaarya-vaada'', and holds that nothing can really be created from or destroyed into nothingness - all evolution is simply the transformation of primal nature from one form to another. All matter has three fundamental ''guna''s or attributes - ''Rajas'' (creative attribute), ''Satva'' (preservationist attribute) and ''tamas'' (destructive attribute). The evolution of matter occurs when the relative strengths of the attributes changes. The evolution ceases when the spirit realises that it is distinct from primal nature and thus cannot evolve. This destroys the purpose of evolution, thus stopping Prakrti from evolving for Purusha. The purushas (souls) are many, conscious and devoid of all qualities. They are the silent spectators of prakrti (matter or nature), which is composed of three gunas (dispositions): satva, rajas and tamas (steadiness, activity and dullness). When the equilibrium of the gunas is disturbed, the world order evolves. This disturbance is due to the proximity of Purusha and prakrti. Liberation (kaivalya), then, consists of the realisation of the difference between the two. This was a dualistic philosophy. But there are differences between the Samkhya and Western forms of dualism. In the West, the fundamental distinction is between mind and body. In Samkhya, however, it is between the self (purusha) and matter, and the latter incorporates what Westerners would normally refer to as "mind". This means that the Self as the Samkhya understands it is more transcendent than "mind". Samkhyan cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti is crucial to Patanjali's yoga system. The evolution of forms at the basis of Samkhya is quite unique. It is the influence of Samkhya that evolution has been discussed in ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Mahabharata and the Yoga Vasishtha. Sankhya also has a strong cognitive theory built into it; curiously, while consciousness/spirit is considered to be radically different from any physical entities, the mind (''manas''), ego (''ahamkara'') and intellect (''buddhi'') are all considered to be manifestations of Prakrti (physical entity). There is no philosophical place for a creator God in the Sankhya philosophy; indeed, the concept of God was incorporated into the Sankhya viewpoint only after it became associated with the theistic Yoga system of philosophy. == Also see == * Hinduism * Yoga * Darshanas * Hindu philosophy * Indian philosophy == External links == * [http://www.philo.demon.co.uk/enumerat.htm Sankhya philosophy] * [http://www.cse.iitd.ac.in/~csu01118/6Coffee.pdf How to drink Coffee - Sankhya view] - an introduction to the Sankhya theory of cognition, illustrated in the process of drinking coffee. * [http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0303001 Comparison between Indian and Greek cosmology] Hindu philosophical conceptsMetaphysics hi:साङ्ख्य
Samkhya
Interesting article. However, this sentence in the third to last paragraph doesn't scan. ''It is the influence of Samkhya that evolution has been discussed in ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Mahabharata and the Yoga Vasishtha.'' I'm not sure what the intended meaning is so I haven't tried to fix it up. User:Oska 11:28, Aug 18, 2004 (UTC) : I think whoever wrote that was trying to imply that theories of evolution in Hinduism were bolstered or even, perhaps, completely the result of Samkhya philosophy. The avatars of Vishnu, for instance, reflect a perfect evolutionary theory in many regards. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 18:22, Aug 18, 2004 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
S
SB | SC | SD | SE | SF | SG | SH | SI | SJ | SK | SL | SM | SN | SO | SP | SR | SS | ST | SU | SW | SX | SY | SZ |Words begining with Samkhya:
Samkhya
Samkhya
Samkhya_cosmology
Samkhya_philosophy
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