Talk:Mimamsa-Karmamarga:Sankhya

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

According to Sāṅkhya, the Ātman is Puruṣa and is the basis of all, though at the same time detached from everything. In its view, Māyā, which keeps everything going, is Prakṛti. The cosmos is contained in 24 Tattvas (principles), of which Prakṛti is the first—also called Pradhāna. From Prakṛti arises Mahat (intellect), which gives rise to Ahaṅkāra (ego).

Ahaṅkāra divides into two: the sentient side includes Manas, five Jñānendriyas (organs of knowledge), and five Karmendriyas (organs of action); the insentient side includes five Tanmātras (subtle elements) and five Mahābhūtas (gross elements). The Jñānendriyas are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. The Karmendriyas are mouth, hands, feet, anus, and genitals. The Tanmātras are sound, touch (Sparśa), form, taste, and smell. The Mahābhūtas corresponding to these are space, air, fire, water, and earth. Thus, the 24 Tattvas are: Prakṛti, Mahat, Ahaṅkāra, Manas, five Jñānendriyas, five Karmendriyas, five Tanmātras, and five Mahābhūtas.

These Tattvas are also accepted by non-dualistic Vedānta. According to it, it is Īśvara (Brahman with attributes) who unites Puruṣa (Ātman without attributes) with Prakṛti or Māyā. Sāṅkhya, however, remains silent on Īśvara.

The three Guṇas—Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas—are common to all Vedāntic systems. Sattva denotes clarity and serenity, Rajas denotes action and passion, and Tamas denotes sloth and inertia. The Gītā addresses this extensively in its Guṇatraya-Vibhāga Yoga, where Bhagavān says: "Nistraiguṇyo Bhava" (Go beyond the three Guṇas and abide in the Ātman).

Sāṅkhya posits that all undesirable outcomes are caused by imbalance in the Guṇas, but it does not describe practical methods to balance them—such as devotion to Īśvara, surrender, or Ātmic inquiry. While Puruṣa is pure consciousness, Prakṛti is inert. Yet, Prakṛti unfolds into the 24 Tattvas in the mere presence of Puruṣa.

This raises a philosophical issue. How does Prakṛti, which is insentient, function simply in the presence of Puruṣa who has no action? Sāṅkhya supporters compare this to iron filings moving near a magnet or to the metaphor of a blind man carrying a cripple. The blind man walks but cannot see, the cripple sees but cannot walk. So the cripple guides the blind man. Similarly, Prakṛti (action without knowledge) operates under the still presence of Puruṣa (knowledge without action). While poetic, this analogy is inadequate as a philosophical explanation.

In contrast, Advaita Vedānta explains that Nirguṇa-Brahman itself becomes Saguṇa-Brahman (Īśvara) to conduct the world. Advaita holds that all individual souls are one and the same with Puruṣa, whereas Sāṅkhya believes each soul exists independently. Though sometimes inconsistent, Sāṅkhya remains foundational among Indian philosophies. The word Sāṅkhya means enumeration and is derived from the method of categorizing the Tattvas.

The author of the Sāṅkhya Sūtra is Kapila Maharṣi. Other key texts include Sāṅkhya Kārikā by Īśvarakṛṣṇa and a commentary by Vijñānabhikṣu. The Gītā refers to Sāṅkhya as Jñāna Mārga and Yoga as Karma Mārga (not Rāja Yoga). Sāṅkhya merely distinguishes Puruṣa from Prakṛti but does not teach methods to realise this.

Rāja Yoga goes further and teaches practical Sādhana to realise Puruṣa’s separation from Prakṛti. It includes devotion to Īśvara and mental discipline. The widely popular yoga in the West is Patañjali’s Rāja Yoga, defined as: "Yogaḥ Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ"—Yoga is the cessation of mental fluctuations.

Although Sāṅkhya and Yoga are not part of the Caturdaśa-Vidyā, they are still important. Like Mīmāṃsā, which respects the Vedas but does not emphasise Īśvara, Sāṅkhya too respects Vaidika authority while denying a creator God.

Buddhism, Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Sāṅkhya—of these, some deny Īśvara, some accept Vedas but deny his role as creator. Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda accepts what is valid in each and integrates their truths into the unified vision of Advaita Vedānta.

He sees Puruṣa of Sāṅkhya as Nirguṇa-Brahman, Prakṛti as Māyā, the rituals of Mīmāṃsā as a valid means, and the Īśvara of Nyāya as a real force. But he regards them not as final ends but as partial truths converging into the non-dual reality of Brahman. Thus, he harmonizes all these paths into one integrated system.