If life is a journey, and Yoga is a map, what is the point of departure?
That is Samkhya.
An inquiry into change requires an inquiry into what changes.
A recognition of what changes leads to a recognition of that which does not change.
Who am I? What is I? Who is asking?
… all that and more is is Samkhya.
Sāṃkhya is one of the ancient philosophical systems of India. It is the metaphysical foundation for arts like Yoga (a science of the mind) & Ayurveda (a science of the body). The Sāṃkhya Kārikā text presents Sāṃkhya as a collection of 25 principles. This is a journey through the text.
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October 6th, 2021
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October 30th
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Verse 1: What is the origin of this inquiry?
It is a response to the inevitable human experience of suffering.
Verse 2: What kind of inquiry can address suffering?
An inquiry that discerns between the Manifest, Unmanifest & Knower.
Verse 3: How can I discern between the Manifest, Unmanifest & Knower?
By looking closely at my lived experience of causality.
Verse 4: What do I need to know about causality?
Since causality emerges from cognition, I need to discern between right and wrong cognition.
Verse 5: What is right cognition?
Perception, inference and valid testimony.
Verse 6: How can I know an Unmanifest that I cannot perceive?
Through inference and valid testimony.
Verse 7: When perceiving directly, can I trust my own senses?
Yes, if I am aware of their limitations.
Verse 8: How can I know that the Unmanifest, which I cannot perceive, really exists?
Relying on causality, I Infer it from its effects.
Verse 9: How can I know causality is real?
I look around (with right cognition) and find evidence of it all around me.
Verse 10: What does causality reveal about the Manifest and Unmanifest?
The Manifest is that which is caused & transient and the Unmanifest is the opposite….
Verse 11: And what is the Knower?
The Knower (Spirit) is without the three Gunas and is opposite & similar to the…
Verse 12: What are the three Gunas?
They are the essential underlying qualities of the Manifest.
Verse 13: Why are there three Gunas?
Together, the three encompass my entire lived experience.
Verse 14: Are the Gunas also present in the Unmanifest?
Yes, because it has already been established that the effect (Manifest) exists in its cause…
Verse 15: Why must I infer an Unmanifest?
There must be something that causes the Manifest.
Verse 16: How can all the diversity I experience in the world emerge from one Unmanifest cause?
Diversity comes from different combinations of the three Gunas.
Verse 17: What is the point of all this mixing and combining of the Gunas?
The Knower (Spirit).
Verse 18: Is there one Spirit or are there many?
There is one Knower, but many Spirits.
Verse 19: What does Spirit do?
Nothing. Spirit is an isolated and inactive witness.
Verse 20: How then, can there be conscious choice?
Conscious choice is an illusion that arises from a co-presence of Spirit and Nature.
Verse 21: Why do Spirit and Nature come together?
They need each other.
Verse 22: What arises from the conjunction of Spirit and Nature?
Mahat, a discerning intelligence.
Verse 23: What is Discerning Intelligence?
It is mental effort that is affected by the dominant Guna.
Verse 24: What arises from Discerning Intelligence?
Ahamkara – a center from which a notion of self arises.
Verse 25: What arises from the self center?
Eleven special objects arise when Sattva is dominant and five special objects arise when Tamas…
Verse 26: What are the eleven special objects that arise from a sattvic Ahamkara?
Ten of the eleven are objects-of-sense.
Verse 27: And what is the eleventh special object?
The eleventh special object is mind – Manas.
Verse 28: What do the objects-of-sense do?
Five of them perceive specific kinds of objects and five are active.
Verse 29: What does the mind do?
Mind functions alongside Discerning Intelligence and the I-Principle.
Verse 30: How does cognition occur?
Cognition occurs when the three internal organs interact with the objects of sense.
Verse 31: Why does cognition occur?
Cognition is an impulse in Nature that operates in service of Spirit.
Verse 32: How does sensing become cognition?
Through seizing, illuminating and sustaining.
Verse 33: How does cognition give rise to the notion of time?
The ten external organs-of-sense function only in the present, the three internal organs function at…
Verse 34: What do the organs-of-sense do?
They are sensitized to and resonate with specific kinds of elements.