Indian Psychology-

Sankhya
Dr. Madhu Pandey
Spiritual Healer and Psychologist
Assistant Professor Grade II
Amity University Lucknow Campus
 Samkhya, also Sankhya, (Sanskrit: स ांख्य, IAST: Sāṃkhya - Enumeration) is
one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy.

 Sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Sankhya

school, although no historical verification is possible.

 It is regarded as the oldest of the philosophical systems in India. Most

scholars agree that it was originally an atheistic school of thought. This
is so because the basic tenets of Sāṁkhya can be seen in Nyāya,
Vaiśesika, Yoga, Jainism, and Vedānta.

 First attempt to harmonize the vedic philosophy through reason.

 First systemic account of process of cosmic evolution

 Not purely metaphysical but logical account based on principle of

conversation, transformation and dissipation of energy.

 This was later incorporated as being one of the six astika (that which
recognizes vedic authority) systems of Hindu philosophy with the major text
of the theistic school being the extant Sankhya Karika, written by Ishvara
Krishna, circa 200 CE.
 What is the literal meaning of Sankhya?
 The meaning of Sankhya is ‘number’ or ‘empirical.’ It theorizes that creation is neither
implicit nor explicit, that there is no production and destruction. It also holds that the
soul and the matter are two different things.

 Sankhya enumerates the principle of cosmic evolution by rational analysis

 It teaches the descriminative knowledge which enables to distinguish spirit and matter

 There are two views on the origin of this school.

 Some are that the word Sāṁkhya is derived from the word ‘Saṁkhyā’ which means
number as well as right knowledge.

 Right knowledge is about understanding the reality by specifying the number of

ultimate constituents of the universe.

 Others viewed that Sāṁkhya means ‘perfect knowledge’ and that is about the reality.

 Mentions of Samkhya are found in various ancient texts, however, we will focus on
‘Bhagavata Purana’ and teachings of Kapila, and Caraka Samhita. Samkhya is one of the
six perspectives or philosophies that in8uenced Äyurveda
 There are no purely Samkhya schools existing today in Hinduism, but its
influence is felt in Yoga and Vedanta schools of philosophy.

 Samkhya is the oldest school of philosophy. It states that everything is derived

from the Purusha or self, soul, intellect, and Prakriti or matter, creation, and
energy.

 Its philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two eternal

realities: Purusha and Prakrti;

 it is therefore a strongly dualist and enumerationist philosophy.

 The Purusha is the centre of consciousness, whereas the Prakriti is the source
of all material existence.

 The Sankhya school has deeply influenced the Hindu Yoga school of
philosophy. They are sometimes referred together as Samkhya - yoga school.
 Psychology is the science of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of
conscious and unconscious experience as well as thought. Not only the
ontological acumen, but also the psychology and physiology
of Sāṅkhya System also aptly deserve an in-depth study.

 The Sāṅkhya System believes that Prakṛti is the state of equilibrium of the
three guṇas which originally remain in a form of disintegration and
disunion bringing no categories into existence.

 These equilibrated forms were in existence before the creation of the

present world, because that was the state of dissolution on deep sleep
and the consequent suspension of all creative activities.

 The Sankhya philosophy believes that there are two types of bodies. A
physical or temporal body, and an ethereal or subtle body that is not
visible but persists after death. When the earthly body expires, the subtle
body moves to another physical body. This is where the theory of
reincarnation starts.
 According to sage Kapila, The desire to create and procreate is a natural
instinct within every one of us. The reason behind is the universe itself.
Universe created us. And, being a part and parcel of the universe – we
have the same desire.

 Just like in the Dao symbol, we have the yin and yang– male and female
part – two sides of a same coin. Similarly the energy of the universe also
has two sides. There is Purusha and then there is Prakruti.

 The Male Divine or Purusha has a desire to witness himself through the
creative potential of his own feminine energy, the Prakrati.

 After the ‘divine’ breathed OM and thus the duality of the ego {being
male and female} into life.

 Creation of universe ultimately originates within the divine love between

purusha and prakrati and their desire to manifest that love. Samkhya
Philosophy is the theory of the creation of universe through 25 subtle
elements.
 Samkhya is an understanding of the universe and the way that we fit into it by
understanding how the gross elements have evolved from more subtle ones.

 Subtle principles affect other principles in day to day life.

 Äyurveda recognizes that sometimes subtle energies or functions of consciousness

can sometimes play an extremely important role in how we become diseased.

 This explanation of samkhya is very much connected to explanation of Shakti

(Universal Divine Energy or Source – Female), and Shaktiman (Divine Source –
Male), as given in Vedanta. (Ancient Scriptural Texts).

 Shakti means power or energy.Shaktiman is the wielder of power.

 We can say, it is something like – God has breathed life into the universe, as
described in the Bible. So, Purusha is the energetic, the wielder of power.
And,Prakrati is ENERGY. Energy in the form of potential of all other matters and
forms of energy.
 It transforms into other forms of life. From Vedanta we also understand that this
ENERGY also existsas ‘self’.
 Understanding the SELF is critical in order to
understand…that which makes a distinction between living
body and a dead body. In a dead body, all functions of bodily
actions have stopped. There is no breathing, no brain activity,
no heart activity.

 One says, that someone has died. But, according to Vedanta

and Samkhya, it is the presence of the self within the body
that makes the distinction between living and self.

 So, Samkhya will say SELF has left the physical body, instead
of someone has died. Nonetheless, Sankhya does not talks
about body and mind, and self conception. These are
described separately

 When we talk about SELF we mean SOUL, JIVATMA in

sanskrit, that spiritual self that exists within all coverings like
mind, intellect, ego and gross and subtle forms of body.
 Prakṛti is the first cause. It precedes creation.

 All the effects of the universe are based and depended upon
it. It is the first element of the universe and is therefore
called ‘pradhāna’.

 The word ‘Pradhāna’ which means the first, or the chief or the
primal. It denotes the root cause, the unmanifest matter from
which the manifest matter is generated.

 It is called by other names also as the ‘Mūlaprakṛti’ and also in the

series of causes and transformation a stage is reached when the
cause is not the transformation of anything else as its own cause.

 This cause, which is not the transformation of another cause, is

called the root cause of this world.

 In this system, it is called the ‘Mūlaprakṛti as mere ‘Prakṛti’.

 The Goal of Samkhya Philosophy—
Freedom from Pain and Suffering
 The problem of removing pain and suffering

 If the pain in our body or mind is so deep that we can’t get rid of it, then
we want to get rid of our body or mind. However, we don’t know how to
remove our body and mind and be just pure consciousness, because body,
mind, and consciousness are all intermingled.

 Therefore, do not impose the thought on yourself that you are just pure
consciousness and that pain and pleasure are an illusion. Life means
integration of all these things—some desirable and some undesirable.

 Samkhya acknowledges our actual experience of pain—anger, fear,

physical pain, pain of loss, and other pain—and gives us a framework for
removing it. This is the goal of Samkhya. Yoga and Ayurveda are based on
this.
 The state free from pain and suffering

 When you are free from pain and suffering, Samkhya calls this kaivalya,
from the word kevala, meaning you have nothing other than your Self.

 There is no desire to achieve anything or to avoid losing anything.

 You are fully established and content in your Self—pure being.

 Your body and mind are no longer a burden.

 Relationships are no longer a source of pain.

 You are not bothered by loss and gain, honor and insult, youth and old
age.

Kevala is the experience of pure being, and kaivalya is the state in

which we experience the essence of pure being.
Ayurveda and Yoga—the techniques for
removing the cause of pain and suffering
 In Ayurveda, the treatment comes from outside us. For
example, taking triphala removes the cause of constipation.

 In Yoga, the remedy to act on the cause is from inside us.

 Using Ayurveda and Yoga together is the best way to

overcome pain.

 Ayurveda is especially needed in treating illness when

conscious access to our body is blocked, and therefore our
willpower and determination cannot cure the problem.
An understanding of Samkhya is important for Yoga
practitioners because it expands our expectations of
Yoga practice.

 We will look for the proper applications of Yoga

practices and stretch our imagination beyond being
content with just feeling good momentarily.

 The realization that Yoga can help us overcome all

forms of suffering will inspire us to look into the
deeper aspects of Yoga.
The Main Features of Samkhya
Philosophy
 There are three types of pain and suffering. Real freedom is
attaining freedom from these.

 Physical

 Five things help to prevent and overcome physical pain and

suffering: proper diet, proper exercise, balanced conduct /
behavior, going to bed on time, and waking up on time.

 If some illness has already occurred, seek help from doctors

and medicines, along with lifestyle changes.

 Ayurveda is an important tool here.

 Psychological / emotional

 This type of suffering needs help from both outside and inside—body and mind. o
From inside, changing your attitude toward yourself—trusting and believing in
yourself—creates psychological support.

 This, combined with external measures to alleviate physical suffering, helps to

overcome sorrow and grief. o The first four limbs of Yoga address mental /
emotional suffering.

 Spiritual

 To overcome spiritual pain and suffering, dive deep into yourself and know your
pure being. Work toward removing all non-essentials—all that which is not the
Self.

 The way to do this is covered by the last four limbs of Yoga—the meditative
aspects—which are the purest form of Yoga and are all internal. These are
pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.

 All of this is a complete treatment, with Samkhya philosophy as the foundation.

 We are a blend of pure consciousness and the material world, right and
wrong, vice and virtue, mortal and immortal.

 Pure consciousness is something to aspire to. There is no need to condemn the part
of us that is not pure consciousness. It’s better to establish a good relationship with
it.

 Everything in this universe is for overcoming the three types of pain and
experiencing our pure being.

 The creation is not an accident and life is not a punishment.

 Life gives us the opportunity and tools to:
 Embrace and enjoy experiences and understand how valuable or useless they are,
or
 Come to the understanding that experiences are the same thing again and again
and be through with them (the path of renunciation)

 (Our choice depends on which of these paths is most compatible with our
individual nature.)

 The goal is a life that is free from pain and sorrow—a life that is not dependent on
anything or anyone.
 According to Äyurveda, these seven Dhätus are chyle,
blood, fat, bone, marrow, and semen.

 Kapha (earth/water) controls blood, fat, marrow and

semen.

 Vata (air) controls bonesand joints.

 Pitta (fire) controls the ‘Agni’ that aids digestion.

 Vata or VÄyu (air) is responsible of the entire movement

of these Dhätus.
 Live in the world in an integrated fashion whereby
Purusha (Shiva) and Prakriti (Shakti) walk together
and help each other toward the goal.

 Purusha cannnot move, but sees, and Prakriti

cannot see, but moves.

 Thus, we work with all aspects of ourselves—

consciousness, body, breath, and mind—to achieve
the goal.
 Epistemology of Sankhya
According to the Sankhya
school, knowledge is possible
through three:
The subtle body consists of four
parts:

Buddhi, or consciousness.
Ahamkara or i-consciousness or  prama
ego. nas (m  Pratya
eans of ksha -  Anuma
Manas or the senses of the direct
mind. knowle na -  Sabda -
dge) - sense Logical
Prana or breath. percept verbal
inferen testimo
ion ce ny
 The Sāṁkhya philosophy recognizes three independent sources of
valid knowledge (Pramāna). These are; perception, inference, and
verbal testimony (sabda).

 According to the Sāṁkhya, self possess knowledge. To have

knowledge of an object there should be contact between object and
sense organs. Again, the connection must found between mind and
sense organs. Lastly, mind is related to mahat for cognition.

 Thus the mahat becomes transformed into the form of particular

objects. Mahat being unconscious and physical entity can’t generate
knowledge alone.

 Hence, it requires a conscious and eternal entity like Purusa.

 Since Purusa is pure consciousness helps Prakrti to generate

knowledge. The Sāṁkhya Philosophy accepts two sorts of
perception, savikalpaka and nirvikalpaka as Nyaya advocates. For
detail discussion on savikalka and nirvikalpaka
 Without deviating from Nyaya Philosophy, the Sāṁkhya holds that
vyāpti is found in all sorts of inference.

 For them, inference are of two sorts; i) affirmative (vita), ii)

negative (avita). In case of the former, inferences are constituted of
universal affirmative propositions.

 But in case of the later, it consists of universal negative

propositions.

 The Sāṁkhya accepts the five-membered syllogism of the Nyaya as

the most adequate pattern of inference. The Sāṁkhya School
adores sabda as an independent source of valid knowledge.

 Sabda or verbal testimony is of two kinds, ‘laukika’ and ‘vaidika’.

 BONDAGE AND LIBERATION
 The self, who is eternal, pure conscious, and all pervading, due to its
ignorance identifies itself with the mānas, ahṁkara, and mahat which are
the products of Prakrti.

 Thus, it experiences the worldly pain and suffering. The universe is

constituted of manifold objects, and since objects are embedded with
gunas and selves and even interrelated among them, suffering is
unavoidable.

 This is so because the Sāṁkhya claims that wherever there is guna

there is suffering.

 Further, they said that the life in heaven is also controlled by the gunas.

 Since there are sufferings and bondage, there are also paths leads to
liberation, emancipation or salvation.

 On Sāṁkhya account, there are two sorts of liberation. These are; i)

Jivanmukti ii) Videhamukti
 The self attains freedom from worldly suffering and
realizes truth in one’s life living in the earth is known as
jivanmukti.

 In case of videhamukti, the self attains complete

liberation from all sorts of sufferings. This is achieved
after death only.

 Thus, videhamukti is known as kaivalya.

 This is understood as liberation from the gross body.

 The Sāṁkhya theory of liberation is termed as ‘apavarga’,

the purusartha or the summum bonum of life.
 Evolution
 The world and worldly objects are created because of the
contact between Prakṛti and Purusa. The Prakṛti alone
can’t create the world because it is material.

 In the same manner the Purusa can’t create the world

independently because he is inactive.

 Hence, the contact between Prakṛti and Purusa is

necessary for the evolution to start though they are
possessing different and opposite natures.
 An example can help you to understand the nature of Purusa
and Prakṛti in a better way and clear manner.

 The Prakṛti is like a blind man and the Purusa is like a lame
man cooperate each other to reach their destination.

 The lame man sits on the shoulders of the blind mind and
pointing to him the way where to go and in which direction
to move.

 In much the same manner, the inactiveeternal Purusa and

the conscious Prakṛti cooperate with each other in order to
start the evolution.
 Regarding their contact, the Sāṁkhya says, there is no real
contact took place between Prakṛti and Purusa.

 But their mere closeness or nearness with each other

disturbs the stability of the gunas of Prakrti.

 When these three gunas; sattva, rajas, tamas disturb and

disrupt, they are constantly mixing and dissociating. As a
consequence, evolution begins.

 A sage named Kapila has described the order of creation

which is accepted by the Sāṁkhya Philosophy.

 The order of creation is as follows.

 Mahat
 Mahat is the first product of evolution.

 It is cosmic in its nature. Besides this fact, it has psychological aspect

in which it is called intellect or buddhi. Here, it is important to
mention that buddhi should not be understood as the same as
consciousness.

 The reason is buddhi is material whereas consciousness is eternal. An

important function of buddhi is to take decision which is a part of
memory act.

 This helps to distinguish between the known and the knower.

 Sattva is predominately found as an attribute of buddhi.

 Buddhi helps to identify the soul or the ātman which differs from all
physical objects and their qualities.
 Ahaṁkāra
 Ahaṁkāra is understood as ‘ego’ in English. It is the second
product of evolution. Ego is identified as “I” or “mine” feelings of
an individual.

 Every individual has buddhi, and since ahaṁkāra is a practical

element of buddhi, it is found in all individuals. Because of ego the
purusa looks upon himself as an active agent, desire and strive for
ends, and possesses characteristics.

 An individual perceives an object through sense organs. Then

mind reflects on these perceptions and determines their nature.
Following this, the attitude of ‘mine’ and ‘for me’ is attributed to
these objects.

 This is nothing but regarded as ‘ego’. In this product (ahaṁkāra),

all these three gunas of prakruti operates.
 Mānas
 According to the Sāṁkhya Philosophy, mānas or mind is
neither eternal nor atomic.

 It is constituted with parts and thus can come into

contact with the different sense organs simultaneously.

 Mind helps to analyze and synthesize the sense-data into

determinate perceptions.

 Being an internal sense organ, it is aware of objects

belonging to the past, present, and the future.
 Jñānendriyas
 Jñānendriyas are known as five sense organs; nose, ears, eyes,
skin, and tongue.

 On Sāṁkhya views, sense is an imperceptible energy or force

which exists in the perceived organs and apprehends the
object.

 This implies, the sense is not the ears but their power of
hearing. Thus, the senses are not perceptible but can infer.
They are informed from the functions that they perform.

 The five sense organs produce knowledge of touch, colour,

smell, heard, and taste. All these are born because of the
Purusa and they are the result of ego or ahaṁkāra.
Karmendriyas
 Karmendriyas is understood as the five organs of
action which reside in mouth, ears, feet, anus, and
the sex organ.

 They perform the functions respectively as speech,

hearing, movement, excretion, and reproduction.

 The cause of the creation of these organs is the

desire of Purusa for his experience.
Tanmātrās
 There are five tanmātrās; sabda or sound, sparsa or
touch, rupa or form, rasa or taste, and gandha or
smell.

 All are very subtle because they are the elements of

the objects.

 Hence, they can’t be perceived but inferred. The

Sāṁkhya School viewed that the five elements;
earth, water, air, fire, and ether have their origin in
the five tanmātrās.
 Mahābhutas
 There are five mahābhutas found in the cosmos namely
 Air or Vāyu
 Fire or Agni
 Akāsa or Ether
 Water or Jala
 Prathivi or Earth

 Their respective qualities are; touch, colour, sound,

taste, and smell. The Sāmkhya theory of evolution is
illustrated in the following diagram for your clarity and
better understanding.
 Why is Sankhya philosophy important in
Education?
 Sankhya philosophy believes that it is self-knowledge rather than some external agent or factor that
leads to salvation. It has greatly contributed to our understanding of the environment and man’s
relationship with the environment.

The Sankhya philosophy believes
 That the action or Karya is inherent in a cause.
 Thus, the development of man is already inherent in man.
 The work of gaining self-knowledge or education is to develop man to the fullest extent.

 This philosophy considers that education is essential to show one the difference between Prakriti
(matter) and Purush (spirit).

 The Purush or the soul enlightens the three senses of man.

 It believes that the liberation of the soul or Mukti is the ultimate purpose of one’s life.

 Only when man distinguishes between the matter and the spirit can he obtain release from the
miseries of life.

 According to the Sankhya philosophy, this is the main purpose of education.

 Some great works on Sankhya philosophy

 Sankhya philosophy is an important aspect of the Indian tradition. However, only three texts
defining this great philosophy are available at present. They are:

 • Samkhya sutra: The Samkhya sutras were written by the founder of Sankhya philosophy,
Sage Kapila. His works propound the benefits of scientific inquiry. It adheres to the concept
of Dwaitvada, or Dualism, where the soul and matter are two different entities.

 • Samkhyakarika: The Samkhya Karika written by Ishvara Krishna is the oldest surviving
text on the Sankhya philosophy. Ishvara Krishna was a disciple descendant of the Great Sage
Kapila. It consists of 72 shlokas written in the Arya meter. Ishvara comes from the Kausika
family, and he simplified the theories of Sankhya by Pancasikha.

 • Gaudapada Bhasya: This is a popular commentary on Samkhyakarika by Gaudapada. It

caused renewed interest in Sankhya philosophy during the medieval era.

 • Sastitantra: The science of sixty topics, which is now lost. This book predates Ishvara
Krishna and has a reference in his book, the Samkhyakarika.
THANK YOU
 Reference:

 sa ca kāryakāraṇānanyatvābhyupagamātpratyāsanno vedāntavādasya|
devalaprabhṛtibhiścaściddharmasūtrakāraiḥ svagrantheṣvāśritaḥ, tena
tatpratiṣedhe yantro'tīvakṛto nāṇvādikāraṇavādapratiṣedhe|
Brahmasūtraśāṅkarabhāṣya, I.4.28

 Śantiparva, 316. 2

 John Davis: Hindu philosophy, preface.

 https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Sankhya-
Philosophy.pdf