Axioms of Advaita from Sankhya
Recently, as part of a presentation of essential teachings of selected Indian Darshanas, we were studying the Ten Tenets of Sankhya. Despite the fact that Sankhya is a dualistic philosophy, some of those Ten Tenets are patently Advaitic. It could be argued that Lord Kapila, the “Father” of the Sankhya System, was simply creating the superb foundation on which other systems could be built. Perhaps, he himself was really Advaitic, but the times called for a clear delineation of the Self and the not-Self, Consciousness and matter, that all philosophical perspectives could use. Hence, he proposes two eternal verities, Purusha and Prakriti, the Sentient Self and the insentient matter-energy Principle. He says there are many Purushas. Indeed, that is the rub for Advaitists; for how can there be more than one Infinite, eternal Self? Definitely, that is a logical conundrum. But, what if we consider the possibility that these multiple Purushas are really the true soul of beings, correlative to what is referred to as a sixth kosha in some schools, the “Atmamaya Kosha”?
Whatever the case may be, despite these two issues, the tenets of Sankhya are well worth contemplating – some as statements of Advaitic truth and others as axioms with which to apply the practice of viveka, discrimination between the real and the unreal.
1) There exists a conscious, sentient Self – Purusha
2) There is an insentient, unmanifest cause – Prakriti
Note that, as in Advaita philosophy, the Sentient Self is not the cause of anything.
3) The Purusha exists for no other entity
This is a very subtle point to contemplate. By doing so, we put everything in proper perspective. The Self is master and never slave to anything consisting of matter, energy, or thought. Everything we see in Prakriti, Nature, stands in relation to everything else in Nature. But the Self is unrelated, that is, it transcends cause and effect. One of Swami Aseshanandaji’s oft-repeated statements is that Reality is never a compound.
4) Matter exists to serve Purusha.
Purusha, the Self, is the sole enjoyer or witness of all phenomena. Our sacred mythology explains this poetically and directly. Here are two examples:
<> The image of Siva receiving alms from Annapurna – The Great God Siva, the wandering Yogi of supreme renunciation, holds out His alms bowl to the Goddess Annapurna, who fills it with rice from Her infinite abundance. Siva represents the Self. Annapurna represents Prakriti. “Anna” means rice; “purna” means fullness. But a deeper understanding is that “anna” means the very principle of “objectness.” Annapurna is that aspect of Prakriti (or Shakti in other systems) who feeds all beings at all levels of existence – food for bodies, “food” for each of the senses and also for the mind, such as higher thought. Siva, the Self, is the sole Enjoyer of all phenomena.
<> From the scripture, Adhyatma Ramayana, known as the nondual version of the Ramayana – Ramachandra asks Sita to explain to Hanuman about His (Ram’s) real nature. Complying, Sita turns to Hanuman and explains that Ram is the unmoving, all-pervasive, immutable Reality – the sun of blazing Wisdom in whom the darkness of ignorance can never exist. She describes Herself as Prakriti who, by merely being in Ram’s proximity, projects myriad forms and circumstances on Him, which ignorant beings assume belong to Ram. Then She recites the significant events of Ram’s life and asserts that they are all Her projections and have absolutely nothing to do with Ram. Ram sits not, walks not, sorrows not, etc. Prakriti provides all of that.
5) Purusha is distinct from Prakriti and Its evolutes.
Prakriti, correlative to Maya, produces names and forms tirelessly, from subtle to gross, from Mahat (Cosmic Mind) to the Pancha Mahabhutas (the Five Great Elements), which continue to evolve into all the solid sense objects of earthly experience. All these are insentient, and the Self is distinct as the unchanged Witness of all this phenomena.
6) The Purusha is not an agent of action.
Agency arises in Buddhi and Ahamkara, two of the Twenty-Four Cosmic Principles, and is therefore an evolute of Prakriti.
7) Union of Prakriti with Purusha occurs.
8) Separation of Prakriti from Purusha occurs.
These two tenets of Sankhya are only “apparently so.” We often use the example of oil and water. They appear to mix if you shake them up in the same container (i.e. the body-mind complex), but let them sit undisturbed (like in meditation), and they naturally separate (revealing the Seer and the seen).
9) There are many conscious Purushas.
This is where Vedanta and Sankhya have to agree to disagree. However, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, one can speculate about Kapila’s intent and his own realization. Another thought is perhaps he was primarily focused on how the individual seeker of Truth can get free via expert discrimination between the Sentient and the insentient.
10) After self-realization, the body may continue to exist via the momentum of its own laws.
This is a very early assertion of the jivanmukti state, the state of the living liberated, and the role of prarabdha karma. Prarabdha karma is that portion of past karma that one takes up in any given lifetime. One who attains liberation, burns away past and future karma, but the prarabdha karma continues until it is exhausted – thus the body continues. Sri Ramakrishna gave the example of a potter fashioning a vase on a potter’s wheel. He works on it until it is perfectly shaped and smooth. Then he gives the wheel a final push and walks away. The vase is perfect, but it continues to spin until the wheel comes to a stop.
