Samkhya Philosphy and Yoga

Few days back i wrote a post on Ultimate Purpose of Human Births and today going further i m writing in brief about Samkhya or Sankhya Philosphy and Yoga.

Samkhya Philosphy accepts three of six pramanas( proofs) as the only reliable means or sources of gaining knowledge.These include : perception, inference and word or testimony of reliable sources.

Samkhya is strongly dualistic, it regards the Universe  as consisting of two independent realities which are: consciousness and matter. These two realities exist parallel to each other and consequently not affecting each other.A Living Being is that state in which consciousness is bonded to matter in some form.This fusion led to the emergence of intellect and ego.The thoughts that appear in the mind are considered a part of matter. The Universe is created by consciousness-matter entities further infused with different elements like senses, feelings, activity and mind.During state of imbalance, one or more of these constituents overwhelms the other, creating a type of bondage, particularly of the mind.Liberation or Kaivalya is the end of this imbalance and bondage.

All matter has essentially three Gunas which are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas but in different proportions. Each Gunas is dominant at specific times.Intensity level of these Gunas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines progress of life.

Yoga is Science or techniques for practical realization of philosophical truths of Sankhya or Samkhya. Yoga is derived from Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning to join or to unite. Simply put Yoga signifies “ Union”. When soul of man unites with the Spirit (or the Ultimate), the ultimate Union is described as Yoga. This Yoga is the ultimate Goal or purpose of every Truth Seeker.Anyone who practices an effective technique to ultimately attain this supreme or divine union is a Yogi.