Sankhya Shastra & Maharishi Vyasa

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Sankhya Shastra & Maharishi Vyasa

(Epistemology of Existence)

By Surin Usgaonkar*

 

Abstract: The following essay re-looks at the writings of Maharishi

Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, the writer of the Mahabharata and composer

of the Bhagavad Gita that the followers of the religion of Hindus

today hold as their sacred Dharma-Grantha. The essay here wishes to

introduce readers to the uniqueness of Gita as well as its consummate

philosophical enquiry into the evolution, nature and ultimate

destruction of the visible universe and subsequent enquiry into the

true nature of the God. The essay contains the two aspects; the

first, which deals with the epistemology and the Sankhya Shastra

regarding the existence and nature of the Supreme Self. And second

the help and assistance that the Bhagavad Gita offers to the common

man in handling the abstract concept of God. For intellectuals,

Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita are the most intelligible sources of

Adhikrit (official) Sankhya Philosophy besides the treatise of

Isvarakrishna in furtherance of their knowledge and for a common man

in every walk of life it is a prescriptive book which offers a

tutorial on good and successful living.

 

Main Text

 

One of the most difficult concepts to understand and handle in

ancient Hindu scriptures is " Sankhya " . However, without understanding

the science of Sankhya it is not possible to have deeper insight into

Hindutva or Hindu Dharmashastra. Sankhya is probably the

epistemological core of the " Vedic " thinking of cosmos and life. It

is the " Sankhya " which gives Hindutva its philosophical richness and

a profound flavour.

 

The exact translation or meaning of the term " Sankhya " from the

original Sanskrit is extremely difficult and my friends within the

University campuses shall have their own interpretations none of

which are easy to contest. Meaning of the word, prima facie, appears

to mean a science that has something to do with numbers or method of

counting. There are scholars who believe that since this science

involves listing and counting of number of properties of the universe

the term may have come into existence. However the definition, which

appeals to me the most, is the one, which defines Sankhya as analysis

and a serious inquiry of the " ultimate truth " or an individual who

has attained this knowledge of such an ultimate truth. In Gita the

word, at least from the context, appears to have been used in a

manner to mean " Philosophy " .

Whatever is the pure linguistic meaning of the word there seem to be

an unanimous agreement among the scholars of ancient times

that " Sankhya " is one of the most important school of philosophical

school. This theory has been granted the status of one of

the " Darshana " among the six important " Darshanas " of the

Dharmashastra of Hindus. Darshana in Sanskrit is literally translates

as " philosophy " in English.

One of the great scholars of Sankhya in the ancient times is Rishi

Panchshikh and treatise written by him; called " Shashthitantra " which

forms the part of the Adhikrut Sankhya Shastra and is said to have

contained sixty different subjects and sixty thousand " gathas " .

Unfortunately the treatise is not available. One of the relatively

easily available treatises on the subject titled as " Sankhya-Karika "

is written by Ishvarakrishna; this could have been written few

centuries BC (believed that it could not have been after 200 AD).

However a Chinese translation of this treatise was done around 546 AD

[ii]. Chanakya the author of the famous " Arthashastra " was well

versed in Sankhya. Arthashastra was written around 300 BC coinciding

with the period of Chandragupta Maurya's rule over the subcontinent.

The importance that the ancient scholars like Vyasa accorded to this

science is evident from the verses Shanti-Parva of the Mahabharata:

The verses (Sec 290, 102, 103, 104) read as:

dvividhaanIha bhUtaani pR^ithvipate .

jaDagamaagasamaGNani jaDagama.n tu vishiSyate ..102..

Dyaane mahadyamaddhimahatsu raajan vedeSu saa.nkheSu tathaiva yoge .

Yaccaapi dR^iSTa.n vividha puraaNa.n saa.nkhyaagata tannikhila

narendra ..103..

YaccetihaaseSu mahatsu dR^iSTa.n yaccaarthashaastre nUpashiSTajuSTe .

GNYaanaM ca loke yadihaasti ki.nchitsaakhyaagata.n tacca

mahanmahaatman ..104..

(Translation: " There are two kinds of creatures on Earth, O lord of

Earth, viz., mobile and immobile. Of these that are mobile are

superior, That high knowledge, O king, which exists in persons

conversant with Brahma, and that which occurs in the Vedas, and that

which is found in other scriptures, and that in Yoga, and that which

may be seen in the diverse Puranas, are all, O monarch, to be found

in Sankhya philosophy. Whatever knowledge is seen to exist in high

histories whatever knowledge occurs, O king, in the sciences

appertaining to the acquisition of wealth as approved by the wise,

whatever other knowledge exists in this world,--all these,--flow, O

high-souled monarch, from the high knowledge that occurs among the

Sankhya.) [iii]

Mahrishi Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (known as " Dwaipayana " in ancient

Sanskrit treatises and in the modern ages is well known as Vyasa the

creator of the famous epic " Mahabharata " ) attaches immense importance

to this Shastra. Besides " Shanti-Parva " he mentions it and many of

its principles in various places in Mahabharata and prominently

in " Bhagvad Gita "

The riddle of existence

The riddle of existence appears in the very first shloka of

Isvarakrishna's Treatise Sankhya-Karika:

duHkha trayaabhighaataaj jiGYaasaa tad- apaghaatake hetau

dR^iSTe sa apaarthaa cen naikaantya antato.abhaavaat..1..

(From the shock of triple misery comes the desire to the means of

prevention; nor is the enquiry superfluous because of visible

remedies, for these cannot secure a certain and permanent solution.

Translation by Raghavan Iyer[iv])

Eshwarkrishna in next 74 shlokas of his treatise put down the basic

principles of the Sankhya theory, which was originally proposed by

the sage Panchashikha

Since the original treatise of " Panchashikh " is lost in the time,

for us the most important ancient work on the Sankhya Shastra, apart

from the Eswarkrishna's work which is fairly recent, comes from

Bhagvad Gita which appears as a part of Bhishma Parva of Vyasa's

Mahabharata and is written in a classic Sanskrit style as a dialogue

between Arjuna and Lord Krishna (assumed to be almighty the Narayana

himself). Gita's Chapter II is wholly devoted to this Shastra however

the whole of Gita seems to be full with the wisdom of Sankhya.

Importantly, Vyasa appears to be the first writer who writes with a

clear intent of solving the riddle of existence rather that further

mystifying the same.

What are the Sankhya principles?

1. There are two types of " tattvas " (could be loosely translated as

principles), which exist in the universe. One is called

the " Prakriti " (or Pradhana) and the other is called the " Purusha " .

2. These properties always existed in the Universe (Even when the

physical universe did not exist) and they shall continue to exist

even after destruction of this physical universe.

3. When these two properties come together in a particular

combination, among billions of possible permutations, ultimately five

basic properties (Earth, wind, sky, fire and water) get created.

[Note: Earth does not mean the earth as a planet but earthly

properties, similarly wind does not mean the wind that blows on the

earth, sky means the ever pervading space and fire means the energy

(of creation and destruction) and water means the organic

properties]. These are also called (In Gita) as " Pancha-mahabhuta " [v]

4. After creation of these basic properties the ever evolving and

changing animate and inanimate world gets created

5. Paradox: It is believed by some that the " Prakriti " and " Purusha "

came together in a required combination (or always will come

together) by a pure coincidence or by a sheer accident. Where is the

need for the God here? There are others who believe that there is an

all-pervading power, which brought them together in a particular

combination. A power that is higher in form higher than the universe

and retains its control and influence over the entire universe. This

power is the cause of all that seem to happen as if by an accident.

This power was perhaps termed as " The God " or " the Brahma " meaning

the ultimate truth. The paradox gave rise to two types of

philosophical schools. One that accepts the existence of god and the

other that does not find it necessary to accept the existence of God

and is known as " Nireshvaravadi " .[vi]

6. Both these schools of thought accept the principle of the theory

which states that there is no true " aetiology " meaning nothing is

caused to happen. The cause (or reason) is embedded in the happening

(or the resultant action).

7. The day any part of " Purusha " (which is present in all living

creatures and probably in the inanimate objects also " ) gains

knowledge of how it got into this labyrinth leading to this

combination he discovers the way out of the labyrinth and becomes

free. This state is known as " Moksha " . Moksha is the ultimate

ambition and objective of all living creatures especially the Humans.

All that one does in the small intervening period in which he/her is

alive and manifest (small period compared to cosmic time) is to

achieve this objective. It is described as " Param

puruSartha " .

Epistemology in Gita - Vyasa and Sankhya

The subject, in itself, is too vast and would actually mean holding

serious inquiry into the nature and existence of the universe, which

cannot be the objective of the current essay.

All sciences, even an exact science like modern mathematics has

within its body of knowledge a principle of an " Axiom " or

a " Postulate " . Even Euclidean geometry states that " two points

determine a unique straight line " this is accepted as a postulate and

is not proved separately. It is self-proved or " swayamsidha " . In fact

if the postulate[vii] is not accepted and if one thinks of re-

developing the whole science of an Euclidean geometry without this

postulate one may recreate a same body of knowledge in a

different " formal language " .[viii]

" Vyasa " accepts the existence of the God like no other scholar before

him did. Most of the development of Sankhya Shastra in the post

Mahabharata period (I agree with Dr P V Vartak that the period was

three years from 5561 BC)[ix] has a definite impact of Vyasa's

discourses on Sankhya (Gita). He can be credited as one of the most

influential thinkers of the bygone era whose contribution to all

aspects of tradition of civilization on the banks of Indus (Sindhu

river) is simply brilliant. In the spread of Adwait school of thought

and consequently the popularity of this school of thought over

the " Nirishwarvadis " (not accepting existence of god) the influence

of Bhagwad Gita is extraordinary.

It is important to know that the present Hindu Philosophy stems

from " Vedanta " and the words Vedanta and Advaita are used

interchangeably as synonyms in many ancient treatises. Bhagavad Gita

forms the " Smrti Prasthana " one amongst the three acknowledged

pillars of the Vedanta philosophy. (The other two being Upanishads

which are called Shruti Prasthana and Badarayana's Nyaya Prasthana).

Having accepted and established arguments in favour of existence of

God, Vyasa accepted the whole Sankhya Shastra as an important theory

and accepted all its principles. To quote glaring examples

Principle 1 above: in Bhagvad Gita Ch. II Verse 12

na tvevaaha.n jaatu naasa.n na tva name janaadhipaaH .

na caiva na bhaviSyaamaH sarve vayamataH param .. 2 ..

(There was never a time when I was not, nor these lords of men were

not and there shall never be a time in future when all this shall

cease to exist)

Similarly on of the most important principle viz. the principle

enumerated as Principle 6 above is found expressly in the following

verse of the Gita Ch. II verse 16

naasato vidyate bhaavo naabhaava vidyate sataH .

ubhayorapi dR^iSTo.antastattvadarshibhi .. 16..

(Of existent there is no ceasing to be and of non- existence there is

no coming to be…)[x]

However, Maharishi Vyasa stuns us with his sheer brilliance at many

places in the Bhagavad Gita some of the insights offered by the Gita

are the first ever in any tradition of the mankind. While the author

of Gita makes you believe in the God he springs equal number of

surprises at you regarding the nature and existence of God albeit

subtly To cite a few outstanding examples; taking about Vedic

knowledge Vyasa says: [bhagvad-Gita Ch II Verse 46]

yaavaanartha udapaane sarvataH samplutodake .

taavaan sarveSu vedeSu brahmaNasya vijaanataH .. 46..

Brilliant English translation of these words is by Sarvapalli

Radhakrishnan: " As is the use of a pond in a place flooded with water

same is the use of Vedas for a Brahmin who understands. "

Vyasa suggests the end of knowledge at the same time he hints here

that the knowledge that can be obtained by Five senses, mind and

intelligence is incapable of conceiving the concept of the ultimate

universal truth. He wants to emphasise that after obtaining the whole

knowledge that which is in the Vedas one must first transcend that

knowledge (post acquiring it) and then seek the ultimate truth. If

the enquiry is adulterated by the knowledge obtained through the

senses mind and intellect the enquiry in the ultimate truth shall be

futile.

This is true; what is unimaginable cannot be imagined by the mind.

Vyasa strengthens this argument in Chapter IX when Lord Krishna is

assumed to have shown Arjuna the universal form of himself (the

Narayana) here he distinguished between " divya chaksu " and " mansa

chaksu " (the former being the divine eye sight and the latter being

eye of the flesh or the human eye). Lord Krishna is assumed to have

temporarily bestowed upon Arjuna the power of divine eyesight to

enable him to see (or grasp) the Narayana in the universal form.

Whatever is the lyrical and poetic description the fact that the

author seems to emphasise here that what we imagine as a God is not

what he is and the way he (it) looks at you and the way you look at

him is so different that a two-way communication between the manifest

and an un-manifest is impossible. The author also presents the

arguments in the Chapter IX verse 5 on the nature of the god

na cha matsthaani bhUtaani pashya me yogamaishvaram .

bhUtabhR^inna ch bhUtastho mamaatmaa bhUtabhaavanaH .. Ch 9 , 5..

Here he uses the term yogamaishvaram = yogam + aishvaram meaning

divine mystery[xi] it appears that the author does want to suggest

that the entity, the creator is remote, distinct and possesses no

qualities which are generated and visible by the behaviour of the

matter and yet it is directly responsible in making the matter behave

in a fashion that it does and further states that the creator is

least affected by the behaviour of the matter. In the very next

shloka (No 6) he gives illustration of the " aakaasha " meaning the

space and in the succeeding shloka (No 7) he hurriedly speaks about

Cycles viz., kalpaksaya kalpadau meaning " time. " In short, the author

of the Bhagavad Gita seems to refer to the space-time (again I wish

to insist that I am not trying to draw any parallels between

Einstein's vision and the one that exists in treatise. It is hard to

conclude that whether it is space-time or " Space & Time together " )

which grants the matter the pattern of behaviour which is easier to

enquire into rather than the concept of space-time. That brings us to

what Isvarakrishna speaks about in the first shloka of Sankhya-

Karika - the " visible remedies " and their non-endurance.

Sociological Concepts - Moksha and Vyasa

(Helping the common man)

Bhagavad Gita leaves the intellectuals, philosophers and scientist in

a lurch. It gives them a food for thought and refuses to help them

further saying that this is as far as one can go in explaining; the

rest is for you alone to understand through your thought. Purer that

thought is clearer shall be your vision.

However, for the common man who wants to go through the journey of

life comfortably Vyasa offers a great help. A kind of help that a

common man cannot get from Vedas, Upanishads or other treatises of

knowledge. This is where he proposes the most revolutionary concept.

It is the concept of " Bhakti-Marga " . Most of the Vedic knowledge is

for the people who are of high learning and great intellectual

skills. The literature Vedic or otherwise prior to Mahabharata (and

some after it) thinks very little of the common man. According to the

Sankhya Shastra, for example, Moksha can only be attained by

understanding the nature of Brahma and truly understanding the

principles of creation of the universe and position of human in the

entire system. This is impossible for a common man. Does he have

hope? According to Sankhya, No chance. According to Vyasa by practice

of the Bhakti Marga it is possible that even a common man or even a

bad man who decides to reform himself is eligible for Moksha.

According to Gita (at various places) it is been propounded that

anyone who without the desire of the fruit surrenders to the wishes

of the Almighty God and worships him with pure intent is sure to

attain the " Param Purushartha " which is Moksha.

In the light of these discourses Vyasa's claim to be the first

Sociologist on the planet may not be exaggerated. It was him who and

consummately conceptualised the " Human Society " (or Manava Samaj).

He gave unprecedented importance to development and enhancement of

human society in his writings.

During the Mahabharata war when the Lord Krishna realizes that Arjuna

is not willing to kill Bhishma he (Krishna) breaks his vow and takes

a weapon in his hand. " Whether history records me as the one who

broke his promise (or Vow) or is far less important than the welfare

of the human society at large " that was Krishna's contention. This

concept at the end of Dvapara Yuga (about 7000 years ago) was a

statement of great vision and any analysis of Hindu Dharma's tenacity

in wake of the confusion and conflicts of the Middle Ages can be

traced to these and other principles of Bhakti Marg. It is the

advocacy of this principle that made Devaki-nandan (son of Devaki)

Bhagavan Krishna. " Bhaga " is a very rare adjective in Vedic Sanskrit

language and can only be applied to something truly extraordinary

[xii]; the concept of Bhakti lent hope to the common man to attain

the Moksha and developed a code of conduct, which resulted into an

enrichment of civilization sans doubt.

Religion of Hindus and its rich philosophy mentions several gods each

of them having great " Iconographic " and " Symbolic " significance. This

symbolism again is meant for those who are adept in the abstract

thinking. Knowing that this may result into confusion and conflict

among masses in future Vyasa composed verse 23 in Ch IX of Gita.

ye.apyanyadevataabhaktaa yajante shradhdayanvitaaH.

te.api maameva kau.nteya yajantyavidhipUrvakam .. 23..

Meaning O son of Kunti, the worshipers of all Gods (or god in any

form) when they worship them with faith ultimately worship me.

This composition is actually inspired by the Rigveda 01.164. 46 that

reads as under[xiii]

iMdra'm mitra.n varu'Naam aagnim aa'hur adho' divyu sa suparNo

gurutmaa'n .

eka.n sad vipraa' bahudaa vendanty agni yaman matarishvaa'naam

aahu ..R^i 164 46 ..

[Translation: " They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni. He is

heavenly nobly winged Garutman. To what is one, sages give many

titles they call it Agni, Yama, Matarishvan etc. " [xiv]]

Conclusion

Mahabharata and Gita are very important works which have deeply

influenced the tradition of Aryan civilization on the banks of Indus

and Saraswati rivers and which rapidly spread to the banks of Yamuna

and Ganga (Ganges) which was later (about 300-400 BC) named

as " Hindu " (Hindu is not a Sanskrit word. It is probably Iranian in

its origin was used by the emperor Darayas in 300 BC). To call " The

Gita " as a Holy Religious Book (Grantha) of Hindus on the lines on

which that word is used for " the Bible " or " the Koran " will not be

appropriate. Hindu Dharmashastra is unique in a way that any thinking

about its traditions can only be spoken about as " History of

Dharmashastra " . It is a tradition of living, which is ever evolving

according to the basic character of Nature and draws its strength,

relevance and tenacity from this.

If you look at the vast western literature of ancient or present time

it can be roughly divided as didactic, esoteric or playing to

the " gallery " . The Gita and the writings of Vyasa in Mahabharata are

unique. It is rich and overflowing with philosophy, it handles

profound subjects like the nature evolution and ultimate destruction

of the visible Universe, but it appeals to every individual and

touches his/her heart. It does not matter whether you are an

illustrious scholar of philosophy or an ordinary menial worker. It is

neither esoteric nor does it play to the gallery, it is written with

a deep, sincere and genuine concern for every human walking on this

planet. That makes Mahabharata the greatest epic and Gita great

enough to become eligible for a Sanskrit adjective " Bhaga " . We all,

whose heart and life it touches, call it " Bhagavad Gita " .

What is outstanding in Vyasa's writings is that any man in his

everyday life and without special skills or efforts can easily follow

the Bhagvad Gita, unlike many other brilliant Sanskrit treatises.

Whether you are in pursuit of wealth, knowledge or wielding or

seeking power it teaches you how to conduct yourself in society so

that neither you nor the society will denigrate.

Dr. Henry Kissinger, the secretary of state of the USA in 1971, while

commenting on the Indo-Pak war, had said " Hinduism is not a religion

of exaltation but of endurance, it has inspired men not through

prophetic visions of messianic fulfilment but by bearing witness to

fragility of human existence and offers not only salvation but a

solace from an inevitable destiny… " [xv]

Notes:

* Researched and written by Surin Usgaonkar

Contact usgaonkar

** MM stands for Mahamahopadhyaya (highest degree in Sanskrit during

British times) and NL stands for Nobel Laureate.

*** All Sanskrit Shlokas are written as per Itrans 5.2 notation and

are automatically machine convertible in Devnagari (sanskrit98 Font)

by using Itranslator 2003 available as a freeware on

http://www.omkarananda-ashram.org/Sanskrit/Itranslt.html

" History of Dharmashastra " by Bharatratna MM Dr PV Kane (Original

is in Five volumes).

[ii] Date according to MM Dr PV Kane (in History of Dharmashastra)

above.

[iii] " Translation of Mahabharata " by Dr Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-

1896 AD. Book 12 Section CCCII.

[iv] Raghvan Iyer, Hermes, September 1987 ed.

[v] Sanskrit verbal translation is Panch = Five; Maha = Great; and

Bhuta = that which is created. [Ref: Sanskrit dictionary by M V Apte -

1893]

[vi] Do not confuse this with the word " atheist " which is a Western

terminology meaning non-believers of Christ.

[vii] The Sanskrit word for Postulate is " Arthapatti " .