Concept of Brahman in Sankhya philosophy

Ṡarad-Iṣa-adhika-K15, 5126 K.E.

The following is an excerpt from the book “Sankhya across milleniums” by Swami Hariharanada Aranya of Kapilmath.

(pp. 9)

Ṡrutis (comprising the Vedas and the Upaniṣads) affirm two types of Brahman, saguṇa (with attributes) and nirguṇa (without attributes). Of them, saguṇa Brahman (saguṇa Īṡvara) is a particular Being who is the omniscient Lord and master of all, who by His innate divinity pervades the manifest universe with its animate and inanimate objects. He is Hiraṇyagarbha endowed with perfect knowledge, the first-born and the abiding soul of the cosmos, whose pervasiveness covers both outside and inside of every living being. ‘Hiraṇyagarbha existed in the past (in the previous cycle of creation) and reappearing in the present cycle became the sole Lord of the universe’ (Ṛgveda 10.121) and ‘As thousands of fiery sparks come out of a blazing fire, so do, O Somya, various things arise from the immutable Brahman and return even into Him’, says Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.1.1). In these and other passages the scriptures have pronounced the greateness of saguṇa Īṡvara whose mind envelops this mutating universe.

Nirguṇa Brahman, on the other hand, is pure Consciousness beyond the attributes of divinity. This nirguṇa Puruṣa is referred to in the following and other scriptural passages: ‘The unmanifest (pradhāna, the material cause of all that is manifest) is beyond mahat or pure I-sense and Puruṣa is beyond the unmanifest’ (Kaṭha Up. 1.3.11). This ultimate principle, Puruṣa without attributes was first realized i.e. correctly and comprehensively by revered sage Kapila, who then communicated to Āsuri, who in turn imparted it to Pan̄caṡikha.

(pp. 225)

Thus according to Sāṅkhya-yoga, the fundamental cause of creation is not Īṡvara. Any ideation of Īṡvara necessitates formulation of an individual with a mind. Therefore, Īṡvara must also be made up of prakṛti and puruṣa. Therefore, instead of Īṡvara, Sāṅkhya posits prakṛti and puruṣa as the fundamental constituents of creation. Even the word Īṡvara means a particular puruṣa with prakṛti attached, as explained in Ṡvētāṡvatara Up. 4.10: “Prakṛti is known as māyā, Īṡvara is One with māyā attached”. Even though He is not a fundamental constituent principle, it was agreed upon by Sāṅkhya-yoga (and all ārṣa philosphies) that saguṇa Īṡvara Hiraṇyagarbha originated the universe.

Virtue, wisdowm, detachment and Yogic powers, and their opposites are properties of buddhi (pure I-sense) of an individual. Variation in their relative compositions make for an infinite variety of living beings.

A person who has conquered avidyā (nescience) through viveka-khyāti or discriminative enlightenment is called liberated. Īṡvara is one such a being, only that He is eternally liberated and hence One with infinte knowledge. He must be aloof from all worldly matters, since it is illogical to consider a liberated being as one engrossed in mundane affairs.

An individual who has not attained discriminative enlightenment but has attained omniscience and omnipotence through samādhi (yogic concentration) is also acknowledged in Sāṅkhya, where He is called janya-Īṡvara. “He that is all knowing and is master of all” and “Such an Īṡvara is admissible”, these two Sāṅkhya-sutras (3.56 and 3.57) admit of the existence of a Lord of the universe, called Hiraṇyagarbha or Nārāyaṇa. “Hiraṇyagarbha existed before everything and is the one Lord of materially created objects” (RV 10.121) and such mantras from Ṛgveda and others readily support the above assertion of Sāṅkhya. The ideas of the ṛṣis e.g. there exist an infinite number of Hiraṇyagarbhas just as there are infinite number of universes, Yama, Indra, etc. are not in conflict with Sāṅkhya; in fact, they support the ideas of Sāṅkhya.

Therefore, in the light of Sāṅkhya, the twenty-five principles are the fundamental material and efficient causes of all creation, including Īṡvara etc. Pure awareness is Ātman or Puruṣa, not Īṡvara - who did not create this world nor does He maintain it. That is the job of Hiraṇyagarbha, Yama, Indra, etc.

The Akṣara-puruṣa of the Upaniṣads is the janya-Īṡvara or saguṇa-Īṡvara of Sāṅkhya, called Hiraṇyagarbha. As He sustains the world by His I-sense, He is the soul or Ātman of this world. “Such an Ātman is in the space of Brahman” and other Ṡrutis testify to this assertion. And the Supreme Ātman, “beyond and greater than the Akṣara”, “the Pure One, without life or mind”, is the nirguṇa Puruṣa of Sāṅkhya.

(pp. 272)

Ṡankara’s conception of Īṡvara is erroneous. If He is indeed omniscient, omnipotent, etc., He must have instruments of perception, conation, etc. He is indeed so in the Sāṅkhya point of view and thus cannot be a separate, pure principle in terms of which other entities can be explained. The two Ṡrutis Ṡankara cites (viz. Ṡvētāṡvatara 3.19, 6.8) are in perfect harmony with Sāṅkhya point of view. Both of them refer to nirguṇa Īṡvara, a specific eternally liberated Being, and hence made of prakṛti and Puruṣa like all created beings (except that His Divine mind lies dormant, unless required for liberating His devotees). Genuine devotees and even advanced adepts spontaneously attribute mental characteristics to Him, as reflected in these Ṡrutis. These are eulogistic and should be considered as such. Taking them literally, Ṡankara has to involve peculiar constructs e.g. “Īṡvara cannot see or act like ordinary mortals”, “He does not have a body” etc. While these statements hold true in ordinary language, it can be verified from Ṡrutis, as also from experience brought on by meditation, that He does have a body and can see, i.e., He is made up of the 25 principles like all created beings. Thus Īṡvara must be a combination of prakṛti and puruṣa.

(pp. 275)

Sāṅkhya also posits two states of Puruṣa, in bondage and liberated. This dualism is attributive, not real; awareness and nescience are states of mind (manas) which determines a Puruṣa’s appearing as liberated or bound. The difference with Māyāvāda is that while the latter claims that Puruṣa is always ware or knowing, i.e., nirguṇa Puruṣa and saguṇa Īṡvara are one and the same, Sāṅkhya says it is not so, awareness is a quality of mind, so it is Īṡvara-hood.

In Sāṅkhya view the knower is Cit-only, it knows vidyā and avidyā equally (i.e. as an unbiased witness). This knower is immutable. The knower whose mind is steeped in nescience, is the average individual; and whose mind is freed of all knowledge (including the highest enlightenment), is liberated. Īṡvara is eternally liberated. The Cit-only knower is not affected or mutated by either of these.

Sāṅkhya considers a person as Īṡvara when his inside is purified; else his Īṡvara-hood lies dormant. This dormancy has to be invoked by meditating on ‘I am He (Īṡvara)’ (ahaṃ brahmāsmi).

Ṡruti also talks of creation with the powers of Brahman, “I shall create many” (bahu syāṃ prajāyeyeti, Chāndogya Up. 6.2.3) and other Ṡrutis provide ample evidence of discussions from an ‘I-sense’ point of view i.e. of the actions of a mind. Brahman is thus an individual with a mind. Mind (manas) is an entity derived from prakṛti. Therefore, the cause of creation is prakṛti and puruṣa.

(pp. 281)

The Brahman or Ātman of Māyāvāda (or all Vedāntas) is full of bliss. But the Puruṣa of Sāṅkhya is not so, it is Cit-only.

Summary

Ātman = Puruṣa = individual Self (pure consciousness only, no bliss ānanda, no form). There are inifinite number of distinct Puruṣas. Each puruṣa is all-pervading, but finiteness is caused by embodiment. The only attributes of Puruṣa are its existence and consciousness. Puruṣa is an unbiased witness. Puruṣa is changeless (immutable).

Īṡvara or Brahman = eternally liberated Puruṣa. He is not exactly nirguṇa, but has the qualities of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence; but he is nirākāra formless (as all other puruṣas).

Īṡvara is an individual endowed with a mind full of supernormal qualities beyond comparison. Jīva or a knower is an individual with a mind (manas) much less developed.

Devatas = Puruṣas on their way to liberation (they have not yet attained enlightenment, but they are omnipotent and omniscient etc.). The are sākāra (formful).

It’s not like Īṡvara is untouched by Prakṛti. Both Īṡvara and Dēvatas are always in contact with instruments of prakṛti like perception, conation, etc. Prakṛti’s elements are dormant in Īṡvara but active in Devatas. The Ātman (Puruṣa) of Sāṅkhya is pure consciousness only. But the Ātman that created this world is not pure Consciousness, it is Hiraṇyagarbha of Ṡrutis. He is also referred to as the Ātman (soul) of the universe. The Ātman that engenders the mind, the prāṇas etc. (Puruṣa sūkta) is also not pure Consciousness, it is mahān-ātmā or pure I-sense.