________________
32
OUTLINES OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
shoot of the Sârikya system, others that Buddhism is anterior to the Sânkhyam. Both are right. Buddhism certainly precedes what we call now the Sânkhya system, but it depends on what is called Sarikhyam in the Mahâbhâratam. Originally Sânkhyam (calculation, reflection) does not mean a certain philosophical system but philosophical enquiry in general; it is the opposite of Yoga, which means the attainment of the âtman by means of concentration in oneself. The words are thus used where they occur for the first time (Çvet. 6, 13), and it is an open question, demanding further research, whether not only in the Bhagavadgitâ but also throughout the Mahâbhâratam the words Sânkhyam and Yoga are not so much names of philosophical systems as general terms for the two methods of reflection and concentration. Without entering into details we may say that even in the Mahâbhâratam the primordial matter (prakrit) is opposed to a plurality of souls (purusha); but both are more or less slightly dependent on Brahman as on the highest principle. This is the starting point both of the later Sârikhyam which rejects Brahman as the connecting link, and of Buddhism which denies not only God but also the soul.
Buddhism
23. The success of Buddhism in India was due in part to the overwhelming personality of its founder, in part to the breaking down of caste prejudices by which he opened the road to salvation to the great masses of the population. Only in small measure did the Buddhism owe
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
