Systems of Indian Philosophy

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 46

INTRODUCTION
be convenient and useful for us to discuss his treatment of these systems one by one.
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1. SANKHYA
Gandhi bases his account of the Sankhya system on the version of it that we find in the Sankhya Sūtras (a version not essentially different from that found in the Sankhya Kārika and one entitled to be treated as 'Classical Sankhya'). Students of Indian Philosophy attach importance to the Sankhya system for diversenay, mutually opposite-reasons. Those inclined to favour idealism (of the Advaita Vedanta type, say) emphasize the fact that according to Sankhya the world of day-to-day experience (in its capacity as an evolute of prakṛti) is real to a soul-in-bondage (i.e. a soul-under-ignorance) but unreal to an emancipated (i.e. an enlightened) soul; those inclined to favour realism emphasize the fact that according to Sankhya prakṛti, the root-cause of the world of day-to-day experience, is a reality co-eternal with the multiplicity of souls. As a matter of fact, the Sankhya philosopher's position on the question is considerably obscure, it being really difficult to make out as to what he precisely means by his thesis that prakṛti evolves itself in the form of the world of day-to-day experience for a soul that is in bondage while it ceases to do so for a soul that is emancipated. With this obscurity in the background we can easily follow Gandhi's account of the Sankhya system. Gandhi gives prominence to the Sankhya philosopher's contention that the world of day-to-day experience evolved out of prakṛti is not an illusory appearance and that the souls are many in number, a contention directed against two fundamental theses of Advaita Vedanta. But he raises pointed objection against the Sankhya position that buddhi ('intellect' in Gandhi's translation) is a product of prakṛti (which in turn is a physical entity) while ahankara ('self-consciousness' in Gandhiji's translation) is a product of buddhi.