The Samkhya argument: Matter does not vanish, and neither do we!

We have talked a lot about robots in the past few editions, and about the consciousness that they do not, and cannot possibly possess. Also, in its analysis of material nature, science has gained a lot of depth. But it seems to have hit a wall there as well, ever since Quantum Physics took over Newtonian Physics.

Are we 'sentient beings' made of matter and nothing more? Science is not sure. I discussed this in a blog some time back. While Newton’s laws are at the level of our immediate perception and focus on everyday objects or celestial bodies, quantum physics operates at the atomic and subatomic levels. And as we delve deeper into the atoms that are the source of our material being, we are in for a shock. Matter starts vanishing! Allow me to reproduce an extract from that blog. You can find it here .

?An atom consists of a central nucleus, which contains positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. Electrons occupy regions around the nucleus called electron orbitals or electron shells. These orbitals are regions of probability where electrons are most likely to be found. Now electrons do not follow classical patterns like planets around the sun. But they exist in quantum states – characterised by wave functions and probability distributions.

From this probability calculation, scientists have concluded that around 99.99% of an atom is empty space, or space where the probability of finding an electron is extremely low. And the size of a nucleus in relation to the whole atom is comparable to that of a fly in London’s Albert Hall. Or if an atom was the earth, the nucleus would be 200 m in diameter!

The particles in the atom - Electrons, muons, tauons, quarks, and gluons have no mass, and are fundamentally made of energy. That is confounding in itself, considering that all matter, including us humans, is fundamentally made of atoms. It has led to a radical new hypothesis that our constitution is essentially energy and very little matter.

Samkhya, the philosophy of numbers

So the question of “what is the source of being” is an open question still, where both science and philosophy have come up with very interesting frameworks and concepts. I have of course talked about Vedanta a lot, which is one of the 6 prominent orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. But this time around, I am taking up another very intriguing school of philosophy called Samkhya.

The name Samkhya itself comes from the Sanskrit word that means number. That reflects this school’s focus on a systematic categorization and enumeration of the fundamental principles of reality. It also means ‘the right knowledge’ or discriminatory knowledge - differentiating right from wrong.

Vedanta believes that there is only one ultimate reality - the Brahman. But Samkhya hypothesizes the existence of two eternal and independent realities:

Purusha: The pure, passive, unchanging consciousness or self. It is the observer, distinct from the material world.

Prakriti: The primal matter or nature, dynamic and the source of the material world. It comprises three Gunas (qualities): Sattva (balance), Rajas (activity), and Tamas (inertia).

Purushas (or souls) are infinite, and Samkhya’s main argument is that if one body dies, the others do not. In the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna says:

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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 20||

The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

While Samkhya has not captured our imagination as much as Vedanta has, the philosophy has definitely had a profound impact on other Indian philosophies. Vedanta and Tantra both take the theory of creation from Samkhya philosophy. In fact, Samkhya has done a very phenomenal elaboration of the components of matter, and identified 24 tatvas or components.

Samkhya, in philosophical terms is ‘dualistic realism’. The two realities of Purusha and Prakriti will remain, and transcend time and space. In fact they are beyond time and space. We discussed a few weeks back about what is real, unreal and what is an illusion . A famous shloka from the Bhagavad Gita says:

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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 16

That which is real never goes out of existence. That which is unreal never comes into existence. Those who are truly wise understand the difference.

Real or apparent effect?

Now we totally understand how robots come into being, at least those in the field do. But how does existence, or how do these sentient beings come about. Every effect is said to have an underlying cause, right? If we exist as sentient beings, there must be a source where we come from.

On this basic premise, Vedanta and Samkhya have a very different point of view. To understand this more clearly, we must know some essential concepts. There is a term in Indian philosophy called Satkaryavad, which addresses the relationship between cause and effect, and thereby creation. Satkaryavada (???????????) can be translated as the "theory of pre-existent effect." According to this theory, the effect (karya) of anything is pre-existent in the cause (karana). So the effect is not something new that comes into existence, but is rather an unfoldment or manifestation of what is already inherent in the cause.

The effect exists in the cause in an unmanifested form. It manifests when the right conditions are met, be it the making of a clay pot or the birth of a child. The cause goes through a real, or apparent change or to become the effect.

This theory of cause and effect for evolution may seem simple otherwise, but not when Samkhyan and Vedantic philosophies would debate with each other! Here is how the two differ on this point:

Vivartavada (Theory of Apparent Transformation)

Vivartavada posits that the effect is merely an apparent transformation of the cause, not a real change. The underlying reality remains unchanged, and the perceived change is due to illusion or misapprehension.

This is the view that Vedanta believes in, when it says that Brahman or universal consciousness is the only reality and the whole world is just an apparent manifestation (Maya) of that supreme consciousness. It is like a mirage in the desert, or when in dim light or lack of knowledge, you may mistake a rope for a snake. So in the Vedantic view, it is our ignorance that we are unable to perceive the reality of the universe and are only able to comprehend the apparent reality or Maya.

In Advaita Vedanta, the world is compared to a pot made of clay. The clay (Brahman) remains unchanged, while the pot (the world) is an apparent form created by Maya. The pot does not represent a real change in the clay, but an apparent one. Can you find where the clay exists in the pot? There is no place where clay ‘is not’, and similarly, Brahman is omnipresent in the universe.

Parinamavada (Theory of Real Transformation)

Parinamavada posits that the effect is a real transformation of the cause. The cause undergoes an actual change to become the effect, maintaining a continuity between the two.

An example is milk turning into curd. When milk is transformed into curd, the milk undergoes a real change. The curd is a real transformation of the milk, and the original substance (milk) is altered to become the new substance (curd). Similarly, a seed transforms into a tree through a series of real changes.

In Samkhya philosophy, Prakriti (primordial matter) undergoes real transformations to produce the manifest world. The various elements and entities in the universe are real transformations (Parinama) of Prakriti.

Interestingly, Samkhya does not posit the need for a creator or God entity either. So it is surprising that it does not get the same interest from Science as Vedanta does (at least that is my impression from popular media). Moreover, it talks about Prakriti transforming into the manifest world through actual changes in its inherent properties, which is quite similar to Darwin’s theory of evolution.

How do Prakriti and Purusha interact? What are these three gunas and how do they interface with each other? How does creation take place? What are the elements of matter? And how do you exit the cycle of birth and death? And how does Yoga come into the picture? I will examine these ideas in the coming blogs.