18. Īśvarakṛṣṇa: Verses on Enumeration
A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy - Mohammed Rustom
Mikel Burley [+]
University of Leeds
Description
The Sāṃkhyakārikā (Verses on Enumeration) of Īśvarakṛṣṇa (c. 350–450 CE) is the oldest surviving systematic articulation of the Sāṃkhya school of Indian philosophy, the founder of which is traditionally said to be the sage Kapila. Expounded in the text is a system of basic factors or principles, which together constitute everything that must be known and differentiated if liberation from suffering is to be achieved. Central to the system is a fundamental distinction between Nature and the true person or Self. Nature is the source both of the capacities that enable anything to be experienced and of the constitutive material of experience, comprising modes of sensory content and perceptible elements. Each living being has—or is—a Self; hence there are multiple Selves, even though each of them is, in essence, pure inactive consciousness. When a Self is in “conjunction” with Nature, the threefold structure of the latter becomes active, generating the world of experience. By coming to discern the difference between the Self and Nature, the goal of spiritual liberation is realized, consisting in the “aloneness” of the Self. The present translation includes most of the Verses on Enumeration, along with explanatory comments by the translator.