The Samkhya-Yoga school of Hinduism is considered by some philosophers to be the most significant schools of philosophy to come out of India. They have drawn this conclusion because of the fact that Samkhya deals integrally with metaphysics; making sense of our reality, and how we fit into it. The school has many complex principles, but the two most imperative notions are the ideas of pakriti and purusha. According to this school of thought, all that we know, see, and are, are created by pakriti and purusha, and the ways in which they interact with each other.
Purusha refers to the idea of our soul or spirit. This is also known as our individual atman by Hindus. The Hindu interpretation of the spirit is quite different from the typical western view of the soul, and can be difficult to conceptualize. According to the Samkhya School, it is pure consciousness, and, in essence, the purusha is our true selves. It is not affected by anything happening around is, as our bodies are, it does not die, and is eternal. It is not bound by space, size, shape, or any other definition.
Pakriti refers, broadly, to Nature; the physical world. It is not, however, simply matter. Pakriti can be thought of as the most basic pieces of Nature. “It is the primordial fabric of all that comes to exist, including mind.”. That is to say, it is everything in the world in its most basic and pristine state. It is, however, opposed to purusha. While purusha is conscious, pakriti is entirely unconscious.
The notion of the three gunas is an aspect of all pakriti. Gunas can be thought of as inherent traits within an object. According to the Samkhya School of thought, these three traits, or gunas, are sattva (clarity), rajas (activity), and tamas (inactivity). All pakriti exists in balance of the three gunas when it is in its natural state. It is not until it is observed by a purusha that it is knocked out of balance. Considering the fact that all pakriti is unconscious, it should be noted that being observed by purusha – true consciousness – in effect, activates it. When the pakriti is activated, the natural balance is lost. The gunas are plunged into a state of competition, each one attempting to be dominant trait.
What this means is that when we observe something, what we are seeing is the trait, or guna, which dominates it. A stationary rock, for example, would be dominated by tamas, while a hurricane might be driven by rajas.
In our everyday lives, we do not realize our Purusha. Our minds are clouded by our egos, and kept from seeing it, and by extension, true reality. The ego is created when our purusha views pakriti. As stated before, the purusha observes. When the purusha observes pakriti, it naturally attaches itself to it. That is to say, a person observes a tree and thinks “That tree is far away from me” the formation of this sense of self is the ego.
The ultimate goal of a practitioner of the Samkhya-Yoga school is to be able to cleanly distinguish between their purusha and the pakriti in their daily lives. While the purusha acts purely as an observer, it “recognizes the miseries and suffering associated with the production of the world.”. Hindu philosophy states that all suffering in life is created by ones inability to draw correct conclusions about reality. Our inability to see and be truly liberated, to achieve pure consciousness, is what causes pain in life. With these metaphysics gurus have sought to expand their minds and to stave off their own suffering as humans. With these same philosophies, even if they are not taken literally, a person can take the lessons of the Samkhya School and apply its ideas to themselves, which could potentially lead to a better lived life.
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