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80-590: According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as: In Hinduism, many compound words are made using rūpa to describe subtle and spiritual realities such as the svarupa , meaning the form of the self. It may be used to express matter or material phenomena, especially that linked to the power of vision in samkhya , In the Bhagavad Gita, the Vishvarupa form, an esoteric conception of

160-490: A 1st millennium BC text on Sanskrit grammar and language that preceded Panini , Guṇa is declared to be derived from another root Gaṇa , which means "to count, enumerate". This meaning has led to its use in speciation, subdivision, classification of anything by peculiarity, attribute or property. This meaning has also led to its use with prefixes such as Dviguṇa (twofold), Triguṇa (threefold) and so on. In other contexts, such as phonology, grammar and arts, "Guṇa-" takes

240-542: A Nyaya scholar, suggests a somewhat different theory, stating that our awareness is of two types – true and false. True awareness is produced when we seek to observe some excellence ( guṇa ) in its cause, while false awareness results from observing fault ( dosha ) in its cause. In other words, in Gangesha's perspective, the observer's state of mind and attitude affects relational awareness. Chapters 2, 3, 7, 13, 14, 17 and 18 of Bhagavad Gita discuss Guna . Verse 17.2 refers to

320-481: A conceptual theme not found in Western philosophy where "quality" is presumed to be repeatable. It is also not found in some parallel schools of Hinduism. Repeatability means that the white in one object is same as white in other object, and white means the same thing. Nyaya scholars hold that "whiteness" is a guṇa of "white", but that is different from "whiteness" of an object or living being. To them, white has many hues and

400-532: A core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism. The Suttapiṭaka and the Agama s describe four stages of rūpa jhāna . Rūpa refers to the material realm, in a neutral stance, as different from the kāma -realm (lust, desire) and the arūpa -realm (non-material realm). While interpreted in the Theravada-tradition as describing a deepening concentration and one-pointedness, originally

480-435: A state of tension among its constituent strands or gunas – sattva , rajas and tamas . In a state of equilibrium of three gunas, when the three together are one, "unmanifest" Prakṛti which is unknowable. A guṇa is an entity that can change, either increase or decrease, therefore, pure consciousness is called nirguna or without any modification. The evolution obeys causality relationships, with primal Nature itself being

560-437: Is jivanmukti (Self-realization) and moksha . Guna theory's perspective on values constituting human personality is unique yet congruent with other ethical theories. Samkhya cosmology combines the three guṇas with primal matter (universe, Prakrti ). These are present in all things and beings in the world, and it is their interplay that defines the physical and psychological character and nature. They serve as

640-399: Is the philosophy of India!" Samkhya or Sankhya ( / ˈ s ɑː ŋ k j ə / ; Sanskrit : सांख्य , romanized :  sāṃkhya ) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy . It views reality as composed of two independent principles, Puruṣa (' consciousness ' or spirit) and Prakṛti (nature or matter, including the human mind and emotions). Puruṣa is

720-474: Is a Sanskrit word that, depending on the context, means 'to reckon, count, enumerate, calculate, deliberate, reason, reasoning by numeric enumeration, relating to number, rational'. In the context of ancient Indian philosophies, Samkhya refers to the philosophical school in Hinduism based on systematic enumeration and rational examination. The word samkhya means 'empirical' or 'relating to numbers'. Although

800-474: Is a thread, implying the original materials that weave together to make up reality. The usual, but approximate translation in common usage is "a quality". Guna appears in many ancient and medieval Indian texts. Depending on the context, it means: Guṇa is both a root and a word in Sanskrit. Its different context-driven meanings are derived from either the root or the word. In verse VI.36 of Nirukta by Yāska ,

880-426: Is complicated and likely experienced a non-linear development. Samkhya is not necessarily non-Vedic nor pre-Vedic nor a 'reaction to Brahmanic hegemony', states Burley. It is most plausibly in its origins a lineage that grew and evolved from a combination of ascetic traditions and Vedic guru (teacher) and disciples. Burley suggests the link between Samkhya and Yoga as likely the root of this evolutionary origin during

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960-502: Is crucial to Patanjali 's yoga system. The strands of Samkhya thought can be traced back to the Vedic speculation of creation. It is also frequently mentioned in the Mahabharata and Yogavasishta . Larson (1969) discerns four basic periods in the development of Samkhya: Larson (1987) discerns three phases of development of the term samkhya , relating to three different meanings: In

1040-555: Is defined in terms of its function; what it does, not what it is. As matter, rūpa is traditionally analysed in two ways: as four primary elements (Pali, mahābhūta ); and, as ten or twenty-four secondary or derived elements. Existing rūpa consists in the four primary or underived ( no-upādā ) elements: In the Abhidhamma Pitaka and later Pali literature , rūpa is further analyzed in terms of ten or twenty-three or twenty-four types of secondary or derived ( upādā ) matter. In

1120-520: Is disturbed, and Prakriti becomes manifest, evolving twenty-three tattvas , namely intellect ( buddhi , mahat ), ego ( ahamkara ), mind ( manas ); the five sensory capacities known as ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose; the five action capacities known as hasta, pada, bak, anus, and upastha; and the five "subtle elements" or "modes of sensory content" ( tanmatras ), from which the five "gross elements" or "forms of perceptual objects" (earth, water, fire, air and space) emerge, in turn giving rise to

1200-443: Is dominant at specific times of day. The interplay of these guṇa defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life. The Samkhya theory of guṇa was widely discussed, developed and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies. Samkhya's philosophical treatises also influenced the development of various theories of Hindu ethics. Thought processes and mental events are conscious only to

1280-694: Is ego-driven, out of personal passion, active, ostentatious, seeking the approval of others. In Chapters 17 and 18, Bhagavad Gita illustrates various items and actions by their three Guna . For example, three types of charity are discussed, and what makes charity Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic. Similarly, food, relationships, knowledge and actions are detailed in terms of the three Guna . In Chapter 18, for example: नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम् । अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते ॥२३॥ यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहंकारेण वा पुनः । क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ॥२४॥ अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् । मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ॥२५॥ Action that

1360-619: Is innate, subjective or describable. Early scholars of this school identified 17 qualities, which later scholars expanded to 24 guṇas . Different scholars of this school list the 24 differently; for example, Bhasarvajna disallows 6 of the 24 commonly accepted by the ancient scholars. The most commonly accepted list is: color, taste, smell, touch, number, contact, disjunction, farness, nearness, dimension, separateness, knowledge, pleasure, frustration, desire, hatred, effort, weight, fluidity, viscosity, dispositional tendency, merit, demerit, and sound. Nyaya school considers quality as non-repeatable,

1440-656: Is more understandable once it is realized that, at an earlier stage of development, Sanskrit e and o were ai and au , and Sanskrit ai and au were āi and āu .) Guṇa corresponds to what is now termed the full grade in Indo-European ablaut . Another orthography and phonology concept related to Guṇa is Vṛddhi . These innovations are not unique to Sanskrit, but also found in Greek, Latin, Italian and to some extent Russian. Guna and other rules of language for Sanskrit are described by Pāṇini in his Ashtadhyayi . In

1520-582: Is most related to Nyaya school, states that our awareness, understanding and judgments of any person and thing in the world is relational. All relations, holds this school of Hinduism, is dyadic between anuyogin (referend) and pratiyogin (referent). Guna (quality) is considered one of the seven padārtha (category) of relations. The others are: inherence ( samavaya ), being ( bhava ), genus ( samanya ), species ( vishesha ), substance ( dravya ) and motion/action ( karman ). Unlike Vaisheshika, Nyaya considers inherence as subset of guṇa (quality). Gangesha ,

1600-469: Is neither produced nor does it produce. No appellations can qualify Purusha , nor can it be substantialized or objectified. It "cannot be reduced, can't be 'settled'". Any designation of Purusha comes from Prakriti , and is a limitation. Unlike Advaita Vedanta , and like Purva-Mīmāṃsā , Samkhya believes in plurality of the Puruṣas . Prakṛti is the first cause of the world of our experiences. Since it

1680-413: Is often mistranslated as 'matter' or 'nature' – in non-Sāṃkhyan usage it does mean 'essential nature' – but that distracts from the heavy Sāṃkhyan stress on prakṛti's cognitive, mental, psychological and sensorial activities. Moreover, subtle and gross matter are its most derivative byproducts, not its core. Only prakṛti acts. Puruṣa is considered as the conscious principle, a passive enjoyer ( bhokta ) and

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1760-432: Is rooted in agricultural concepts of the union of the male sky-god and the female earth-goddess, the union of "the spiritual, immaterial, lordly, immobile fertilizer (represented as the Śiva-liṅgam, or phallus) and of the active, fertile, powerful but subservient material principle (Śakti or Power, often as the horrible Dark Lady, Kālī)." In contrast, The ascetic and meditative yoga practice, in contrast, aimed at overcoming

1840-402: Is that not only physical entities but even mind, ego and intelligence are regarded as forms of Unconsciousness, quite distinct from pure consciousness. Samkhya theorizes that Prakṛti is the source of the perceived world of becoming. It is pure potentiality that evolves itself successively into twenty four tattvas or principles. The evolution itself is possible because Prakṛti is always in

1920-416: Is the first principle ( tattva ) of the universe, it is called the pradhāna (chief principle), but, as it is the unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the jaḍa (unintelligent). It is composed of three essential characteristics ( triguna s). These are: Unmanifested Prakriti is infinite, inactive, and unconscious, with the three gunas in a state of equilibrium. When this equilibrium of

2000-484: Is very different than most Vedic speculation – but that is (itself) quite inconclusive. Speculations in the direction of the Samkhya can be found in the early Upanishads." According to Ruzsa in 2006, "Sāṅkhya has a very long history. Its roots go deeper than textual traditions allow us to see," stating that "Sāṅkhya likely grew out of speculations rooted in cosmic dualism and introspective meditational practice." The dualism

2080-779: Is viewed as the net result of the joint effect of these three qualities. According to Samkya school, no one and nothing is either purely Sattvik or purely Rajasik or purely Tamasik. One's nature and behavior constitute a complex interplay of all three guṇas, in varying degrees. In some, the conduct is Rajasik with significant influence of Sattvik guṇa; in some it is Rajasik with significant influence of Tamasik guṇa, and so on. The balance of Gunas of everything and everyone can change and does. However, change in one quality faces inertia from other two qualities in Indian worldview. Change needs internal or external influence or reinforcement, as knowledge and force to transform. The force to change comes from

2160-441: Is virtuous, thought through, free from attachment, and without craving for results is considered Sattvic; Action that is driven purely by craving for pleasure, selfishness and much effort is Rajasic; Action that is undertaken because of delusion, disregarding consequences, without considering loss or injury to others or self, is called Tamasic. Similarly, knowledge that is attached to object of action, without concern for understanding

2240-603: The Prakṛti is the enjoyed ( bhogya ). Samkhya believes that the puruṣa cannot be regarded as the source of inanimate world, because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself into the unconscious world. It is a pluralistic spiritualism, atheistic realism and uncompromising dualism. Puruṣa is the witness-consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable through other agencies, above any experience by mind or senses and beyond any words or explanations. It remains pure, "nonattributive consciousness". Puruṣa

2320-569: The Puruṣa that has attained liberation is to be distinguished from a Puruṣa that is still bound on account of the liberated Puruṣa being free from its subtle body (synonymous with buddhi), in which is located the mental dispositions that individuates it and causes it to experience bondage. Puruṣa , the eternal pure consciousness, due to ignorance, identifies itself with products of Prakṛti such as intellect (buddhi) and ego (ahamkara). This results in endless transmigration and suffering. However, once

2400-550: The Puruṣa , but that liberation is like bondage, wrongly ascribed to the Puruṣa and should be ascribed to Prakriti alone. Other forms of Samkhya teach that Mokṣa is attained by one's own development of the higher faculties of discrimination achieved by meditation and other yogic practices. Moksha is described by Samkhya scholars as a state of liberation, where sattva guṇa predominates. Samkhya considered Pratyakṣa or Dṛṣṭam (direct sense perception), Anumāna (inference), and Śabda or Āptavacana (verbal testimony of

2480-428: The Puruṣa : By seven modes nature binds herself by herself: by one, she releases (herself), for the soul's wish (Samkhya karika Verse 63) · Vacaspati gave a metaphorical example to elaborate the position that the Puruṣa is only mistakenly ascribed bondage: although the king is ascribed victory or defeat, it is actually the soldiers that experience it. It is then not merely that bondage is only mistakenly ascribed to

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2560-497: The Rajas guṇa, the Sattva guṇa empowers one towards harmonious and constructive change, while Tamas guṇa checks or retards the process. In Indian mythology, Vishnu is envisioned with more Sattva , Brahma with more Rajas , and Shiva seen with all three Gunas . In Nyaya (Generality or common features) school of Hinduism, there is extensive debate on what Guna means, and whether quality

2640-502: The Sanskrit grammatical tradition ( Vyakarana ), guṇa refers to a set of normal-length vowels that are less reduced than the basic set (in modern terms, the zero grade ), but more reduced than the vṛddhi vowels (in modern terms, the lengthened grade ). As an example, ṛ, i, u are basic (zero-grade) vowels, with corresponding guṇa (full-grade) vowels ar, e, o and vṛddhi (lengthened-grade) vowels ār, ai, au . (This

2720-516: The guṇas is disturbed then unmanifest Prakṛti , along with the omnipresent witness-consciousness, Purusha , gives rise to the manifest world of experience. Prakriti becomes manifest as twenty-three tattvas : intellect ( buddhi , mahat), ego ( ahamkara ) mind ( manas ); the five sensory capacities; the five action capacities; and the five "subtle elements" or "modes of sensory content" ( tanmatras : form ( rūpa ), sound ( shabda ), smell ( gandha ), taste ( rasa ), touch ( sparsha )), from which

2800-453: The jhānas seem to describe a development from investigating body and mind and abandoning unwholesome states , to perfected equanimity and watchfulness, an understanding which is retained in Zen and Dzogchen. The stock description of the jhānas , with traditional and alternative interpretations, is as follows: Samkhya "Samkhya is not one of the systems of Indian philosophy. Samkhya

2880-483: The tattva (तत्त्व, elementary property, principle, invisible essence) of someone or something. In the context of philosophy, morality and understanding nature, "Guna-" with more dental na takes the meaning of addressing quality, substance, tendency and property. In abstract discussion, it includes all hues of qualities – desirable, neutral or undesirable; but if unspecified, it is assumed with good faith to be good and divine in Indian philosophy. Thus, Guṇi from

2960-414: The "whiteness" is subjective. In Laksanavali, an ancient Indian text by Udayana, Guna is discussed with more nuance. For example, he writes, "quality of earth" is specific only if it meets three conditions: it occurs in earth, does not occur in anything that is not earthy, and be a distinctive quality that cannot be described as combination of other qualities. In Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, which

3040-599: The Absolute is described. Overall, rūpa is the Buddhist concept of material form, including both the body and external matter. More specifically, in the Pali Canon , rūpa is contextualized in three significant frameworks: In addition, more generally, rūpa is used to describe a statue, in which it is sometimes called Buddharupa . In Buddhism , Rūpa is one of Skandha , it perceived by colors and images. According to

3120-618: The Samkhya and Mīmāṃsā schools appear to have been established before the Sramana traditions in India (~500 BCE), and he finds that "Samkhya represents a relatively free development of speculation among the Brahmans, independent of the Vedic revelation." Warder writes, '[Samkhya] has indeed been suggested to be non-Brahmanical and even anti-Vedic in origin, but there is no tangible evidence for that except that it

3200-711: The Vedas, early Upanishads such as the Chandogya Upanishad , and the Bhagavad Gita . However, these early speculations and proto-Samkhya ideas had not distilled and congealed into a distinct, complete philosophy. While some earlier scholars have argued for Upanishadic origins of the Samkhya-tradition, and the Upanisads contain dualistic speculations which may have influenced proto-samkhya, other scholars have noted

3280-482: The Vedic era of India. According to Van Buitenen, various ideas on yoga and meditation developed in the interaction between various sramanas and ascetic groups. The earliest mention of dualism is in the Rigveda , a text that was compiled in the late second millennium BCE., in various chapters. Nasadiya Sukta (Hymn of non-Eternity, origin of universe): There was neither non-existence nor existence then; Neither

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3360-453: The Yogacara school, rūpa is not matter as in the metaphysical substance of materialism . Instead it means both materiality and sensibility—signifying, for example, a tactile object both insofar as that object is made of matter and that the object can be tactically sensed. In fact rūpa is more essentially defined by its amenability to being sensed than its being matter: just like everything else it

3440-480: The agrarian theology of Śiva-Śakti/Sky-Earth and the tradition of yoga (meditation) do not appear to be rooted in the Vedas. Not surprisingly, classical Sāṅkhya is remarkably independent of orthodox Brahmanic traditions, including the Vedas. Sāṅkhya is silent about the Vedas, about their guardians (the Brahmins) and for that matter about the whole caste system, and about the Vedic gods; and it is slightly unfavorable towards

3520-653: The animal sacrifices that characterized the ancient Vedic religion. But all our early sources for the history of Sāṅkhya belong to the Vedic tradition, and it is thus reasonable to suppose that we do not see in them the full development of the Sāṅkhya system, but rather occasional glimpses of its development as it gained gradual acceptance in the Brahmanic fold. Burley argues for an ontegenetic or incremental development of Shamkya, instead of being established by one historical founder. Burley states that India's religio-cultural heritage

3600-667: The beginning of the first millennium CE. The defining method of Samkhya was established with the Samkhyakarika (4th c. CE). Samkhya might have been theistic or nontheistic, but with its classical systematization in the early first millennium CE, the existence of a deity became irrelevant. Samkhya is strongly related to the Yoga school of Hinduism , for which it forms the theoretical foundation, and it has influenced other schools of Indian philosophy. Sāṃkhya (सांख्य) or sāṅkhya , also transliterated as s amkhya and sankhya , respectively,

3680-641: The beginning this was Self alone, in the shape of a person (puruṣa). He looking around saw nothing but his Self ( Atman ). He first said, "This is I", therefore he became I by name. The early, speculative phase took place in the first half of the first millennium BCE, when ascetic spirituality and monastic ( sramana and yati ) traditions came into vogue in India, and ancient scholars combined "enumerated set[s] of principles" with "a methodology of reasoning that results in spiritual knowledge ( vidya, jnana, viveka )." These early non-Samkhya speculations and proto-Samkhya ideas are visible in earlier Hindu scriptures such as

3760-473: The cause, without concern for purpose or significance, is Tamasic knowledge; knowledge that is segregated, that considers everything unconnected, individualistic and meaningless is Rajasic; knowledge that sees one being in all beings, that seeks the whole, a unity in diversity , and similarities in the divided components is Sattvic. Furthermore, in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna advises Arjuna to transcend

3840-467: The cause. The cause under consideration here is Prakṛti or more precisely Moola-Prakṛti ("Primordial Matter"). The Samkhya system is therefore an exponent of an evolutionary theory of matter beginning with primordial matter. In evolution, Prakṛti is transformed and differentiated into multiplicity of objects. Evolution is followed by dissolution. In dissolution the physical existence, all the worldly objects mingle back into Prakṛti , which now remains as

3920-527: The dissimilarities of Shamkhya with the Vedic tradition. As early as 1898, Richard Karl von Garbe , a German professor of philosophy and Indologist, wrote in 1898, The origin of the Sankhya system appears in the proper light only when we understand that in those regions of India which were little influenced by Brahmanism [political connotation given by the Christian missionary] the first attempt had been made to solve

4000-405: The effect is pre-existent in the cause. There is only an apparent or illusory change in the makeup of the cause and not a material one, when it becomes effect. Since, effects cannot come from nothing, the original cause or ground of everything is seen as Prakṛti . More specifically, Samkhya system follows the prakṛti-Parināma Vāda . Parināma denotes that the effect is a real transformation of

4080-453: The extent they receive illumination from Purusha . In Samkhya, consciousness is compared to light which illuminates the material configurations or 'shapes' assumed by the mind. So intellect, after receiving cognitive structures from the mind and illumination from pure consciousness, creates thought structures that appear to be conscious. Ahamkara, the ego or the phenomenal self, appropriates all mental experiences to itself and thus, personalizes

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4160-490: The five "gross elements" or "forms of perceptual objects" emerge (earth (prithivi), water (jala), fire (Agni), air (Vāyu), ether (Ākāsha)). Prakriti is the source of our experience; it is not "the evolution of a series of material entities," but "the emergence of experience itself". It is description of experience and the relations between its elements, not an explanation of the origin of the universe. All Prakriti has these three guṇas in different proportions. Each guṇa

4240-421: The fundamental operating principles or 'tendencies' of prakṛti which are called: sattva guṇa , rajas guṇa , and tamas guṇa . When any of the guṇa is out of balance in a being or object, the Samkhya school suggests that a pattern of evolution starts, affecting not only itself but its environment. Purusha , or consciousness, is considered separate from Prakriti and changeless. In

4320-470: The happiness and serenity experienced by the individual. The guṇas are not considered static and set. Hindu literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, state it to be dynamic and changeable with knowledge, introspection and understanding of sva-dharma . Realizing one's sva-dharma and Self is emphasized in Indian ethical theories. The highest state of existence and bliss, in Advaita school of Hinduism for example,

4400-483: The limitations of the natural body and achieving perfect stillness of the mind. A combination of these views may have resulted in the concept of the Puruṣa , the unchanging immaterial conscious essence, contrasted with Prakṛti , the material principle that produces not only the external world and the body but also the changing and externally determined aspects of the human mind (such as the intellect, ego, internal and external perceptual organs). According to Ruzsa, Both

4480-628: The list of ten types of secondary matter, the following are identified: If twenty-four secondary types are enumerated, then the following fifteen are added to the first nine of the above ten: A list of 23 derived types can be found, for instance, in the Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhammasangani (e.g., Dhs. 596), which omits the list of 24 derived types' "heart-basis." In the sutras, jhāna is entered when one 'sits down cross-legged and establishes mindfulness'. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported by ānāpānasati , mindfulness of breathing,

4560-455: The manifestation of sensory experience and cognition. Jiva ('a living being') is the state in which Puruṣa is bonded to Prakriti . Human experience is an interplay of the two, Puruṣa being conscious of the various combinations of cognitive activities. The end of the bondage of Puruṣa to Prakriti is called Moksha (Liberation) or Kaivalya (Isolation). Samkhya's epistemology accepts three of six pramanas ('proofs') as

4640-424: The material cause of all physical creation. The cause and effect theory of Samkhya is called " Satkārya-vāda " ("theory of existent causes"), and holds that nothing can really be created from or destroyed into nothingness – all evolution is simply the transformation of primal Nature from one form to another. Samkhya cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between Purusha and Prakṛti

4720-506: The meaning of guṇa as "thread, string" comes from the root guṇa- in the sense of repetition ( abhyāsa ), while the Telugu commentator Mallinatha explains the root guṇa- is to be understood in Sisupalavadha as āmredana (आम्रेडन, reiteration, repetition). Larson and Bhattacharya suggest that the "thread" metaphor relates to that which connects and runs between what we objectively observe to

4800-544: The meaning of āmantraṇā (आमन्त्रणा, addressing, invitation) or abhyāsa (अभ्यास, habit, practice). In the Mahabharata Book 6 Chapter 2, the meaning of guṇa similarly comes in the sense of addressing each part (the root implying āmantraṇā), and thereby it means avayava (अवयव, member, subdivision, portion). In Sanskrit treatises on food and cooking, guṇa means quality, tendency and nature of ingredient. Ancient South Indian commentators, such as Lingayasurin, explain that

4880-653: The middle Upanishads, the Buddhacharita , the Bhagavad Gita , and the Mokshadharma -section of the Mahabharata . It was related to the early ascetic traditions and meditation, spiritual practices, and religious cosmology, and methods of reasoning that result in liberating knowledge ( vidya , jnana , viveka ) that end the cycle of duḥkha (suffering) and rebirth allowing for "a great variety of philosophical formulations". Pre- Karika systematic Samkhya existed around

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4960-472: The objective activities of mind and intellect by assuming possession of them. But consciousness is itself independent of the thought structures it illuminates. The Supreme Good is mokṣa which consists in the permanent impossibility of the incidence of pain... in the realisation of the Self as Self pure and simple. Samkhya school considers moksha as a natural quest of every jiva. The Samkhyakarika states, As

5040-651: The only reliable means of gaining knowledge, as does yoga . These are pratyakṣa (' perception '), anumāṇa (' inference ') and śabda ( āptavacana , meaning, 'word/testimony of reliable sources'). Sometimes described as one of the rationalist schools of Indian philosophy , it relies exclusively on reason. While Samkhya-like speculations can be found in the Rig Veda and some of the older Upanishads, some western scholars have proposed that Samkhya may have non-Vedic origins, developing in ascetic milieus. Proto-Samkhya ideas developed c. 8th/7th BC and onwards, as evidenced in

5120-426: The progress of life. In some contexts, it may mean "a subdivision, species, kind, quality", or an operational principle or tendency of something or someone. In human behavior studies, Guna means personality, innate nature and psychological attributes of an individual. Like many technical terms in other languages, guṇa can be difficult to encapsulate with a single English word. Its original and common meaning

5200-423: The puruṣa or soul'. Samkhya makes a distinction between two "irreducible, innate and independent realities", Purusha , the witness-consciousness, and Prakṛti , "matter", the activities of mind and perception. According to Dan Lusthaus, In Sāṃkhya puruṣa signifies the observer, the 'witness'. Prakṛti includes all the cognitive, moral, psychological, emotional, sensorial and physical aspects of reality. It

5280-545: The realization arises that Puruṣa is distinct from Prakṛti , is more than empirical ego, and that puruṣa is deepest conscious self within, the Self gains isolation ( kaivalya ) and freedom ( moksha ). Though in conventional terms the bondage is ascribed to the Puruṣa , this is ultimately a mistake. This is because the Samkhya school (Samkhya karika Verse 63) maintains that it is actually Prakriti that binds itself, and thus bondage should in reality be ascribed to Prakriti , not to

5360-595: The realm of space, nor the sky which is beyond; What stirred? Where? In whose protection? Gu%E1%B9%87a Guṇa ( Sanskrit : गुण ) is a concept in Hinduism , which can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property". The concept is originally notable as a feature of Samkhya philosophy. The guṇas are now a key concept in nearly all schools of Hindu philosophy . There are three guṇas ( triguṇa ), according to this worldview, that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in

5440-463: The riddles of the world and of our existence merely by means of reason. For the Sankhya philosophy is, in its essence, not only atheistic but also inimical to the Veda'. Dandekar , similarly wrote in 1968, 'The origin of the Sankhya is to be traced to the pre-Vedic non-Aryan thought complex'. Heinrich Zimmer states that Samkhya has non-Aryan origins. Anthony Warder (1994; first ed. 1967) writes that

5520-611: The root "Guṇa-" means someone or something with "divine qualities", as in Svetasvatara Upanishad hymn VI.2. Traditional Innate qualities and tendencies are key ancient concepts in Indian literature. Maitrayaniya Upanishad is one of the earliest texts making an explicit reference to Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and linking them to their Guna – as creator/activity, preserver/purity, destroyer/recycler respectively. The idea of three types of guṇa , innate nature and forces that together transform and keep changing

5600-446: The sages or shāstras) to be the only valid means of knowledge or pramana . Unlike some other schools, Samkhya did not consider the following three pramanas to be epistemically proper: Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation, deriving from circumstances) or Anupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof). The Samkhya system is based on Sat-kārya-vāda or the theory of causation. According to Satkāryavāda,

5680-404: The term had been used in the general sense of metaphysical knowledge before, in technical usage it refers to the Samkhya school of thought that evolved into a cohesive philosophical system in early centuries CE. The Samkhya system is called so because 'it "enumerates'" twenty five Tattvas or true principles; and its chief object is to effect the final emancipation of the twenty-fifth Tattva, i.e.

5760-539: The terminology of Ayurveda (traditional medicine), guṇa can refer to one of twenty fundamental properties which any substance can exhibit, arranged in ten pairs of antonyms, viz. heavy/light, cold/hot, unctuous/dry, dull/sharp, stable/mobile, soft/hard, non-slimy/slimy, smooth/coarse, minute/gross, viscous/liquid. Guṇa is also a concept in Ayurvedic medicine, as a system to assess conditions and diets . For this reason Triguṇa and tridosha are considered to be related in

5840-527: The theories of Dharma and Ashramas address the personal and social environment, as well as part of its institutional framework. Guna theory, states Crawford, represents a hierarchical theory of values, where the relative order of hierarchy is suggested to vary within each individual along with the relative proportion of each guṇa . The interplay of three guṇas affect an individual's values, and in Hindu worldview, these values affect individual's actions, as well as

5920-400: The three Guna – sattvic, rajasic and tamasic – as innate nature (psychology or personality of an individual). Sattvic guṇa is one driven by what is pure, truth, compassionate, without craving, doing the right because it is right, positive and good. Tamasic guṇa is one driven by what is impure, dark, destructive, aimed to hurt another, contemptuous, negative and vicious. Rajasic guṇa is one that

6000-418: The three modes of existence and other forms of dualism . Guna is one of the four important elements in the framework of ethical theories in Indian philosophy. Bommer et al. suggest that ethical/non-ethical behavior is an outcome of individual attributes, personal environment, social environment and institutional rules and laws. Guna theory is the ancient Indian philosophy on individual attributes, while

6080-522: The unconscious milk functions for the sake of nourishment of the calf, so the Prakriti functions for the sake of moksha of the spirit. Samkhya regards ignorance ( avidyā ) as the root cause of suffering and bondage ( Samsara ). Samkhya states that the way out of this suffering is through knowledge (viveka). Mokṣa (liberation), states Samkhya school, results from knowing the difference between Prakṛti (avyakta-vyakta) and Puruṣa (jña). More specifically,

6160-456: The undifferentiated, primordial substance. This is how the cycles of evolution and dissolution follow each other. But this theory is very different from the modern theories of science in the sense that Prakṛti evolves for each Jiva separately, giving individual bodies and minds to each and after liberation these elements of Prakṛti merges into the Moola-Prakṛti . Another uniqueness of Sāmkhya

6240-406: The witness-consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, beyond perception, above any experience by mind or senses, and impossible to describe in words. Prakriti is matter or nature. It is inactive, unconscious, and is a balance of the three guṇas (qualities or innate tendencies), namely sattva , rajas , and tamas . When Prakṛti comes into contact with Purusha this balance

6320-582: The world is, however, found in numerous earlier and later Indian texts. In Samkhya philosophy, a guṇa is one of three "attributes, tendencies, qualities": sattva , rajas and tamas . This category of guṇa s has been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phenomena. The three qualities are: In Indian philosophy, these qualities are not considered present in an either-or fashion. Rather, everyone and everything has all three, only in different proportions and in different contexts. The living being or substance

6400-431: The world. These three guṇas are called: sattva (goodness, calmness, harmonious), rajas (passion, activity, movement), and tamas (ignorance, inertia, laziness). All of these three guṇas are present in everyone and everything, it is the proportion that is different, according to Hindu worldview. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines

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