What Is Samkhya Yogic Philosophy?

For centuries, yogic philosophy has been a foundation of Indian culture, religion, and education. Whether or not you’re into yoga, there are some pretty important concepts to learn from it.

One of the most intriguing is Samkhya – one of six philosophical views of reality called “darshanas.” Here’s everything you need to know about this ancient school of thought.

What Is Samkhya?

The term Samkhya comes from a Sanskrit word meaning counting (numbers), enumeration or numbered philosophy. This school of thought is based on the enumeration of 23 principles that are considered fundamental to the universe and existence.

Samkhya yogic philosophy teaches the idea of duality and dualism. It is rooted in the Samkhyakarika text. The text is 21 verses long and serves as a commentary on the original Samkhya Sutra.

The Samkhya School of Hindu Philosophy uses reasoning to speculate on what came first, the creator or the creation, Isvara or Prakriti? It provides theoretical evidence for the existence of God but is primarily a dualist philosophy rather than monistic as found in Vedanta.

Vedanta is based on scripture, namely the Upanishads.

Three Types of Prakriti

Samkhya school believes that prakriti (nature) is a moral force for good and evil. A person's soul, or atman, can be released from the bondage of matter.

Prakriti is both the source of all things in nature and also the originator of all matter, life, motion and change.

Prakriti literally means "nature", and it's divided into three parts: outer nature, inner nature and transcendent nature.

The outer nature is the physical universe—the planets, stars and galaxies. The inner nature is your mind—your thoughts, feelings and sensations. The transcendent nature is your soul—the part of you that exists beyond time and space.

Prakriti & Purusha in Samkhya Philosophy

Samkhya recognises two realities - Purusha (spirit) and Prakriti (matter). It argues that everything in the Universe is either spirit or matter. The interplay between these two realities gives rise to the manifested Universe, which we experience through our senses.

The idea of purusha and prakriti is that there are two fundamental principles in the universe: the passive, unmanifest state (prakriti) and its active, creative counterpart (purusha).

Purusha and prakriti are not part of the universe. They are separate from it. Purusha is spirit—the soul, the witness—and prakriti is matter—everything else that makes up our realm (including yourself).

Prakriti is constantly changing through three different states: manifest (the material world), subtle (the mind) and causal (the intellect). And it is from these three states that everything in creation emerges.

Purusha is pure consciousness without attributes or qualities; it simply exists as itself. Prakriti is unconscious matter—the stuff out of which everything in this world develops—which has three gunas or qualities: sattva (peacefulness), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia). The balance between these three gunas determines all physical manifestations — from food to emotions to thoughts.

In Samkhya, liberation from karmas can be achieved by a knowledge that brings about understanding of the true nature of purusha and prakriti.

Together, these two constitute all there is in this universe—there are no other entities involved in creation or destruction.

Samkhya yogic philosophy believes that purusha can be entirely separated from prakriti: human beings are composed mostly of matter (prakriti), but they possess consciousness (purushas).

Therefore, any qualities associated with humans – such as happiness or sorrow – must be influenced by some sort of external force rather than any inherent qualities within ourselves alone; otherwise we would always feel happy no matter what happened around us.

The Samkhya yogic philosophy can help us understand why we do things, why bad things happen to good people, and most importantly, how to live our lives.

It teaches us that suffering is not necessary – it can be avoided if only we turn away from attachment to our karmas and start living in the present moment.

If you would like to dive deeper into yogic philosophy and anatomy then join our Yoga Beyond Asana Intensive.