Prakr ti

Snkhya theory of causation means logically leads to

the concept of Prakr ti as the ultimate cause of the
world of objects
All objects of the world, including our body and mind, the
senses and the intellect are limited and dependent things
produced by the combination of certain elements
The world is a series of effects and that it must have a
cause
What then is the cause of the world?
It cannot be the purusa or the self, since the self is neither
a cause nor an effect of anything
The cause of the world must be some principle which is
other than and different from spirit, self or consciousness

 Can this not-self be the physical elements or the

material aotms?
According to Carvaka, the Buddhas, the Jainas and the
Nyaya-Vaisesikas, the atoms of the earth, water, light
and air are the material cause of the world
According to Sankhya that material atoms cannot
explain the origin of the subtail product of the nature
Such as the mind, the intellect and the ego

 The ultimate cause of the world must be some

unintelligent or unconscious principle which is
Uncaused, eternal and all pervading very fine and always
ready to produce the world objects
That is the Prakr ti

as the uncaused root-cause it is called prakr ti

As the first principle of this Universe, it is called
Pradhan
The products are cause, dependent, relative, many
and temporary as they are subject to birth and
death

 Prakr ti is uncaused, independent, absolute, one and

eternal, being beyond production and destruction
Motion is inherent in the form of Raja
As the source of inanimate world, it is unconscious
The entire world of objects is implicit in the bosom of
Prakr ti
Evolution is the explicit manifestation of this world of
object
Dissolution is the returning of this world to prak r ti

 Sankhya believes that an consciousness cannot be

regarded as the source of inanimate world as
Vedanta believes
Because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself
into the unintelligent world
Unintelligent, unmanifest, uncaused, ever active,
imperceptible, eternal and on Prakr ti alone is the final

source of world objects

The existence of Praakr ti as a ultimate subtail
cause of the world is know by the following

1.

All the individual things in this world are limited, dependent,

conditional and finite

2.

The finite cannot be the cause of the universe

Logically we have to proceed from the finite to the infinite, from limited
to unlimited, from temporary to permanent, from many to the one

All worldly things possess certain common characteristics by

which they are capable of producing pleasure, pain and
indifference

3.

Hence there must be a common source composed of three Gunas,

from which all worldly things arises

All effects arise from the activity of the potent cause

Evolution means the manifestation of the hitherto implicit as the explicit

The activity which generate evolution must inherent in the world cause

4. The effect differs from the cause and hence the

limited effect cannot be regarded as its own cause

The effect is explicit and the cause is implicit state of a

same process
The effect points to a world cause where they are
potentially contained

5. The unity of the universe points to a single cause. And

that cause is Prakrti
Praakr ti is constituted by the three gunas of Sattva,
Rajas and Tamas

Unity of the gunas held in a state of equilibrium

 What are these gunas?

Gunas means a constituent element not an attribute or
quality
They are the elements of the ultimate substance
They are called gunas because their being subservient to
the ends of purusa
Or because their being intertwined like the strands of a
rope which binds soul to the world

The gunas are not perceived by us

They are inferred from the objects of the world which
are their effects
Since there is an essential identity between the
effect and its cause

 We know the nature of gunas from the nature of their

products
All objects are composed of three characters capable of
producing pleasure, pain and indifference respectively
The same things are pleasurable to some person, painful
to another and natural to a third

Ultimate cause of things must have been

constituted also by the elements of pleasure, pain
and indifference
Sankhya calls these three sattva, rajas and tamas
These are constitutive of both prakrti, and ordinary
objects of the world

 Sattva: is the element of prakrti which is of the nature

of pleasure and light, and bright or illuminating
The manifestation of objects in consciousness
The tendency towards conscious manifestation in the
senses the mind and the intellect
The luminosity of light and the power of reflection are all due
to the operation of the element of sattva
Pleasure in its various forms, such as satisfaction, joy,
happiness, bliss contentment etc. is produced by things in
our mind through the operation of the power of sattva

 Rajas: is the principle of activity in things

It always moves and makes other thing move
It is mobile and stimulating
On account of rajas the fire spreads, the wind blows, the
senses follow their objects and the mind becomes
restless
Raja is the cause of all painful experiences and is itself of
nature of pain
It helps the element of sattva and tamas, which are
inactive and motionless, to perform their functions

 Tamas: is the principle of passivity and negativity in

things
It is opposed to sattva in being heavy and in obstructing
the manifestation of objects
It also resists the principle of rajas
It counteracts the power of manifestation in the mind, the
intellect and things and thereby produces ignorance and
darkness, and leads to confusion
By obstructing the principle of the activity in us it includes
sleep, drowsiness, and laziness

 We observe that it is one of constant conflict as well

as cooperation
They always go together and can never be separated
form one another
Nor can any one of them produce anything without the
help and the support of the other two
Just as the wick and flame, which are relatively opposed
to one another, cooperate to produce the light of a lamp
The gunas cooperate to produce the objects of the world
All the three gunas are present in everything of the world
But each of them tries to suppress and dominate the
others
The nature of things is determined by the predominant of