The false Kapila (Sankhya #01)
There are two versions of the Sankhya philosophy: the original, devotional Sankhya taught by Lord Kapila, and the atheistic Sankhya propounded by the atheistic Kapila. What is the difference?
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Introduction: The false Kapila
Srila Prabhupada mentions several times in his purports that there are two versions of the Sankhya philosophy: the original, devotional Sankhya taught by Lord Kapila, and the atheistic Sankhya propounded by the atheistic Kapila who appeared in the last dvapara-yuga. Before studying the real Sankhya, it can be interesting to know something about this false Sankhya that appeared closer to modern times.
At the end of dvapara-yuga, by the time of Vyasadeva, the disciplic succession of the Vedas had been broken. The verses of the Vedas were still being transmitted and studied, but the real meaning of the scriptures had been lost.
At the time, the original disciplic succession of the Vedas had degenerated into six separate schools that were mainly atheistic. They still transmitted parts of the original knowledge but had lost the main conclusions of the scriptures. In the Nyaya school, logic and reasoning were studied, but without an ultimate goal, they had become mainly tools for winning discussions. The Vaisesika school studied the laws of cause and effect, and how material misery could be destroyed, but without any understanding of the Lord, their theories culminated in a form of nihilism. Similarly, the study of the material elements and other structures of the universe had degenerated into the atheistic Sankhya, propounded by the impostor Kapila.
While the original Sankhya system taught by Lord Kapila studies the material elements and other aspects of the material creation with the ultimate purpose of ascending to a platform of devotional service, the system propounded by the atheistic Kapila discards the existence of God and concludes that the cause of the material world is the material energy itself, similar to what is believed in modern scientific theories. Vyasadeva dedicates most of the 4th pada of the Vedanta Sutra to defeat this philosophy. The Vedanta-sutra is composed of 16 padas, so almost 1/16 of the work dedicated to defeating a specific philosophy is substantial.
In Vaishnava philosophy we accept that this material world is not false, but illusory. Although temporary, the material manifestation factually exists and everything that exists should be used in Krsna's service. When we do that, we understand that ultimately there is no material world. Since everything is a transformation of Krsna's energy, everything is connected with Him, and everything is ultimately spiritual. However, under the influence of Maya, we try to separate things from Krsna, and that's what makes them material. As long as we are under the false concepts of "I" and "Mine", we live in the material illusion, and as soon as we start seeing everything in connection with Krsna and using everything in His service we become liberated, even if we are still technically living in this world. In other words, there is a delicate balance between the ideas of this world being real and being illusory.
In the atheistic Sankhya, prakṛti, the material energy, is the ultimate material cause, producing both the gross material elements, as well as the subtle components, such as mind, intelligence, the three material modes, and so on. Just like modern scientists, Sankhya philosophers believe the cosmic manifestation comes from the material energy itself, without a superior cause.
Apart from prakṛti, there is puruṣa, but this puruṣa is not the Lord, but just an impersonal mass that is the collective of all souls, who interact with prakṛti. This puruṣa is originally one, but it is divided into all the infinitesimal souls when it decides to enjoy the material nature. In the atheistic Sankhya, only these two elements exist: the material energy and the souls, who come to enjoy the cosmic manifestation. There is no God.
This atheistic Sankhya system comes originally from the Vedas, therefore some parts are similar to what we study in the Srimad Bhagavatam. For example, they believe that in the process of creation, prakṛti gives origin to different subtle energies, which are gradually transformed into gross energies, which in turn give origin to atoms and finally to different material objects. During the process of dissolution, the opposite happens, with physical objects being broken into atoms, which in turn dissolve into the gross energies, which dissolve into the subtle energies, and everything ultimately dissolves back into prakṛti, the unmanifested mass of material energy. Between the two stages, many material manifestations appear due to the influence of the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance.
In Vaishnava philosophy, we also study the interaction between matter and spirit due to the influence of the three material modes. The main difference is that in the atheistic Sankhya, there is no reference to God, which makes the explanation very materialistic and incorrect in some points. For example, because Īśvara, or God, is not accepted in the atheistic Sankhya, the interaction of the three material modes is considered the ultimate cause of the cosmic manifestation. According to this idea, the three modes originally exist in a state of equilibrium in prakṛti, and when this equilibrium is somehow disturbed, they become distinct and start to act as three separate forces.
When separated, the modes are constantly reacting to each other and this becomes the cause of the whole material manifestation. Pradhana, or prakṛti, the material nature, is the origin of the three modes, and the modes are the cause of everything else, therefore prakṛti is the ultimate cause of everything, even though it is an unconscious force.
The atheistic Sankhya philosophy is based on studying the different material elements and interactions between them with the goal of finally becoming free from material influence. The study of buddhi, or intellect, is given special importance. According to their philosophy, buddhi possesses eight qualities: virtue (dharma); knowledge (jnana); detachment (vairagya); excellence (aisvarya); non-virtue (adharma); ignorance (ajñana); attachment (avairagya); and imperfection (anaisvarya). The first four manifest under the influence of sattva-guna, and the other four manifest when buddhi is overpowered by ignorance. They explain that the soul identifies with buddhi, the material intelligence, and thus experiences what the material intelligence is experiencing. Through knowledge, however, the soul can eventually understand to be transcendental to it.
In this way, the atheistic Sankhya philosophy more or less describes the interactions between the individual souls and the material nature, details that are also explained by Lord Kapila in the original Sankhya. However, because they don't accept the existence of God, their theory is incomplete. Their concept of liberation is also impersonal, with the souls attaining kaivalya, impersonal liberation upon achieving freedom from material nature. Because there is no God, there is no concept of relationships in the spiritual platform, there is also no form after liberation, just impersonal existence.