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Contribution of Vachaspati-Mishra to Samkhya System

by Sasikumar. B | 2017 | 35,637 words

This page relates ‘Klesha or Viparyaya (afflictions) in Sankhya� of the research on the Sankhya [Samkhya] school of Indian philosophy with special reference to the contribution of Vachaspati-Mishra. The study includes concepts such as Epistemology (validity and worth of knowledge), Ontology (theory of being or reality), Psychology (science of behavior and mind), Phenomenology (the philosophical study of the structures of experience and consciousness) and Ethics (the removal of errors), all forming an essential part of Samkhya philosophy.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Chapter 4.2b - Kleśa or Viparyaya (afflictions) in ṅkⲹ

Kleśas or viparyayas are five in varieties. They are called:

  1. tamas (ignorance),
  2. moha (delusion),
  3. 峾dz (extreme delusion),
  4. 峾ś (gloom) and
  5. anta峾ś (blind gloom).

The sub-divisions of the major forms of viparyayas are about sixty-two. It is divided as the eight forms of tamas, eight forms of moha, ten of 峾dz, eighteen form of 峾ś, and another eighteen for anta峾ś. 峦貹پ Ѿś identifies the five kinds of misconception are the same as the five afflictions i.e., , asmitā, , 屹ṣa and 󾱲Ծś which are enumerated in the Yogasūtra.[1] Self-centeredness and the other attributes share the characteristics of the main quality that is viparyaya because they are born from the viparyaya. It may be so that after something has become an error, then it might be that the quality of egotism and the other qualities have arisen. This might have led the famous scholar ṣaṇy to say that “Ignorance is five-pointed�.[2]

Tamas or Avidyā

In ṅkⲹ tamas is of eight kinds. The variety comes from identifying the self with one or other of the principles like intellect, individuation, the mind and the five subtle elements.[3] 峦貹پ Ѿś points out that the tamas or ignorance, there are eight forms which has the idea of ʳܰṣa in connection with ʰṛt, buddhi, ṃk and the Pañcatanmātras.[4] The eight forms are not pertaining to ʳܰṣa. Tamas is not identical with the non-discrimination which is the cause of creation, because prior to the creation there exists non-discrimination which is the cause of ṃyDz between ʳܰṣa and ʰṛt. Tamas is one of the dispositions of buddhi, which is a product of ʰṛt.

Another form of tamas is the recognition of purity in impure things. For example, the body is impure, but one thinks that it is beautiful and very pure of merit or ṇy. The third kind of tamas is the recognition of pleasure in pain. In ṅkⲹ and Yoga, all the experiences are pain for one who possesses the discriminative knowledge. The fourth kind of is the recognition of the self in the not-self. This is taking the body for the ʳܰṣa.[5]

In Yogatattvavaiśāradī 峦貹پ Ѿś speaks of as a condition of mistaken identity.[6] The transient or the fleeting is regarded as eternal, the impure or the compounded is regarded as pure and that which is unreal is regarded as real. In the course of time, Man builds up an acquired nature. This is the product of mind’s reactions and resistances.

Moha or Asmitā

峦貹پ Ѿś explains that moha is the identity of blending together of the power of consciousness with the power of cognition.[7] This is the identification of the ʳܰṣa with matter, or that of the reality ʳܰṣa, with the body. This kind of moha arouses the false notion that the very great achievements in the world and in heaven through dharma, etc. are the ultimate aim of life. Asmitā is of eight kinds characterized by love of eight attainments such as ṇi, 󾱳, , 󾱳, پ, prākāmyā, vaśitvā, kāmāvasāyitā.[8] The gods in heaven have the powers of aṇima, etc, and these attainments are also the mahāsiddhis of the Yogins.

Here one should remember that ṅkⲹ rejects dharma, 岵ⲹ and śⲹ also, because they are hindrances to attain Apavarga. ñԲ alone is the aid for it.[9] One gets even the position of gods and the eight attainments, aṇima etc. through dharma, 岵ⲹ and śⲹ. 峦貹پ Ѿś says that they are only the sāttvika bhāva of buddhi.

In Yogatattvavaiśāradī , 峦貹پ Ѿś explains asmitā as the conception of identity between dṛkśakti and darśanśپ i.e., the seer and the seeing.[10] In other words the Sanskrit words are used in the sense of perceiver and the instrument of perception respectively. The act of perception is, indeed, the act of interpretation by the mind. When the perceiver is identified with the instrument of perception then what comes into being is asmitā. Truly speaking asmitā is nothing else but man’s identification with his mind.

Mahāmoha or Rāga

This is said to be the attachment to the objects of senses.[11] The attribute 岵 is said to have tenfold powers. The 岵 is referred to as attachment to the substances of senses like sound, odour, etc., which forms the earthly as well heavenly planes and has five forms each. Thus the 岵 is said to be tenfold.

峦貹پ Ѿś explicates 峾dz in ten kinds, five and five a徱.[12] The enjoyment of a person can be divided into two, the human and the divine. The enjoyment of the worldly objects through the five senses results in the five human varieties of 峾dz, and that of the divine object results in the five divine kinds of 峾dz. These together constitute the ten varieties of 岵. Rāga is said to be the cause of ṃs.

In Yoga also this is defined as the attraction towards any person or object when any kind of pleasure is derived from that person or object.[13] The experiences of pleasure through the sense organs bring attraction towards the object of experience. Rāga stands for deep desire for happiness and its means. This is a desire which is preceded by the memory of happiness. This is also called 峾dz in ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī

Tāmiśra or Dveṣa

Rāga naturally leads to峾ś which is also called 屹ṣa. Tāmiśrais said to have an eighteen-fold forms.[14] The eighteen-fold forms are the ten objects pertaining to sense, sound, etc. and the eight attainments like ṇi, 󾱳 etc. The quality of the objects of sense is suppressed and the path which leads to the accomplishment of the powers is obstructed by those sense objects.

In Yoga, 屹ṣa is the repulsion which accompanies pain.[15] Dveṣa, on the other hand, is the desire to relinquish sorrow and its means. This is preceded by the memory of sorrow. Rāga and 屹ṣa are the expressions of the pleasure principle which is at the root of man’s entire process of psychological becoming. To avoid pain is also a part of the seeking of pleasure. In 岵 and 屹ṣa one seeks pleasure, whether positively or negatively. Attachment is the positive search for pleasure, while a version is negative seeking of pleasure, that is, by avoiding pain.

Andha峾ś or Abhiniveśa

Andha峾ś is also eighteen folds and it relates to the same objects as 峾ś. According to 峦貹پ Ѿś the eighteen forms of 󾱲Ծś which is also meant clinging are the eight attainments ṇi, 󾱳 etc. and the ten forms of the sense objects 徱 and a徱. Here the eight attainments aṇima, 󾱳 etc. and the objects are always in the fear of the demons or ṣa. This fear is named as 󾱲Ծś.[16]

In Yoga 󾱲Ծś is the deep rooted experience of the fear of death.[17] The kleśa which is reduced to their root level is eradicated by dhyānayoga which is called as prasaṅkhyāna. The accumulation of karma is rooted in kleśas. The result of this karma is پ, ܲ, and bhoga (birth, life and experience). ʲٲñᲹ uses the word ‘svarasavāhi� which means something that is sustained by its own force or something that is automatic. This urge to live or a desire for continuity is so all pervading that it dominates even those who are learning. So 󾱲Ծś is an effort to put the dynamic into a framework of the static; it is an effort to impart a quality of continuity to that which is discontinuous.

Aśakti or Infirmity

The second subjective evolution is the śپ. 峦貹پ Ѿś explains the twenty-eight forms of śپ in 49th . The grievances of the eleven-organs along with the seventeen forms of buddhi are declared to make the twenty-eight fold forms of disability. The injuries of the buddhi are seventeen in number resulting from the failure of nine complacencies and the eight-attainments. The injuries caused to the organs are the hearing disability, dumbness, blindness, disability of the tongue, the lack of feeling, of the olfactory nerves, the paralysis of the intestines, the inability to move hands, lameness, stupidity, impotency etc. is the eleven forms mentioned earlier.[18] These inabilities indirectly affect the intellect. But the other seventeen inabilities are directly affecting the intellect. They are called aٳṣṭ and asiddhis.[19]

The nine aٳṣṭ are connected with ʰṛt, ܱԲ, , and 岵ⲹ which are internal and to the five objects of sense. Aٳṣṭ arise as one thinks that ʰṛt, ܱԲ, etc. are not able to bring about Apavarga. The abstinence from the five objects of the senses is due to the perception of defects in the process of sense-organs and their-sensesenjoyments. Inability to acquire the absence of attachments to objects of sense organs is the cause of the five varieties of external aٳṣṭ.

Tuṣṭi or Contentment

The ٳṣṭ are of two kinds internal and external. There are four kinds of contentment arising from within ourselves. These are called internal contentments. They are named prakṛti, ܱԲ, and 岵ⲹ.[20] The external contentment’s are five in number which are pertaining to the five objects of the senses. Thus altogether there are nine contentments.

峦貹پ Ѿś names the internal tusṭis as: ambha, salila, ogha and ṛṣṭi respectively, and the external ones as , su, Pārā, anuttamāmbha and uttamāmbha.[21]

Ambha:

The Contentment is known as ambha which involves the sense of fulfillment when the aspirant comes to know that the discriminative wisdom is in reality the amendment of the ʰṛt. This happens in everyone’s life, there is no need to take efforts like meditation, etc.

Salila:

The author says that wisdom cannot be attained through the natural or ordinary course of nature. One must renounce everything and also has to discard the practice of meditation and this kind of Contentment is called salila.

Ogha:

The next type of contentment is the ogha which says that only by renunciation one cannot achieve emancipation. Only at the specific time will the renunciation gives out the result.

ṛṣṭi:

The next form of contentment ṛṣṭi says that discriminative wisdom and luck is needed for emancipation.

The four kinds of internal contentment are due to the intellectual indolence manifested in four forms. One thinks that ʰṛt is sure to bring about Apavarga by her own efforts and also does not try further to acquire the discriminative knowledge.[22] Thus there are people who think that ܱԲ or 岵ⲹ, and 岵ⲹ are enough to bring about Apavarga.

The five external forms of Contentment are which results from the abstinence of the sense organs. These are known as external as they assume the subsistence of the ʳܰṣa without knowing the essence of it and they are appertained to what that is not ʳܰṣa. To be content one has to be detached from everything. This abstinence is fivefold.

:

The is the contentment which results from being not attached to those objects of senses which are troublesome.

Su:

When one acquires wealth, it causes great concern and he discards the amassing of wealth. This concern is called su.

Pārā:

The amassed wealth gives rise to the fear of being spent, so the person abstains from amassing wealth. This is the pārā.

Գܳٳٲ峾:

The attachment to sense organs increases pleasure and also the seeds of desires sprout up. When these desires remain unfulfilled the person discards the desire. This form of contentment is called anuttamāmbha.

ٳٲ峾:

The animals killed for enjoyment and once the cruelty behind this enjoyment knows one abstains from it and this leads to the fifth form of contentment known as the uttamāmbha.

These are the four kinds of internal ٳṣṭ and five kinds of external ٳṣṭ which are explained by 峦貹پ Ѿś.[23]

In short, this abstinence is caused by five reasons. They are the pain of acquiring wealth, that of keeping it safe, the fear of the wealth being spent up, the non-fulfillment of the increasing desire for pleasure due to the continuous enjoyment and the notion that there can be no enjoyment of a thing without killing the animals.

The siddhi has been classified as having eight forms. The most important among the forms of siddhi is the suppression of pain which is said to be threefold. The other forms like the reasoning, oral instruction, study acquisition of friends and purity are the means to attain this suppression of pain. These are also well explained underontology.

The causes of kleśas

After the explanation of kleśas their causes are discussed. The ʳܰṣa which is conscious is said to undergo pain. The cause of which is decomposition and demise. This happens because there is no discriminatory knowledge about the ʳܰṣa and body. All the things in the nature are subjected to pain. The body, which is one among the physical things, is attracted to different forms of pleasure. In spite of these pleasures there is the pain of decay and death. This pain combined with fear is common to all living beings. Death is the one which causes both pain and fear. [24] The ṅkⲹ says that the pleasures and pain are the material things and it is also the properties of the buddhi. ʳܰṣa is connected with the buddhi and its adjuncts and so the ʳܰṣa is said to be connected with pleasure and pain. The ʳܰṣa which cognizes its non difference from the body and it misunderstands the ebb and flow of the body as its own.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

ⲹṅg on ṅkⲹ 5

[2]:

Ҳḍa岹ṣy on ṅkⲹ 5

[3]:

"ٲԲԳܳٱṇānٲٳ貹ٳپپ siddham|" ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 5

[4]:

Anima Sen Gupta: Clasical ṃkⲹ, A Critical Study, p.57

[5]:

evamabhāvopi pratyakṣameva| na hi bhūtalasya pariṇāmaviśeṣāt kaivalyalakṣaṇādanyo ghaṭābhāvo |
ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 5

[6]:

Clasical ṃkⲹ A critical Study, P.59

[7]:

ⲹṅg on ṅkⲹ 5

[8]:

Māṭharavṛtti on ṅkⲹ 5

[9]:

Ҳḍa岹 ṣy on ṅkⲹ 5

[10]:

sambhavastu, yathā-khāryā� droṇāḍhakaprasthādyavagamaḥ| sa cānumānameva| khārītva� hi droṇādyavinābhūta� īٲ� khāryā� droṇādisatvamavagamayati||
ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 5

[11]:

ⲹṅg and Māṭharavṛtti on ṅkⲹ 5

[12]:

Ҳḍa岹 ṣy on ṅkⲹ 5

[13]:

yaccānirdiṣṭapravaktṛka� pravādamparyamātraṃ� iti hocurvṛddhā�,-ityaitihyam, yathā� iha vaṭe ⲹṣa� prativasati� iti, na tat pramāṇāntaram, anirdiṣṭapravaktṛkatvena sāṃśayikatvāt| āptavaktṛkatvaniścaye tvāgama eva| ityupapannam "trividhampramāṇam" iti||
ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 5

[14]:

Māṭharavṛtti on ṅkⲹ 5

[15]:

Ҳḍa岹 ṣy on ṅkⲹ 5

[16]:

Indian Philosophy of Religion, p.198

[17]:

tatra kā prakṛtirityuktam "mūlaprakṛtiravikṛti�" iti| prakarotīti ṛt� pradhānam, satvarajastamasā� sāmyāvasthā, sā avikṛti�, prakṛtirevetyarthaḥ| kuta ityuktam-"mūleti" mūlañcāsau prakṛtiśceti mūlaṛt�| śⲹ kāryasaṃghātasya sā mūlam,na tvasyā mūlāntaramasti, anavasthāprasaṅgāt| na cānavasthāyā� pramāṇamastīti 屹�|
ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī 3

[18]:

Contribution of 峦貹پ Ѿś to Indian Philosophy, p.147

[19]:

ṅkⲹ 3 and also Ibid, p.148

[20]:

J.N. Sinha: Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, p.11

[21]:

ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 14

[22]:

The ṃkⲹ-Tattva-ܻܳī (trans.), p.70

[23]:

ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 14

[24]:

kāraṇe sat kāryamiti sthitam| tathā ca yathā kūrmaśarīre santyevāṅgāni niḥsaranti vibhajyante - ’ida� kūrmaśarīra�, etānyetasyāṅgāni- � iti; eva� niviśamānāni tasmin avyaktībhavanti|
ṅkⲹtattvakaumudī on ṅkⲹ 15

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