Ishvarakrishna

Sankhya Karika

1. IDEA 1

   Suffering prompts the inquiry

   Ishvarakrishna's Sankhya Karika begins with three kinds of suffering: from within ourselves, from other beings and from natural forces. Ordinary remedies give only temporary relief, so the text seeks a lasting solution through knowledge.

2. IDEA 2

   Reality has two principles

   Sankhya teaches that reality consists of purusha, pure consciousness, and prakriti, primal matter. Suffering arises when consciousness mistakenly identifies itself with matter and its changes. Confusion is the root problem.

3. IDEA 3

   Matter has three qualities

   Prakriti contains three gunas, or qualities: sattva, linked with clarity and lightness; rajas, linked with energy and activity; and tamas, linked with heaviness and inertia. Their balance and imbalance produce the world.

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