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Samkhya-Yoga
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (nature or matter, including the human mind and emotions). ''Puruṣa'' is the witness-consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, beyond perception, above any experience by mind or senses, and impossible to describe in words. Unmanifest ''prakriti'' is matter or nature. It is inactive, unconscious, and is a balance of the three ''guṇas'' (qualities or innate tendencies), namely '' sattva'' , '' rajas'', and '' tamas''. When prakṛti comes into contact with Purusha this balance is disturbed, and Prakriti becomes manifest, evolving twenty-three tattvas, namely intellect ( buddhi, mahat), ego (ahamkara) mind (manas); the five sensory capacities; the five action capacities; and the five "subtle elements" or "modes of sensory content" (''ta ...
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Purusha
''Purusha'' (' or ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass, , pp 105-109 In early Vedas, ''Purusha'' was a cosmic being whose sacrifice by the gods created all life. This was one of many creation myths discussed in the Vedas. In the Upanishads, the ''Purusha'' concept refers to the abstract essence of the Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form, and is all-pervasive. In Sankhya philosophy, Purusha is the plural immobile cosmic principle, pure consciousness, unattached and unrelated to anything, which is “nonactive, unchanging, eternal, and pure”. Purusha uniting with Prakṛti (matter) gives rise to life. In Kashmir Shaivism, Purusha is enveloped in five sheaths of time (''Kāla''), desire (''Raga''), ...
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Prakṛti
Prakriti ( sa, प्रकृति ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by its Sāṅkhya school, where it does not refer to matter or nature, but "includes all the cognitive, moral, psychological, emotional, sensorial and physical aspects of reality," stressing "prakṛti's cognitive, mental, psychological and sensorial activities." Prakriti has three different innate qualities (guṇas), whose equilibrium is the basis of all observed empirical reality. Prakriti, in this school, contrasts with Puruṣa, which is pure awareness and metaphysical consciousness.James G. Lochtefeld (2001), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , Pages 224, 265, 520 The term is also found in the texts of other Indian religions such as Veda & Jainism and Buddhism. Etymology and meaning Prakriti (Sanskrit: प्रकृति) is an early Indic concept, which means "making or ...
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IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the nineteenth century from suggestions by Charles Trevelyan, William Jones, Monier Monier-Williams and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva Oriental Congress, in September 1894. IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script. It is this faithfulness to the original scripts that accounts for its continuing popularity amongst scholars. Usage Scholars commonly use IAST in publications that cite textual material in Sanskrit, Pāḷi and other classical Indian languages. IAST is also used for major e-text repositories such as SARIT, Muktabodha, GRETIL, and sanskritdocuments.org. The IAST scheme represents more than a ...
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Gerald James Larson
Gerald James Larson (April 24, 1938 – April 27, 2019) was an Indologist known for his writings about Indian religions. He was the Rabindranath Tagore Professor Emeritus of Indian Cultures and Civilization at Indiana University, Bloomington as well as Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Life Larson obtained his M.Div. in 1963 at the Union Theological Seminary, New York City, and his Ph.D. in 1967 at Columbia University, New York City. He became Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian Cultures and Civilization at Indiana University, Bloomington in 1995. He became a professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1972, and founding director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center there in 1987. He was president of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy from 1982 to 1985, and chair of the American Academy of Religion from 1993 to 1999. He published over 100 peer-reviewed articles. He be ...
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Samkhyakarika
The Samkhyakarika ( sa, सांख्यकारिका, ) is the earliest surviving text of the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy.Gerald James Larson (1998), Classical Sāṃkhya: An Interpretation of Its History and Meaning, Motilal Banarasidass, , pages 146-153 The text's original composition date is unknown, but its ''terminus ad quem'' (completed before) date has been established through its Chinese translation that became available by 569 CE. It is attributed to Isvarakrsna, Ishvara Krishna (, 350 CE). In the text, the author described himself as a successor of the disciples from the great sage Kapila, through and . His consists of 72 s written in the Arya metre, Ārya metre, with the last verse asserting that the original Samkhya Karika had only 70 verses.Gerald James Larson (2011), Classical Sāṃkhya: An Interpretation of Its History and Meaning, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 146-147 The earliest important commentary on his was written by Gaudapada. Yuktidipika, ...
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Duḥkha
''Duḥkha'' (; Sanskrit: दुःख; Pāli: ''dukkha''), commonly translated as "suffering", "pain," or "unhappiness," is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of mundane life when driven by craving/ grasping and ignorance. While the term ''dukkha'' has often been derived from the prefix ''du'' ("bad" or "difficult") and the root ''kha'', "empty," "hole," a badly fitting axle-hole of a cart or chariot giving "a very bumpy ride," it may actually be derived from ''duḥ-stha'', a "dis-/ bad- + stand-," that is, "standing badly , unsteady," "unstable." It is the first of the Four Noble Truths_and_it_is_one_of_the_three_marks_of_existence.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ... and it is one of the three marks of existence">Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ... and it is one of the three marks of existence. The term ...
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Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the '' Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and c ...
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Buddhacharita
''Buddhacharita'' (; ) is an epic poem in the Sanskrit ''mahakavya'' style on the life of Gautama Buddha by of Sāketa (modern Ayodhya), composed in the early second century CE. The author has prepared an account of the Buddha's life and teachings which, unlike other treatments such as ''Mahavastu'' (“Great Story”) and ''Lalitavistara'' (“Full Description of the Play f the Buddha), is not only artistically arranged but also restrained in the description of the miracles of Gautam Buddha. His work also reflects a vast knowledge of Indian mythology and pre-Buddhist philosophy, as well as a court poet's interest in love, war and statecraft. Of the poem's 28 cantos, only first 14 are extant in Sanskrit are complete (cantos 15 to 28 are in incomplete form). But in Chinese (5th century) and Tibetan translations all 28 chapters are preserved. In 420 AD, Dharmakṣema made a Chinese translation, and in the 7th or 8th century, a Tibetan version was composed by an unknown author ...
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Mikel Burley
Mikel Burley is a scholar of religion and philosophy, known for his work on the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Biography Burley gained his B.A. in 1993 from the University of Essex, his M.A. from the University of Nottingham in 1997, and Ph.D.s from the University of Bristol in 2005 and the University of Leeds in 2009. He researches South Asian religions, in particular Hinduism and Buddhism, and their philosophies. AlsCV on Academia Works Burley has written over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has written and edited several books, of which the most often cited is ''Classical Samkhya and Yoga'' (Samkhya being the dualistic Indian philosophy behind Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras''), which has been cited over 130 times, followed by his book on Hatha yoga which has been cited over 60 times. ; As author * 2000: ''Hatha-Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice'' (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass). German edition 2005, Romanian edition 2015. * 2007: ''Classical Samkhya and Yoga: An Indian ...
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Indian Philosophy
Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the premises of Brahman and Atman; and whether the school believes in afterlife and Devas. There are six major schools of Vedic philosophy— Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta, and five major heterodox (sramanic) schools—Jain, Buddhist, Ajivika, Ajñana, and Charvaka. However, there are other methods of classification; Vidyaranya for instance identifies sixteen schools of Indian philosophy by including those that belong to the Śaiva and Raseśvara traditions.Cowell and Gough, p. xii.Nicholson, pp. 158-162. The main schools of Indian philosophy were formalised and recognised chiefly between 500 BCE and the late centuries of the Common Era. Com ...
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Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy'', 1st edition, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976. 2nd edition, 1986. 3rd edition, Routledge, London, 1996. p. 286 More formally, rationalism is defined as a methodology or a theory "in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive".Bourke, Vernon J., "Rationalism," p. 263 in Runes (1962). In an oldJohn Locke (1690), An Essay on Human Understanding controversy, rationalism was opposed to empiricism, where the rationalists believed that reality has an intrinsically logical structure. Because of this, the rationalists argued that certain truths exist and that the intellect can directly grasp these truths. That is to say, rationalists asserted that certain rational principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and ...
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Inference
Inferences are steps in reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinction that in Europe dates at least to Aristotle (300s BCE). Deduction is inference deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true, with the laws of valid inference being studied in logic. Induction is inference from particular evidence to a universal conclusion. A third type of inference is sometimes distinguished, notably by Charles Sanders Peirce, contradistinguishing abduction from induction. Various fields study how inference is done in practice. Human inference (i.e. how humans draw conclusions) is traditionally studied within the fields of logic, argumentation studies, and cognitive psychology; artificial intelligence researchers develop automated inference systems to emulate human inference. Statistical inference ...
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