I thought Ramaswami's newsletter this month was a useful introduction to Yoga philosophy but am aware too that we often read blog posts 'on the fly', here's the newsletter article divided up into three bite size pieces.
Pictures and format is mine.
Link back to Part 1
This theory of evolution is accepted by Yogis in toto. But they also subscribe to a superior Being, an Iswara, which could be of considerable use in achieving the ultimate yogic goal. They also accept worship of different personal gods (so do samkhyas) which could be venerated for various ends including peace of mind but these gods are not considered as creator.
But added to these various theories we also have modern theories of evolution, how the universe came out of one entity called a 'singularity' very similar in concept to Samkhya's mula prakriti which evolved into this universe by a phenomenon called 'Big Bang'. Over a period of time matter particles combined variously and then the first single cell bacterium was formed, then various beings. The difference with Samkhya conceptually is that the distinct two stream evolution of Samkhyas is missing, as is the recognition of consciousness as distinct from inert matter.
The evolution of different species as per Darwin finds an echo in the Puranic stories of evolution. According to the Puranas the Creator took several avatars or incarnation like the fish, representing the aquatic 'animal', then the turtle the amphibious creature. Then the
boar, then the half man/half animal, the man-lion incarnation. Then the dwarf (vamana), the wild man (parasurama) then the perfect man (Rama) and the divine man (Krishna). Several puranas are named after these stages of evolution-- some like Matsya (Fish), Kurma (turtle), Varaha (Boar), etc. The others are found in other puranas and itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata such as Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parasurama (wild man), Rama (the perfect man) Krishna (the divine man) etc.
Then the Upanishads or the vedanta philosophy talks about evolution from one non changing principle that alone exists, viz., Brahman the pure consciousness which has expanded into this mammoth universe. Again there are different views like, if the created universe is really real.
All these varying theories about the evolution of the universe, ancient and modern and all the cares of worldly life blunt the childhood wonderment as one keeps muddling through life.
The three vedic philosophies viz., Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta form a group of philosophies that subscribe to the authority of the vedas. They are considered as essentially adhyatma vidyas or body of knowledge about one's own self. It is the view of these darsanas that all the suffering one experiences birth after birth is due to the wrong understanding about one's own self and by implication the universe itself. And perhaps the most important contribution in this respect is by the Samkhyas who explained the evolution not as one stream but as indicated earlier along two streams, the microcosmic and the macrocosmic—the subject and the object as we experience. So all these philosophies start from our present experience of each of us as the subject and the entire universe as the objects. From this standpoint they start the discussions. Samkhyas talk about the need to know the
manifest universe(vyakta) along with the origin of it (avyakta) and also the subject that experiences (jna). Similarly Patanjali in his Yoga talks of the subject, the experiencer (drashta) and the object or that which is experienced, here the chitta vritti. Adi sankara
while writing the commentary on Brahma Sutra, the text for Vedanta philosophy, uses a similar approach. Here is how he starts his commentary, the preamble
SELF and NOT-SELF “It is obvious that the subject and the object — that is, the Self
(Atman) and the Not-Self, which are as different as darkness and light are — cannot be identified with each other. It is a mistake to superimpose upon the subject or Self (that is, the "I," whose nature is consciousness) the characteristics of the object or Not-"I" (which
is non-conscious), and to superimpose the subject and its attributes on the object. Nonetheless, man has a natural tendency, rooted in ignorance (avidya), not to distinguish clearly between subject and object, although they are in fact absolutely distinct, but rather to
superimpose upon each the characteristic nature and attributes of the other. This leads to a confusion of the Real (the Self) and the Unreal (the Not-Self) and causes us to say such incorrect things as "I am that," "That is mine," and so on. “
Ultimately in the vedanta philosophy of Sankara's advaita, because it admits of only consciousness as satya or real and existent, the objects of the universe that are experienced are considered only an illusion. They explain it in so many different ways and using different examples. They explain our waking state experience of the world as no different from the dreams which while taking place inside the head appear to take place outside of us. Another example that is common among them is that of the image you see in a mirror. Even
though there is no space or objects inside the mirror—it is flat surface-- it appears to have three dimensions and objects too. Now let us try to see if consideration of Yoga's subject and object viz., purusha and chittavritti could lead to a similar conclusion of the advaita vedantins.
...continued in part 3
or full newsletter here on Ramaswami's Newsletter page
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!topic/vinyasa-krama-announce/mYc5xbNbOGc
Pictures and format is mine.
Link back to Part 1
 |
| Purusha from here |
Part 2
But added to these various theories we also have modern theories of evolution, how the universe came out of one entity called a 'singularity' very similar in concept to Samkhya's mula prakriti which evolved into this universe by a phenomenon called 'Big Bang'. Over a period of time matter particles combined variously and then the first single cell bacterium was formed, then various beings. The difference with Samkhya conceptually is that the distinct two stream evolution of Samkhyas is missing, as is the recognition of consciousness as distinct from inert matter.
The evolution of different species as per Darwin finds an echo in the Puranic stories of evolution. According to the Puranas the Creator took several avatars or incarnation like the fish, representing the aquatic 'animal', then the turtle the amphibious creature. Then the
boar, then the half man/half animal, the man-lion incarnation. Then the dwarf (vamana), the wild man (parasurama) then the perfect man (Rama) and the divine man (Krishna). Several puranas are named after these stages of evolution-- some like Matsya (Fish), Kurma (turtle), Varaha (Boar), etc. The others are found in other puranas and itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata such as Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parasurama (wild man), Rama (the perfect man) Krishna (the divine man) etc.
Then the Upanishads or the vedanta philosophy talks about evolution from one non changing principle that alone exists, viz., Brahman the pure consciousness which has expanded into this mammoth universe. Again there are different views like, if the created universe is really real.
All these varying theories about the evolution of the universe, ancient and modern and all the cares of worldly life blunt the childhood wonderment as one keeps muddling through life.
The three vedic philosophies viz., Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta form a group of philosophies that subscribe to the authority of the vedas. They are considered as essentially adhyatma vidyas or body of knowledge about one's own self. It is the view of these darsanas that all the suffering one experiences birth after birth is due to the wrong understanding about one's own self and by implication the universe itself. And perhaps the most important contribution in this respect is by the Samkhyas who explained the evolution not as one stream but as indicated earlier along two streams, the microcosmic and the macrocosmic—the subject and the object as we experience. So all these philosophies start from our present experience of each of us as the subject and the entire universe as the objects. From this standpoint they start the discussions. Samkhyas talk about the need to know the
manifest universe(vyakta) along with the origin of it (avyakta) and also the subject that experiences (jna). Similarly Patanjali in his Yoga talks of the subject, the experiencer (drashta) and the object or that which is experienced, here the chitta vritti. Adi sankara
while writing the commentary on Brahma Sutra, the text for Vedanta philosophy, uses a similar approach. Here is how he starts his commentary, the preamble
SELF and NOT-SELF “It is obvious that the subject and the object — that is, the Self
(Atman) and the Not-Self, which are as different as darkness and light are — cannot be identified with each other. It is a mistake to superimpose upon the subject or Self (that is, the "I," whose nature is consciousness) the characteristics of the object or Not-"I" (which
is non-conscious), and to superimpose the subject and its attributes on the object. Nonetheless, man has a natural tendency, rooted in ignorance (avidya), not to distinguish clearly between subject and object, although they are in fact absolutely distinct, but rather to
superimpose upon each the characteristic nature and attributes of the other. This leads to a confusion of the Real (the Self) and the Unreal (the Not-Self) and causes us to say such incorrect things as "I am that," "That is mine," and so on. “
Ultimately in the vedanta philosophy of Sankara's advaita, because it admits of only consciousness as satya or real and existent, the objects of the universe that are experienced are considered only an illusion. They explain it in so many different ways and using different examples. They explain our waking state experience of the world as no different from the dreams which while taking place inside the head appear to take place outside of us. Another example that is common among them is that of the image you see in a mirror. Even
though there is no space or objects inside the mirror—it is flat surface-- it appears to have three dimensions and objects too. Now let us try to see if consideration of Yoga's subject and object viz., purusha and chittavritti could lead to a similar conclusion of the advaita vedantins.
...continued in part 3
or full newsletter here on Ramaswami's Newsletter page
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!topic/vinyasa-krama-announce/mYc5xbNbOGc
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