भारतीय दर्शन का भूला बिछ्रा मार्ग

Story of alienation begins like this। Three thousand years ago, there use to be six theistic(astika) schools of Indian Philosophy, Nyay, Samkhya, Vedanta, Yoga, Mimamas, Vaiseshika. Only three are extant now, Mimamsa, Yoga and Vedanta. Reason, rest all were too metaphysical and provided no short cuts. Yoga and Vedanta have prevailed owing to great efforts from ISKCON and Swami Vivekanda. Leave Vedanta and Yoga aside, the one irrational school of thought has prevailed in every household, in every ceremony is Mimamsa. Mimamsa says, it is possible to achieve God, dispel Sorrow and reach salvation by means of Karm-Kanda i.e. some religious processing (like satyanarayan bhagwan kee Pooja Or Feast for 5 Brahmans or Visiting a Temple, atop the mountain).

One of the most logical and epistemologically rich school of thought was Samkhya। Samkhya had dualist view of the world. According to Samkhya, there exist just two things in the world, Purush (its Atman, Soul irrelevant to Gender) and Prakriti (the nature, body,॥). Prakriti is a primordial substance that metamorphoses into various other forms and shapes. Like, Earth gets converted to food we eat. Our excreta gets dissolved back to earth. Our body is just one form of prakriti. It will eventually dissolve in prakriti. It will again be primordial thick mass indistinguishable between you and me. The actual identity of the person is Purush not prakriti. His self lies in Purush, the atman. But he feels, he is, his body. He feels, he is his power, his position. The roots of sorrow are here. They are right here in the Person’s identification with prakriti. Person is unable to distinguish himself from his body that is root of all his sorrow.

Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta, makes many reference to Samkhya school of thought। But the ways and solutions provided in Samkhya are no more followed. They have been forgotten. Other short-cut, lowly schools are followed and ingrained in the thought process of future generations. Future generations tend to become smarter and logical, they started rejecting illogical processions, illogical chantings. They are misled that Indian philosophy is meager Karm-Kanda and nothing more. Time is now to rejuvenate the other less paved ways of Indian Philosophy….