Ānvīkṣikī of the Real from the Lens of Sāmkhya-Yoga and Nyāya Schools
10 Pages Posted: 19 Nov 2019
Date Written: October 6, 2019
Abstract
From Plato’s cave allegory to Hath Yoga’s Prāṇāyāma to Quantum Physics to Space Explorations, human beings have tried to understand what is it ‘real’? Is it our surroundings? The immediate observation or something beyond. Different schools of thought looked at this question differently. There were materialists (Cārvāka/ Lokāyata) who viewed reality as consisting of five elements namely fire, water, air, earth and space which can be observed. Therefore, non-observable entities (God, Heaven, Self) didn’t exist (Ghosh 100). In this essay, I’m not looking at these schools. My emphasis would be harmonising immediate observation as well as metaphysical. The fundamental question I’m addressing in my essay is what is real, its constituents, accessibility, proof of its existence, path for liberation, etc. with the help of Sāmkhya-Yoga and Nyāya Schools of Indian Philosophy respectively? The essay is divided into two parts: Part I and II. Part I discusses Sāmkhya-Yoga school’s proposition whereas Part II provides Nyāya school’s point of view. In conclusion, I’ll compare their convergence and divergence points. The purpose of this essay is Ānvīkṣikī (interrogation or investigation) of fundamental reality.
Keywords: Sāmkhya-Yoga, Nyāya, Ānvīkṣikī
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