| Essence Of Hinduism |
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HINDU PHILOSOPHY |
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| The Samkhya theory
is an improvement on that of Nyaya-Vaisesika. For it postulates only two ultimate
realities. Again, while according to the Nyaya theory, as we have seen, the effect is different from the cause, according to the Samkhya theory the effect is inherent in the cause. The world is inherent in Prakrti. It is only made manifest by evolution, as oil is made manifest when the oil-seed is pressed. Finally, Vivarta-vada is a theory of appearance and reality. According to some schools of Vedanta, the cause without undergoing any change in itself can produce the effect. In the two analogies given above, threads have to be woven together to produce cloth, and oil-seeds have to be pressed for oil t come out. In both these cases the cause undergoes a change. So these analogies will not do to explain creation in which the Creator remains unaffected by the process. Therefore some philosophers use the well-known figures of a rope appearing as a snake in the dark, or a pillar as a ghost, or a piece of shell as silver, or a sandy desert as a mirage. The rope, the pillar, the shell and the desert are realities, while the snake, the ghost, the silver and the mirage are only appearances. These different illustrations are intended to indicate the dependence of the effect upon the cause. The Reality appears to our finite intelligence as the universe of time and space, just as a piece of rope appears in the twilight as a snake, or a pillar appears in the dark as a ghost. |
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| About Hindu Philosophy |
