Sankhya Philosophy by Swami Vivekananda

Example of the subject: The Sankhya Philosophy by Swami Vivekananda

Below are some reflections on Swami Vivekananda's Sankhya philosophy:

According to Sankhya philosophy, “nature is omnipresent, an omnipresent mass of nature, in which are the causes of everything that exists.”

The first manifestation of this Prakriti in the cosmos is what Sankhya calls “Mahat.” “We can call it intelligence: The great principle, its literal meaning. The first change in Prakriti is this intelligence.. It covers all the realms of subconsciousness, consciousness and supraconsciousness”

“There is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila. Pythagoras came to India and studied this philosophy, and that was the beginning of Greek philosophy. He later formed the Alexandrian school and, later, the Gnostic one. It was divided into two; one part went to Europe and Alexandria, and the other remained in India; and from there, the Vyasa system was developed.

Kapila's Sankhya philosophy was the first rational system the world ever saw

All metaphysicians in the world must pay tribute to him. I want to impress on his mind that we are obliged to listen to him as the great father of philosophy.

Wherever there is any philosophy or rational thought, it owes something to Kapila. Pythagoras learned it in India and taught it in Greece. Later, Plato had an idea of ​​it; and even later the Gnostics took the thought to Alexandria, and from there it reached Europe. So wherever there is any attempt at psychology or philosophy, the great father of it is this man, Kapila.”

“Sri Krishna: Of all the trees, I am Ashvattha; of the divine sages, Narada; of the heavenly choir, I am Chitraratha; of the perfect ones, I am the ascetic Kapila” Bhagavad Gita 10.26.

“I will point out here the difference between Schopenhauer and Indian philosophy. Schopenhauer says that desire, or will, is the cause of everything. It is the will to exist that manifests itself to us, but we deny it. The will is identical to the motor nerves. When I see an object there is no will; when its sensations are carried to the brain, the reaction comes, which says “Do this”, or “Don't do this”, and this state of ego-substance is what is called will. There cannot be a single particle of will that is not a reaction. So many things precede the will.

It is just something manufactured from the ego, and the ego is a product of something even higher: intelligence, and that again is a modification of the indiscreet nature. That was the Buddhist idea, that all we see is the will. Psychologically it is totally wrong, because the will can only be identified with the motor nerves. If the motor nerves are removed, man has no will at all. This fact, as is perhaps well known to you, has been discovered after a long series of experiments made with the lower animals.”

The Bhagavad Gita according to Swami Vivekananda

Comparison among the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita

1. Yoga Sastra: Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita
2. Bhagavad Gita (Shruti) / Yoga Sutras (Smriti)
3. Philosophy of Yoga versus Vedanta
4. Sutras / Shlokas
5. Style: Yoga Sutras (intellectual) / Gita (poetry)
6. Bhagavad Gita (dialogue Krishna-Arjuna) / Yoga Sutras (scientific text)
7. Repetition technique of the Bhagavad Gita
8. Length of the Bhagavad Gita / Yoga Sutras Patanjali

1. Samadhi Pada
2. Sadhana Pada
3. Vibhuti Pada
4. Kaivalya Pada

What is Yoga according to the Bhagavad Gita?

Arjuna’s Despondency, Gandhi, Swami Sivananda, Paths of Yoga, Renunciation of action, Gita and business

Karma Yoga (Karma Yoga by Vivekananda)

Course: Bhagavad Gita (Karma, Bhakti and Jnana Yoga).

Bhagavad Gita: The Path of Wisdom

Free e-book: Life of Swami Vivekananda (summary)