Classical Samkhya and Yoga by Burley Mikel

Author:Burley, Mikel [MIKEL BURLEY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2011-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

The three ‘strands’ of prakṛti

According to the standard interpretation, in which prakṛti is held to be a ‘material principle’, its three constituent ‘strands’ (guṇas) are likewise construed as material in nature. It was noted in the preceding section that they have been assumed by some scholars to be similar, analogous, or even identical to certain particles – atomic or subatomic – derived from the theoretical repertoire of modern physics. The following extract from Feuerstein exemplifies this view:

The guṇas can be described as being the ultimate building-blocks of the material and mental phenomena in their entirety. They are not merely qualities or properties, but actual entities or ‘reals’ (S. Dasgupta . . . ) and as such non-distinct from the world-ground itself. They are the indivisible atoms of everything there is, with the exception of the Self (puruṣa), which is by definition nir-guṇa.

(1980: 34, my underlining)21

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