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Sankhya philosophy (Conv. and Letters)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Svayaṁbhur nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ kumārāḥ kapilaḥ (SB 6.3.20). Kapila, Lord Kapila, the propounder of Sāṅkhya philosophy, he is also accepted as incarnation of God, Kapila. And Manu. Manu, father of mankind, who has given the Manu-saṁhitā, lawbook. In that law it is stated, na strīyāṁ svatantratam arhati: "Woman does not deserve independence." Manu has given this. Yes. This is Manu-smṛti. So Vedic culture means to follow the regulative principle.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 28, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Can we hear a little bit from the Sāṅkhya philosophy?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Sāṅkhya philosophy of Lord Kapiladeva? The creative elements.

Prabhupāda: Sāṅkhya philosophy is also analysis of the material elements. That's all. Your scientific research is also sāṅkhya philosophy. Sāṅ, sāṅkhya, it comes from the word, "saṅ-khyā".

Svarūpa Dāmodara: To count?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Count, count. That's all. Analytically. What are the ingredients? Analytical studies. That is called saṅ-khyā, count. Suppose you take this sand. You count. It is called sāṅkhya. So, from the saṅkhyā, the word, it comes sāṅkhya, knowing analytically. This is sāṅkhya philosophy. So you are also sāṅkhya philosopher. Everyone is sāṅkhya philosopher. We are also sāṅkhya philosopher. Because we are counting the material elements, as Kṛṣṇa says: bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). We are analyzing: "This is land, this is water, this is air, this is sunshine, fire." Then I am counting with my mind, intelligence, ego. And further, I do not know. Kṛṣṇa says: "There is further." That is the living force. That they do not know. They are thinking: "Life is combination of these matters." But Kṛṣṇa says: "No." Apareyam. This is inferior. The superior energy is living entity. So we are also sāṅkhya philosopher. But we are taking direction from Kṛṣṇa, and they're making their own attempt. That is the difference. They're depending on their own intelligence. We don't depend on my own intelligence. We depend on Kṛṣṇa's intelligence. That is the difference. Then, if Kṛṣṇa is perfect, then my intelligence is perfect. I may be not perfect, but because I take Kṛṣṇa's intelligence, therefore I'm perfect.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The, the nature of the inferior and the superior energies...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...are also described in the sāṅkhya philosophy?

Prabhupāda: They do not know superior energy. They, they simply analyze the material energy, just you are doing. You do not know. The scientists, they do not know that there is spirit soul. Is it? Do they know?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No.

Prabhupāda: So similarly the sāṅkhya philosophy also, they do not know what is spirit soul. Simply they're analyzing the material.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So just the creative material elements?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Material elements are not creative. Creative is the soul. Just like you make something with matter. Matter does not create itself. You living entity, you take them, hydrogen, oxygen, mix them, and becomes water. So matter it, itself, has no creative energy. You keep here one bottle of hydrogen and... Will they make water? Will they make?

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 24, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: But Rāmānujācārya does not say that the devotee is God.

Dr. Patel: Nobody says so.

Prabhupāda: No. (break) ...oneness with diversity. Yes. That is viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy. And nirviśeṣa. Nirviśiṣṭa-advaitavādī sāṅkhya philosophy. Nirviśiṣṭa.

Morning Walk -- March 30, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: But the... Some foolish people accept the intelligence, mind, as spirit.

Dr. Patel: No, no, I understand not.

Chandobhai: That is Sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Chandobhai: That is Sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 31, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Puruṣa is enjoyer, and strī is enjoyed. Similarly, prakṛti is used for the satisfaction of the puruṣa. So if the jīva is prakṛti, then the puruṣa, puruṣa is the Supreme Person. Therefore his business is to satisfy the Supreme Purusa. This is bhakti-yoga.

Guest (1): Then, then isn't it sāṅkhya?

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is sāṅkhya.

Dr. Patel: Prakṛti trying to satisfy puruṣa is a sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. This is sāṅkhya. This is sāṅkhya philosophy.

Mr. Sar: Jīva is the prakṛti.

Prabhupāda: Prakṛti.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: No, no, but even for Vaiṣṇavas, sāṅkhya...

Prabhupāda: Sāṅkhya is required, but the cause of sāṅkhya must be understood, cause of all causes. Sāṅkhya philosophy is our philosophy, Vaiṣṇava, because it was enunciated by Kapiladeva. Later on, the atheist sāṅkhya, they wiped out God. (break) Na brahmā na rudra ca. These are the Vedic mantras. (break) Koṭi-brahmāṇḍa-vigraha. Koṭi-brahmāṇḍa-vigraha. Innumerable universes are there in the body of Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Prof. Regamay, Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Lausanne -- June 4, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is imitation Kapila, and there is... Original Kapila is Devahūti, son of Devahūti, Kapila.

Prof. Regamay: It's what we can't find in Bhagavad-gītā with...

Prabhupāda: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So Kapila, this Kapila is atheist Kapila. He's a different Kapila. Original Kapila is the son of Devahūti, son of Kardama Muni and Devahūti. That is described in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, God. Kapila. And actually, he enunciated sāṅkhya philosophy. And this sāṅkhya philosophy which is known in Europe amongst the European scholars, that is the atheist Kapila. It is not the original Kapila.

Prof. Regamay: So that's not a true Kapila.

Prabhupāda: No.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- December 18, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Apratiṣṭham. There is no cause of this creation. Kāma-haitukam: it has taken place just like a man becomes lusty by seeing a woman and he begets a child. This is the cause, this rascal desire. That's all.

Dr. Patel: Kiṁ kāma-haitukam.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) That is the Sāṅkhya philosophers. That is their theory. Prakṛti and puruṣa come in contact by chance, and there is creation. Not God created. Their theory is, the prakṛti and puruṣa, they come in contact by chance, and there is creation.

Dr. Patel: But sir, this Sāṅkhya philosophy also believes in Vedas. And Vedas says sa aik sata.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Sāṅkhya philosophy by the original Kapila, that is on the basis of Vedas. And this later Sāṅkhya philosophy...

Dr. Patel: Must be some another rascal.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughs) Now you have learned!

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Because go-kharas, they cannot understand their mistake. And as soon as one admits that he's mistaken, then he's human being.

Dr. Patel: But this ātma-dhī in this kuṇape tri-dhātuke is very difficult to knock off and establish it in...

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Dr. Patel: This ātma-dhī and kuṇape tri-dhātuke is very difficult to take out, extremely difficult.

Prabhupāda: No, if you analyze, you can take it.

Dr. Patel: That is done by Sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Dr. Patel: You have to analyze, sir, with Sāṅkhya philosophy, by jñāna-mārga, that you are not this body.

Prabhupāda: Anyway, you analyze. Just like you take breathing. Breathing is taken as the life, breathing. When the breathing is stopped, then there is no life. So analyze this breathing. What is this breathing? It is air. So when breathing is stopped, then you can take air. There are so many persons here. And by some machine you can put within the heart or somewhere. Let the air go on passing. But that is not possible. Therefore immediately the air is rejected. Then take the bone, the muscle. Everything will be rejected. There is no life. So this is analytical study. And then what remains? That soul. Very common thing.

Correspondence

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Radhavallabha -- India 10 December, 1974:

Srila Prabhupada has requested me that you should please publish one new book of Lord Kapiladeva's teachings. The book should consist of Prabhupada's purports to Chapter 25 of S.B. #4 as well as all the lectures he has given on these verses here in the last month and a half. The title of the book should be: Kapila's (the son of Devahuti) Sankhya Philosophy.

The tapes of these lectures have been sent to L.A. via one devotee returning to Washington D.C. (4 tapes) and Bali Mardan (3 tapes). The balance of 4 tapes is with Srutakirti and he will hand them over to you in Hawaii, via Ramesvara. Prabhupada suggested that Hayagriva could edit the lectures into the purports for making this book.

I hope this meets you in good health.

Your servant

Brahmananda Swami

Personal Secretary

Approved: ACBS

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Radhavallabha -- Bombay 21 January, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated 1-7-75 and have noted the contents. Regarding the book on Kapila's philosophy, you can call it "the Sankhya Philosophy of Kapila, (the Son of Devahuti)". You can give the roman transliteration for the sanskrit and the English translation and then the lecture. There is no need of the original sanskrit (deva-nagari), or the synonyms. For the time being, I shall consider regarding the dedication, and introduction. After it is ready, I will tell you. You can use pictures from the Srimad-Bhagavatam. That will be alright.

Finish the Caitanya-Caritamrta as soon as possible.

I hope this meets you in good health.

Page Title:Sankhya philosophy (Conv. and Letters)
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:11 of Aug, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=9, Let=2
No. of Quotes:11