SANKHYA and YOGA are the two systems of ancient spiritual thought of India.

They are even believed to predate the Upanishads.

The Sankhya system is erroneously considered not to acknowledge an Ishwara – Creator God, in its metaphysical and spiritual discipline.

While the yoga system, is said to acknowledge an Ishwara in its system.

But, apart from this so called distinction they are similar in their teachings.

The SANKHYA system speaks of the two parallel tracks.

One the SPIRIT, the PURUSHA.

The other MATTER, the PRAKRITI.

The PURUSHA-SPIRIT, abiding in PRAKRITI, thus having acquired a new character, experiences the movements and functions of PRAKRITI’S nature. Thus is in human bondage of pleasure and pain, birth and death.

Thus man is in human bondage in the Universe.

Has got mixed up. And is a MIX-UP with a new identity called man.

Hence PURUSHA-the Spirit has to get itself disentangled, and detached from its involvement with PRAKRITI-the matter, and revert back to its true status.

When it does so, it then remains in itself, as itself as the EVER FREE PURUSHA.

PURUSHA means that which is whole and complete; Self-complete.

This is freedom.

Freed from its previous self-evident human problem of HUMAN existence in the universe.

Since the Universe is a compound of matter the Sankhya system speaks of a PRAKRITI-MATTER.

Also since man is a compound of matter, with an accompanying spirit, it speaks of matter and spirit – PRAKRITI and PURUSHA.

Thus the two parallel tracks.

BOTH THE PURUSHA AND PRAKRITI ARE SAID TO BE ANADI –BEGINNINGLESS.

While one of the tracks, namely PRAKRITI is constituted of three modes of differing energies.

These three modes of energy bind the PURUSHA, the sentient being, to its energies.

The net result is human bondage with a new identity.

It should be noted that a text or a scripture is only interested in opening out, and showing, the problem of human existence in the universe, and then resolving and showing the WAY out of the problem.

With that its duty and function is over.

But, it is the human mind which wants to dabble in the relative merits of its philosophies and gets tangled up in the scholastism.

No amount of scholastism would lead one to Salvation.

At the most, one would be an ignorant scholar, or a learned fool.

One must ‘WALK THE WAY’ as the saying goes.

One must ‘LIVE THE LIFE’ to attain Salvation.

This is only possible, if one has a strong longing in one’s heart, to attain NIRVANA.

This longing will come, if one lives a NOBLE and GOOD LIFE.