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(Sankhya) One of the six Hindu ?orthodox? philosophies ( Dasha's), Samkhya is also the oldest, being attributed to the sage Kapila (c. 7Th c. BC). Its metaphysics is based upon a subtle analysis of causation, whereby effects are seen as Prue-existent in their causes (both this doctrine, strayed,VAdaa its denial, asatkaryavada, are criticized by the Vedanta school, as well as by Buddhism, in favour of a Parmenidean rejection of change altogether).
Samkhya criticizes the concept of causation as a regular succession of events, or indeed as any relation between distinct events or states of affairs, promoting instead a concept of the unfolding of the cosmos as a unified single process, in which each state is already pregnant with those that are to come. It recognizes two realities, the purusha whose essence is consciousness, and praktri, the eternal, unconscious, unchanging principle that is the cause of the world. The real self is separate from the body, but suffering is caused by lack of discrimination between the real self and the non-self.
This failure can be overcome by a long training in Yoga and meditation upon the eternal and transcendental nature of the true self. School of Indian philosophy, which develops an entire metaphysical and moral system around the two components of the world: purusa and parakti, corresponding roughly to consciousness on the one hand, and the sources of material existence on the other. Purusa is indeterminate, not separated into individuals, although parts of it can have different relations to different bodies; the difficulty of this doctrine became a motive to Advaita, non-dualistic schools.
Whereas, he Vedanta system of thought is unique in its unequivocal approach to Truth. It postulates the following:
Nothing exists except the Divine Being, or Brahman.... As the essence of all, it pervades, supports, and explains everything. The doctrine of the Spiritual Oneness of Existence follows from this.
Truth is One; Sages call it by different names. Prophets differ in their interpretation of religion due to their cultural backgrounds, and the need of the people, but not in the essentials, so that the various religions are different paths to the same goal.
The very nature of the Soul is divine: the Cosmic Self manifests as the individual Self or Atman as it is called in Hinduism. Therefore, as heirs to the Divine Self, we truly are all Children of Immortal Bliss.
The primary goal in life is to realize, through direct personal experience, the divine nature within our own self. No one person founded it. Every other faith, religion, or cult has been founded by an individual who established the principles of that religion.
Vedanta accepts the personal God, although its approach is essentially impersonal. Divine incarnations are considered embodiments of the universal and eternal truths of Vedanta.
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