ABSTRACT
Since Patañjali is known to have followed the conceptual framework of the Sāṁkhya system, this chapter is devoted to explain its basic concepts, including: the goal of Sāṁkhya for the radical removal of suffering, the nature of the Puruṣa, which is the most fundamental concept of Sāṁkhya and Yoga, the dilemma over the equivocation of Puruṣa as single ubiquitous principle as well as that of countless individual beings, the nature of the principle of materiality called the Prakṛti with its three components, an account of the evolution of Prakṛti, the concept of tanmātras as psychophysical units that constitute the world as experienced through the senses, the hierarchical view of nature spread from gross to most subtle. Subsequently, attempt is made to view the Sāṁkhyan perspective on evolution and the “hard problem of consciousness.” Finally, the basic concepts of Sāṁkhya are suggested as providing axiomatic foundations for Patañjali’s Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, rather than defending them as proven truths.
