Talk:Pradhana
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The meaning of Pradhana
[edit]Here is a suggestion: Pradhana is not the "the chief cause of the material nature" (S.B.7.15.27) or "the creative principle of nature" (S.B.10.85.3) but "the chief cause of the visible world" or "the creative principle of the visible world," with the visible world being the content of consciousness. From the viewpoint of modern transpersoanl psychology, Pradhana can be interpreted as the unconscious, Prakriti as the world, i.e., the content of consciousness and Purusha as pure observing consciousness.
The term Pradhana refers to what is unobservable (avyakta). Pradhana is the unconscious foundation of the content of consciousness. It is the ground of the ‘world’ ― the invisible underworld right beneath the world. Therefore, the terms avyakta, Pradhana and mulaprakrit are synonymous, referring to the dynamic ground of the world. Pradhana is that part of the human psyche, which is not directly observable by consciousness. In the Samkhya philosophical system it is defined as the total of (i) the ego, (Ahamkara), (ii) intelligence (Buddhi), (iii) memory (Mahat) and (iv) conditioning (Tanmatrani) ― 8 in total. Like Purusha, Pradhana is not cognizable by the senses; it is subtle and not directly observable. But unlike Purusha, which is known only through inner experience, Pradhana is known through inference, i.e., its properties can be inferred from its effects in Prakriti. If Purusha is witness and the passive aspect of the Self, and Prakriti is mere presentation of sense and memory data, then Pradhana must be the active aspect of the Self. It must be the aspect, which evaluates the data and that is what we find: Pradhana is the seat of Buddhi and Ahamkara. Moreover, it must be the aspect that drives all psychological development and that too is what we find: Pradhana is that which evolves the world from the Tamas state, over the Rajas state into the Sattva state. (For more info see Jens Lauschke (2023). Samkhya Yoga: An Interpretation of Iswara Krishna's Samkhya Karika. Taxila Publications. ISBN: 9783948459604). 185.162.223.23 (talk) 18:57, 14 June 2023 (UTC)