Crikey ... Samkhya?! [was A painted fisher cannot catch a real fish]

[Guest guest]

Hi Mahahradanatha:

 

When I read your post last evening, in which you advised that "one

should start with a study of Samkhya Philosophy," and then

characterized it as "the foundation of all Indic religions including

Shakta" -- well, frankly, it gave me a headache. *lol*

 

It's not that I felt that your post was bad or wrong. On the

contrary, I don't think I disagree with you on any profound

fundamental level. It's just that the topic under discussion is so

large and so complex, and the assertions and advice in your post so

broad and general, that -- without a boatload of caveats, footnotes,

clarifications and sub-explanations -- they could actually be

counterproductive or misleading for someone without a pretty strong

grounding in this area.

 

So I shut off my computer and went to bed, figuring I'd deal with it

after a good sleep. ;-) This morning, however, I was happy to find

your follow-up post, in which my instinctive concerns seem to be

addressed. Specifically you explained, "Since every tradition has a

different emphasis in this matter [...], there is no need to go into

the details if the basics are not correctly understood."

 

Hallelujah! I personally don't think *anyone* ought to embark on "a

study of Samkhya Philosophy" until they have a pretty comprehensive

contextual understanding of Eastern Religion in general and Hinduism

in its many forms specifically. Even then I'd recommend they take up

a hobby -- archery, pottery; hell, macramé! *lol*

 

However, if anyone out there has a hankering to tackle Samkhya

someday, but is hampered by a lack of Hindu-religion basics, I have

two alternative reading suggestions (both of them written by and for

Westerners getting their first exposure to the topic):

 

1. For those who like their information quick, simple and easily

digestable, I heartily recommend Linda Johnsen's really

excellent, "The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Hinduism":

<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0028642279>

 

2. For those who prefer a more detailed, complete, and academically

balanced survey of the topic (including a pretty decent introduction

to Samkhya, which is here compared and contextualized against the

other major Hindu philosophical systems), I am partial to "A Survey

of Hinduism" by Klaus K. Klostermaier:

<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0791421104>

 

~aim mAtangyai namaH ~