Previous Year Question
With reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Samkhya School.
Samkhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of soul.
Samkhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect: Samkhya philosophy does not reject rebirth or the cycle of samsara. Owing to non-discrimination, Purusha appears to be associated with the evolutes of Prakriti and the subtle body, and this process continues until discriminative knowledge is attained.
Statement 2 is correct: In Samkhya, liberation or kaivalya results from discriminative knowledge—the complete realization of the distinction between Purusha and Prakriti. Thus, self-knowledge is the means of liberation, not an external agent or divine grace.