Verses on Sāṃkhya 2

From the assault of the threefold suffering arises the desire to know the cause of its termination;
if [it is said that this desire is] superfluous because perceptible [means exist, we say:] no, because of their lack of certainty and finality. // SK 1

An introduction to this Āryā verse is undertaken:

The locus, the cause, the speaker, the hearer, the hearer's purpose,
and the statement of the connection and so forth—that is called the introduction.

Here indeed, the revered great sage—endowed with innate virtue, knowledge, dispassion, and lordship, an incarnation of the blessed ancient Spirit wishing to show grace to the world—was born to Devahūti, daughter of the Manu Svāyambhuva, as the son of the Prajāpati Kardama, named Kapila. Endowed with that comprehension which consists of the perception of the difference between the constituents and the spirit—like a supporting hand for one wishing to see the boundless shore, like an ambrosial gem for a world constantly bitten by the serpent of time, like a correct medicine for dispelling the hard-to-cure disease of existence, like a lamp for destroying the darkness of ignorance, like an axe for cutting down the tree of delusion that blocks the path to liberation—he saw this world sinking in blinding darkness. Seeing that, compassion arose in him: "Alas! This world, bound [to rebirth] from beginningless time, abides in blinding darkness by its very nature!"
Then this great ascetic, compassion having arisen in him, felt concern in his mind: "How can grace be extended to this wretched universe abiding in blinding darkness?" Reflecting thus, knowing a certain distinguished Brahmin of the Āsuri lineage, who had been performing sacrifices for a thousand years, to be an eligible student through the science of instruction on Brahman, he became unwearied and uttered these words: "O Āsuri, do you delight in the duty of a householder?" He said to him: "I delight [in it], sir." Addressed thus, the sage, concluding that "his discrimination and dispassion are slightly incomplete," departed; and returning again when a second thousand years was completed, he spoke in the very same way: "O Āsuri, do you delight in the duty of a householder?" He said to him: "I delight [in it], sir." Then that lord of great ascetics departed just as before, and approaching when a third thousand years was completed, he said: "O Āsuri, do you delight in the duty of a householder?" He said to him: "I do not delight [in it], sir." Then he was asked by the venerable one: "Why?" Āsuri said again: "From the assault of the threefold suffering." Then Kapila said: "My dear, if you are willing to lead the life of celibacy, then we will teach the remedy for this threefold suffering." He said: "Revered sir, certainly, I am able to follow the command of your reverence." Thus abandoning the duty of a householder, his sons, wife, and so forth, he renounced the world and became a pupil, indeed dear as life, to the venerable teacher Kapila, the ascetic.
In that regard, if someone should ask: "Whence did his desire to know arise, by which he went to the house of a teacher?" To that, this is the reply: The desire to know arose from the assault of the threefold suffering. Thinking: "Who is supreme here? What is the true nature [of reality]? What is the highest good? What should I do to achieve my purpose?", he went to the house of a teacher. For it is said:

"That is austerity, that is recitation, that is intellect, that is knowledge, and that is scholarship
from which there would never be a fall into the midst of the ocean of transmigration."

—because this is heard [in tradition].

Moreover:

"By what action did my birth occur here, and where must I go from this existence?"—
he in whom this inquiry does not arise on earth, how will he be inclined towards virtue?

Therefore, it is proper that this desire to know arose in him.

What, then, is that threefold suffering? He states it: internal, material, supernatural. There, the first is twofold: bodily and mental. There, bodily [suffering] is that which occurs with reference to the self, [namely] the body, such as fever and diarrhea, caused by an imbalance of the bodily humors: wind, bile, and phlegm. Mental [suffering] is twofold: caused by separation from what is dear and contact with what is not dear. This is described as internal suffering. Material [suffering], on the other hand, is that which occurs with reference to living beings, caused by humans, beasts, birds, reptiles, and immovable things. Supernatural [suffering], however, is that which occurs with reference to heaven, such as cold, heat, wind, and rain. Thus, in the Brahmin of Āsuri's lineage struck down by these three sufferings, a desire to know arose. Regarding what object? Concerning the cause of their removal: concerning that which is the cause that removes, that destroys, those three sufferings. He states that desire to know: 'Do these sufferings belong to the body, or is there some other spirit distinct from it to whom these three sufferings arise? Or is there even a means of countering them, or not? If there is, then we shall adopt precisely that. If not, then, like a bull [in] the first rainstorm of the monsoon, we must endure them with closed eyes. It is only one who is bitten by a scorpion or the like who seeks a snake-doctor to counter the venom, or not [if] able to endure the pain caused by the poison.' In this way, in Āsuri, overcome by unbearable suffering, a desire to know arose concerning the cause of its removal. And he, desiring to know the non-existence of the arisen suffering, approached for refuge the venerable master Kapila, who is skilled in countering it, [thinking:] 'He will tell me the means of countering suffering that I desire.'
Now, if the desire to know has arisen from sufferings alone, how can it serve as the cause for their non-existence? For a son born from a mother does not bring about her destruction. True. Here in the world, what is born from something is also seen to be the cause of its destruction. For instance, a crab or a mule, born from its mother, kills that very [mother]. Or, for instance, a certain venomous snake standing in an area full of dry grass, seeing a rival snake and becoming angry, the fire issuing from the breath of its mouth burned the grass and even that snake. By this reasoning, the desire to know, produced from sufferings alone, will bring about the non-existence of sufferings; thus the connection of the sense is coherent.
To this it is said: [“If it be said that] this is pointless because of visible [means]” — the particle “if” (cet) expresses a doubt. In this world there is indeed a remedy for all arisen sufferings; what is the point of approaching Kapila for that sake? This is the meaning. He shows that very visible cause: for internal bodily ailments, all diseases such as fever and diarrhea, there are indeed physicians, doctors knowing the eightfold Āyurveda, skilled in the treatment of the body, major surgery, minor surgery, poisons, madness, infertility, aging, and pediatric diseases. The remedy for internal mental torment is from union with pleasant things and avoiding from afar what is unpleasant. For material [suffering], its removal is accomplished by constructing villages, cities, and the like. For supernatural [suffering], by wind-shelters, coverings, veils, and the like. Therefore, because causes for their removal exist, what is the point of approaching Kapila? This is the meaning. And so there is a popular saying:

“If one can obtain honey on an arka plant, why should one go to a mountain? / When what is desired is achieved with ease, what wise person would exert effort?”

To this it is said: No. The word “no” is in negation of the statement of the prima facie view. The meaning is: it should not be said so. “Because of the absence of certainty and finality.” Certainly, inevitably, there is no remedy through the causes stated by you; because even when physicians administer well-prepared medicines and strive to the best of their ability, sometimes a creature dies, sometimes it lives. Even in a physician's home, because unavoidable death is seen of daughters-in-law, sons, wives, brothers, fathers, and so forth, this visible remedy is not certain for internal [suffering]. Furthermore, neither is it a final remedy; because even of those who have been made disease-free by medicine, fevers and the like are seen to arise again after a few days. Therefore, the visible remedy is not in any way final, [not] capable of removing internal suffering; just as spring and the other seasons, though gone, come again. And there are verses on this point:

“The burning sensation has arisen again, and trembling has occurred again; / hiccups trouble again, and the fever has returned again.”

And another:

“The eye-specialist has cataracts, the general physician has leprosy; / they ask the pediatrician: ‘How is it that your children have died?’”

Moreover, medicine does not exist through expertise in proper diagnosis of the bodily humors. For example:

“Whatever roots they may be, with whatever [liquid] one should grind them; / to whomever they should be given, whatever happens will happen.”

And another [point]: physicians, in order to devour the wealth of people who have come with needs, and to display their own competence, first aggravate even a slight disease; and from that, sometimes it becomes incurable even for them. And so [it is said]:

“O physician, O physician, homage to you, who have destroyed all men! / With his burden placed upon you, Death thrives in comfort.”

In this way, by a visible cause such as medicine, there is no remedy for bodily internal suffering with certainty, that is, inevitably, [or] with finality, that is, entirely. Likewise, even for mental [suffering], there is sometimes no cessation even from contact with pleasant sounds and the like. Likewise, material [suffering] also sometimes departs by means, and sometimes not. Likewise, supernatural [suffering] also sometimes departs, and sometimes not. Moreover, even the departure of suffering is useless because it arises again. But for this student, a cause for the departure of suffering that is certain and final is desired. Therefore, it is appropriate to approach a teacher for that sake. // 1