The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s7.t3.12

v2.c40.s7.t3.12

If we seek to find in the older Upaniṣads a more direct connexion with the doctrines of the Sāṁkhya than the conception of the self in Yājñavalkya, then the most obvious parallel, in addition to the scheme of evolution in the Kaṭha, is the passage in the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad² in which a list of ten senses is opposed to a corresponding number of objects, and the presence of intellect, Prajñā, is said to be essential for every kind of sense-knowledge, including the activity of mind in respect of thought and desire. We have here the prototype of the curious feature in the Sāṁkhya of the senses and mind as alike only potential until reflected in some manner in Puruṣa. The more common idea of the senses being powerless without mind lies doubtless at the back of this more advanced conception, a fact which illustrates the remarkable dependence of the Sāṁkhya on older ideas.