Exploring Episteme — The Ancient Indian Way (Part 1)

Understanding the meaning behind the concepts behind Pratyaksha and Anumana

Knowledge is like God, it only comes to those who seek it ~ Me

The universe is so vast, so expansive that it is incomprehensible for any human being. You may associate something massive like the Virgo Supercluster with a number like “100 billion times the size of the Milky Way” but is it understandable to the human brain? You may use relative parameters to understand the massiveness of the number, but do you comprehend the number itself? No, because there are limits to human perception. And the more material you try to make your understanding, the more complex it becomes to comprehend. This could be through words — Vāk, math/science — Vijñāna, or some other way.

Understanding the nature of one’s existence is the purpose of life. We humans do it through understanding the universe that we’re part of. It could be by delving into the intricacies of the brain and how neurons work at the quantum level, or by understanding the nuances of the big bang that led to the creation of everything we know today. Different branches of science emerge from which angle you want to go in, to understand the universe.

Vritti is a Hindu concept that refers to the disturbances in the natural state of being, or in Sanskrit, it’s referred to as a consequence of “Avidya”. “Vidya” means knowledge, and “Avidya” means “lack of knowledge”. It can be…