Text 1
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
atha te sampravakṣyāmi
sāṅkhyaṁ pūrvair viniścitam
yad vijñāya pumān sadyo
jahyād vaikalpikaṁ bhramam
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; atha — now; te — unto you; sampravakṣyāmi — I shall speak; sāṅkhyam — the knowledge of the evolution of the elements of creation; pūrvaiḥ — by previous authorities; viniścitam — ascertained; yat — which; vijñāya — knowing; pumān — a person; sadyaḥ — immediately; jahyāt — can give up; vaikalpikam — based on false duality; bhramam — the illusion.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: Now I shall describe to you the science of Sāṅkhya, which has been perfectly established by ancient authorities. By understanding this science a person can immediately give up the illusion of material duality.
In the previous chapter the Lord explained that one can give up material duality by controlling the mind and fixing it in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This chapter describes the Sāṅkhya system, in which the difference between matter and spirit is elaborately explained. By hearing this knowledge one can easily separate the mind from material contamination and fix it on the spiritual platform in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Sāṅkhya philosophy system mentioned here is that presented by Lord Kapila in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and not the atheistic Sāṅkhya presented later by materialists and Māyāvādīs. The material elements, which emanate from the potency of the Lord, evolve in a progressive sequence. One should not foolishly think that such evolution begins from an original material element without the assistance of the Lord. This speculative theory is generated from the false ego of conditioned life and constitutes gross ignorance, unacceptable to the Personality of Godhead and His followers.