Samkhya-Yoga-Kundalini
Viveka is defined in the Apte Sanskrit-English Dictionary as:
Viveka and a-viveka are key concepts in both Samkhya and Yoga philosophies. A-viveka is the opposite of viveka, usually translated as non-discrimination.
The Samkhya Pravachana Sutram contains a lengthy discussion of exactly what binds the Purusa to Prakriti. Through extensive deliberation, the ancient Samkhya philosophers determined the cause to be aviveka, the inablilty to discern the difference between the two.
Conjunction of Purusa and Prakriti takes place through non-discrimination, since they are not the same.
Nandalal Sinha translated na samanatvam as “Hence there is no similarity”, but it is difficult to see any sense in that. Literally, the meaning is “not the same, not one”. The sutra seems to be saying that Purusa and Prakriti are not the same thing, they are two things joined together because of aviveka - non-discrimination.
Removal thereof (i.e. aviveka) takes place from a determinate cause, like darkness.
The author compares aviveka to darkness which is removed by light. Here, light is viveka. Since the cause of conjunction has been determined to be aviveka, the means of its removal follows from that.
From cessation of non-discrimination of Pradhana (from Purusa), non-discrimination of other things also ceases.
Pradhana is a synonym for Prakriti. The sutra appears to say that, if discrimination of Purusa from Prakriti occurs, then discrimination of everything else automatically follows. But, as we shall see, the means of achieving viveka is exactly the opposite, the discrimination of other things leads up to discrimination of Pradhana.
(The bondage of Purusa to Prakriti) is merely verbal and not real because it resides in the mind.
(Bondage) is not removed by learning and reasoning alone without direct vision of the truth, like one perplexed about the points of a compass.
Viveka cannot be accomplished by learning and reasoning alone, a person must have first-hand experience of Purusa as distinct from Prakriti. Vijnana Bhiksu explains:
As in the case of person confused in regard to the points of the compass, the inversion of the directions in space, even though it is merely verbal, i.e., apparent or illusory, is not removed by hearing or by reasoning, without his realizing for himself, how the points of the compass really lie.
Perfection of viveka results from the habitual cultivation of the tattvas, from abandonment in this way, not this, not that.
Tattva-abhyasa is the method prescribed for reaching the state of discrimination of Purusa and Prakriti. However, there is some difficulty with the translation. The general meaning of abhyasa is continual repetition or practice, as in the practice of medicine, or dentistry, or yoga, but this definition is not helpful here. Fortunately, the Yoga Sutras clears this up for us. There, abhyasa is defined as effort toward achieving steadiness of the mind. The Sutras go on to say that the best way of achieving that is through concentration on an object. In tattva-abhyasa, the objects of concentration are the tattvas. The yogi must discriminate each of the tattvas in the sense of I am not the body, I am not the mind, etc. This is further clarified by Karika 64 and will be explained in more detail in the section on dharana.
So, through cultivation of knowledge of the tattvas is produced the final, pure, because free from error and doubt, and one single knowledge that neither does agency belong to me, nor is attachment mine, nor am I identical with the body, etc. (Nandalal Sinha)
Here, tattva-abhyasa is translated as cultivation of knowledge of the tattvas, adding the word knowledge, which further explains the concept. The Karika sheds light on the type of knowledge that must be produced from tattva-abhyasa in order for viveka to take place. Knowledge of the tattvas must be:
The Karika appears to be saying that what is required is scientific knowledge of material nature. Complete knowledge with nothing else remaining to be known implies omniscience, a characteristic of Isvara.