The Collision of Language and Metaphysics in the Search of Self-Identity: on ‘Aha kāra’ and ‘Asmitā’ in Sā khya-Yoga

The author of this paper discusses some major points vital for two classical Indian schools of philosophy: (1) a significant feature of linguistic analysis in the Yoga tradition; (2) the role of the religious practice (ī vara-pranidhāna) in the search for true self-identity in Sāmkhya and Yoga dar anas with special reference to their gnoseological purposes; and (3) some possible readings of ‘ahamkāra’ and ‘asmitā’ displayed in the context of Sāmkhya-Yoga phenomenology and metaphysics. The collision of language and metaphysics refers to the risk of paralogism caused be the common linguistic procedures making the subject define its identity within the semantic order (i.e. verbal conventions and grammatical rules) which does not reflect the actual metaphysical situation of the self, though it determines one’s self-understanding in the empirical sense. Whereas, Sāmkhya-Yoga aims at recognizing, reorganizing and, finally, going beyond these procedures regarded as the obstacles on the path towards self-knowledge and liberation form metaphysical ignorance.