relationships, if one can understand how
these relationships work, they can be
manipulated to one’s advantage. The dis-
advantage of this model is that it can lead
to fatalism. In a world in which everything
occurs through natural transformation, it
can seem as if the universe is running
under its own power, and that human
actions may not be able to influence such
strong relationships. The philosophical
schools espousing this model are the
Samkhyas, proponents of Bhedabhada,
Ramanuja’s Vishishthadvaita Vedanta,
and the various branches of Advaita
Vedanta. The first three believe that the
difference between cause and effect is a
genuine transformation of the cause,
whereas the Advaita school stresses that
this transformation is only apparent, and
that the real source of bondage (and liber-
ation) lies in avidya, the fundamental lack
of understanding that causes one to mis-
perceive the nature of things. For further
information see Karl H. Potter (ed.), Pre-
suppositions of India’s Philosophies, 1972.
Satkhyati
(“discrimination of the real”) Theory of
error propounded by Ramanuja, the
eleventh century philosopher who was
the founder of Vishishthadvaita
Vedanta. This theory is also known as
yathakhyati (“discrimination [of things]
as they are”). All the theories of error aim
to explain why people make errors in
judgment, the stock example being mis-
taking the silvery flash of sea shell for a
piece of silver. Ramanuja’s analysis is
based on the understanding that all
things are composed of the five ele-
ments, and that the different propor-
tions of the elements account for their
differences. The viewer is correct in per-
ceiving the silvery flash, since this is a
property shared by both shell and silver.
The error comes in supposing that the
object is silver—that is, taking the part
of the judgment that is true, and making
an incorrect assumption based on that.
As for some of the other theories, the
ultimate reason one “sees” silver and
not other silvery things comes from
karmic dispositions stemming from
avidya, specifically the greed for silver
that prompts us to look for such items of
value. For further information see
Bijayananda Kar, Theories of Error in
Indian Philosophy, 1978; Karl H. Potter
(ed.), Presuppositions of India’s Philo-
sophies, 1972.Satsang
(“company of the good”) Quasi-con-
gregational meeting and worshipthat
was particularly emphasized in devo-
tional (bhakti) religious life as a way toSatsangWomen singing hymns at a neighborhood temple during a satsang in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.