(Sāksin) Sanskrit for “onlooker,” “observer,” or “witness,” from the prefix sa- (with) and the possessive noun aksin (having eyes). It is used in Indian philosophy to refer to atman (in Advaita Vedanta) or purusa (in Sankhya) as the consciousness which merely witnesses the activities of the material world, both physical and psychic, but does not actually cause those activities. The term is rarely used in theosophical literature.

R.W.B.

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