Witness consciousness and intentional mental states
Sāṃkhya and Advaita separate pure consciousness (the puruṣa or sākṣin, the passive witness) from the intentional, object-directed mental states produced by the non-conscious mind (buddhi or antaḥkaraṇa), whose states appear conscious by borrowing or reflecting the witness's light. This sets up a contrast with Western accounts that equate consciousness with intentionality, though Gupta qualifies that contrast rather than treating it as a refutation of the Western view.