Samkhya is not atheistic

Q: Samkhya, propounds the view that the universe was created by Lord Hiranyagarbha. How is it reconciled with the commonly held notion that Samkhya does not accept the existence of Isvara?

A: Samkhyaites hold the view with supportive reason that the universe is created and maintained by an omniscient and omnipotent Lord whom they call “Isvara with attributes.” It is stated in Samkhya-sutras that He is omniscient and Lord of all, and that existence of such Isvara is to be accepted as it is based on reason. But Samkhya does not admit that He is also the creator of all living beings and is the dispenser of fruits of all their individual actions. Samkhyaites further maintain with supportive reasoning  that the commonly held view that the eternally liberated  Isvara has been creating and dissolving universes like the existing one from time immemorial is a product of imagination and has no basis in reality… (taken from Samkhya Catechism by Swami Hariharananda Aranya)

Q: Some people are of the opinion that earlier Samkhyaites believed in the existence of God, while later Samkhyaites rejected His existence. Is this view correct?

A: No. This view is mere idle speculation and baseless. Both the earlier and later schools of Samkhya agree in believing that God exists. The contention that Samkhya is godless is the invention of the opponents of the Samkhya school of thought by quoting  out of context a particular Samkhya-sutra purporting to hold such a view. They however overlook that by  the two following  Samkhya-sutras: ‘He is omniscient and omnipotent’ and ‘Isvara of this kind is acceptable’, the existence of God has been adequately acknowledged. According to Samkhya, God is not a separate Tattva but an omnipotent and omniscient eternally liberated Being constituted by the twenty five Tattvas or principles… (taken from Samkhya Catechism by Swami Hariharananda Aranya)