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Introduction
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Indian Philosophy (or, in
Sanskrit, Darshanas), refers to any of several traditions of philosophical
thought that originated in the Indian subcontinent, including Hindu
philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, and Jain philosophy (see below
for brief introductions to these schools). It is considered by Indian thinkers
to be a practical discipline, and its goal should always be
to improve human life.
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Orthodox (Hindu) Schools
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Schools rejecting Vedic authority (Heterodox or Nastika)
ü Carvaka.
Buddhism, Jauusm
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Schools not rejecting Vedic authority (Othodox or
Astika)
ü
Schools directly based on Vedic texts:
Mimamsa (It emphasizes ritualistic aspect of the Vedas) Vedanta (It emphasizes speculative aspect of the Vedas)
Mimamsa (It emphasizes ritualistic aspect of the Vedas) Vedanta (It emphasizes speculative aspect of the Vedas)
ü
Schools based on independent grounds:
Sankhya. Yoga. Nyaya. Vaisesika
Sankhya. Yoga. Nyaya. Vaisesika
The main Hindu orthodox
(astika) schools of Indian philosophy are those codified during the medieval
period of Brahmanic-Sanskritic scholasticism, and they take the
ancient Vedas (the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism) as their
source and scriptural authority:
1.
Samkhya: Kapila.
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Samkhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems, and it
postulates that everything in reality stems from purusha (self or
soul or mind) and prakriti (matter, creative agency, energy).
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It is generally believed that Sankhya Philosophy is dualistic and not
monistic because it has two entities, purush (spirit) and prakriti (nature)
in it. Samkhya emphasizes the attainment of knowledge of self by means of
concentration and meditation.
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Purush vs Prakriti: In the beginning, the philosophy was materialistic as it talked only
about Prakrithi, but later the element of purush was also added to it. While
Purusha is posited as the only sentient being, ever existent, and immaterial,
Prakriti is said to be the material basis of this universe, composed of three
basic elements (Gunas) – namely Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva.
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It is a dualist philosophy, although between
the self and matter rather than between mind and body as in the Western dualist tradition, and liberation
occurs with the realization that the soul and the dispositions of
matter (steadiness, activity and dullness) are different. Sankhya is the oldest philosphy.
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Sankhya philosophy provided the materialistic ontology for Nyaya and
Vaisheshik, but there is very little original literature in Sankhya.
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Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and
not any exterior influence or agent. Samkhya forms the philosophical basis
for Yoga. In Samkhya, the necessity of God is not felt for epistemological
clarity about the interrelationship between higher Self, individual self, and
the universe around us.
2.
Yoga: Patanjali
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The Yoga school, as expounded by Patanjali in his 2nd
Century B.C. Yoga Sutras, accepts the Samkhya psychology and
metaphysics, but is more theistic, with the addition of a divine entity to
Samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality.
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Yoga does not require belief in God, although such a belief is accepted as
help in the initial stage of mental concentration and control of the mind.
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The relatively brief Yoga
Sutras are divided into eight ashtanga(limbs), reminiscent of
Buddhism's Noble Eightfold Path, the goal being to quiet one's mind and
achieve kaivalya (solitariness or detachment).
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The Yoga presents a practical path for the realization of the self whereas
the Samkhya emphasizes the attainment of knowledge of self by means of
concentration and meditation. Releasing Purush from Prakriti by means of
physical and mental discipline is the concept of Yoga.
3.
Nyaya: Aksapada Gautama
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The Nyaya school is based on the Nyaya Sutras, written
by Aksapada Gautama in the 2nd Century B.C.
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Nyaya says that the world is real and the philosophy does not follow
a monist view.
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Nyaya philosophy relies on several pramanas i.e. means of
obtaining true knowledge as its epistemology. According to it, the pradhan pramana
or principal means of obtaining knowledge is pratyaksha pramana i.e.
the knowledge obtained through the 5 senses.
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There are also other pramanas like anumana (inference, through which
we can obtain true knowledge) and shabda pramana (a statement of an expert)
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Its methodology is based on a system of logic that has
subsequently been adopted by the majority of the Indian schools, in much the
same way as Aristotelian logic has influenced Western
philosophy.
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Its followers believe that obtaining valid knowledge (the four
sources of which are perception, inference, comparison and testimony) is
the only way to gain release from suffering.
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Nyaya developed several criteria by which the knowledge thus
obtained was to be considered valid or invalid (equivalent in some
ways to Western analytic
philosophy).
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Subsequent philosophers who claimed to be Nyayiks, e.g. Vatsyayan (who
wrote Nyaya Bhashya), Udayan (who wrote Kusumanjali) etc. distorted
the Nyaya philosophy by introducing theological elements in it. Navya Nyaya
scholars like Gangesh resorted to gymnasics in logic.
4.
Vaisheshika: Kanada
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The Vaisheshika school was founded by Kanada in the 6th
Century B.C., and it is atomist and pluralist in
nature.
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The basis of the school's philosophy is that all objects in the physical
universe are reducible to a finite number of atoms,
and Brahman is regarded as the fundamental force that
causes consciousness in these atoms.
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The Vaisheshika and Nyaya schools eventually merged because of
their closely related metaphysical theories (although Vaisheshika
only accepted perception and inference as sources of valid
knowledge).
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The classical Indian philosophy Vaisheshik was the physics of ancient
times. It propounded the atomic theory of its founder Kannada.
5.
Purva Mimamsa:
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The main objective of the Purva Mimamsa school is
to interpret and establish the authority of the Vedas.
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It requires unquestionable faith in
the Vedas and the regular performance of the
Vedic fire-sacrifices to sustain all the activity of the universe.
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Although in general the Mimamsa accept the logical and philosophical
teachings of the other schools, they insist that salvation can
only be attained by acting in accordance with the prescriptions of the
Vedas.
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The school later shifted its views and began to teach the doctrines
of Brahmanand freedom, allowing for the release or escape of the soul
from its constraints through enlightened activity.
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The word Mimamsa means to analyze and understand thoroughly.
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Purva Mimamsa examines the teachings of the Veda in the light of
karma-kanda rituals, ie karma-mimamsa system is called purva-mimamsa.
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Purva mimansa (or briefly mimansa) lays emphasis on the performance of the
yagya for attaining various spiritual and worldly benefits.
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Hence this philosophy relies on the Brahmana (and samhita) part of
the Vedas.
6.
Vedanta:
Sankaracharya
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The Vedanta, or Uttara Mimamsa, school concentrates on the
philosophical teachings of the Upanishads (mystic or spiritual
contemplations within the Vedas), rather than
the Brahmanas (instructions for ritual and sacrifice).
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The Vedanta focus on meditation, self-discipline and spiritual
connectivity, more than traditional ritualism.
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Due to the rather cryptic and poetic
nature of the Vedanta sutras, the school separated into six sub-schools,
each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own series of
sub-commentaries:
i. Advaita (the best-known, which holds that the soul and
Brahman are one and the same),
ii. Visishtadvaita (which teaches that the Supreme Being has a
definite form, name - Vishnu - and attributes),
iii. Dvaita(which espouses a belief in three separate realities:
Vishnu, and eternal soul and matter),
iv. Dvaitadvaita (which
holds that Brahman exists independently, while soul and matter are dependent),
v. Shuddhadvaita (which
believes that Krishna is the absolute form of Brahman) and
vi. Acintya
Bheda Abheda (which combines monism and
dualism by stating that the soul is both distinct and non-distinct from
Krishna, or God).
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Vedanta says that the world is
unreal, Maya. Vedanta is monistic, in other words, it says that there is only
one reality, Brahman. Vedanta lays emphasis on brahmagyan, hence relies on
the Upanishad part of the Vedas.
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Vedanda has its roots in Sankya
Philosophy. There are three sub-branhces for
Vedanda :
i.
Absolute Monism of Shankara
ii.
Vishishtha Advaita or qualified monism of Ramanuja
iii.
Dvaita of Madhva
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A close examination shows that the first 4 classical systems are not
entirely based on Vedas. But last two, the Purva Mimansa and the Uttar
Mimansa, certainly rely on the Vedas.
The main heterodox (nastika)
schools, which do not accept the authority of the Vedas, include:
1.
Charvaka: Charvaka
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Also known as Lokayata, Carvaka is a materialistic, skeptical and
atheistic school of thought.
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Its founder was Carvaka, author of
the Barhaspatya Sutras in the final centuries B.C.,
although the original texts have been lost and our understanding of
them is based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools.
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As early as the 5th
Century, Saddaniti and Buddhaghosa connected the Lokayatas
with the Vitandas (or Sophists), and the term Carvaka was first
recorded in the 7th Century by the philosopher Purandara, and in the 8th
Century by Kamalasila and Haribhadra.
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As a vital philosophical school, Carvara appears to have died
out some time in the 15th Century.
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It is characterised as a materialistic and aesthetic school of thought.
Accepted direct perception as the surest method to prove the truth of anything.
Insists on joyful living.
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The original texts have been lost and our understanding of them is based
largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools.
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As early as the 5th Century, Saddaniti and Buddhaghosa connected the
Lokayatas with the Vitandas (or Sophists), and the term Carvaka was first
recorded in the 7th Century by the philosopher Purandara, and in the 8th
Century by Kamalasila and Haribhadra.
2.
Buddhist
philosophy: Siddhartha Gautama
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Buddhism is a non-theistic system of beliefs based
on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince later known as
the Buddha, in the 5th Century B.C.
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The question of God is largely irrelevant in Buddhism,
and it is mainly founded on the rejection of certain orthodox Hindu
philosophical concepts (although it does share some philosophical views
with Hinduism, such as belief in karma).
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Buddhism advocates a Noble Eightfold Path to
end suffering, and its philosophical principles are known as the Four
Noble Truths (the Nature of Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, the
Cessation of Suffering, and the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering).
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Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems
in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics and epistemology. It is a
system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautma.
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Buddhism is a non-theistic philosophy whose tenets are not
especially concerned with the existence or non-existence of God.
Four Noble Truths in Buddhism are the following.
1.
There is suffering
2.
There is a cause of suffering
3.
There is a cessation of suffering
4.
There is a way to the cessation of
suffering
Buddhists
philosophy of life to get ‘Nirvana’ from suffering is based on the following eight principles:
1. Right Faith (Samyak Dristi)
2. Right Resolve (Samyak Sankalpa)
3. Right Speech (Samyak Vakya)
4. Right Action (Samyak Karmanta)
5. Right Living ( Samyak Ajiva)
6. Right Thought (Samyak Smriti)
7. Right concentration (Samyak Samadhi)
8. Right Effort (Samyak Vyayama)
3.
Jain philosophy: Mahavira
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The central tenets of Jain philosophy were established
by Mahavira in the 6th Century B.C., although Jainism as a
religion is much older.
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A basic principle
is anekantavada, the idea that reality is perceived
differently from different points of view, and that no single point of
view is completely true (similar to the Western philosophical doctrine of Subjectivism).
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According to Jainism, only Kevalis, those who have infinite knowledge,
can know the true answer, and that all others would only know a part of
the answer.
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It stresses spiritual independence and the equality of all
life, with particular emphasis on non-violence, and
posits self-control as vital for attaining the realization of the
soul's true nature.
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Jain belief emphasizes the immediate consequences of one's behavior. Already in existence by 6th century B.C, it was revived
by Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara.
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According to Jainism, Nirvana or liberation is obtained through three
jewels: Right Philosophy, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (Tri-ratna). Right
conduct implies 5 absinences: not to lie, not to steal, not to strive for
luxury and not to strive for possessions, not to be unchaste and not to injure
(Ahimsa).
4.
Indian Political
Philosophy:
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The Arthashastra, attributed to the Mauryan
minister Chanakya in the 4th Century B.C., is one of the
earliest Indian texts devoted to political philosophy, and it discusses ideas
of statecraft and economic policy.
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During the Indian struggle for independence in the early 20th
Century, Mahatma Gandhipopularized the philosophies
of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (non-violent
resistance), which were influenced by the teachings of the Hindu Bhagavad
Gita, as well as Jesus, Tolstoy, Thoreau and Ruskin.
Ajivika Philosophy
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A related philosophy which some classify under the
heterodox sytem is Ajivika Philosophy.
The Ājīvikas may simply have been a more
loosely-organized group of wandering ascetics (shramanas or sannyasins).
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