The Indian philosophy has its roots in the Vedic period.

The great Rishis, settled in the peaceful, invigorating environment of the forests, meditated over the fundamental questions of existence: What is the world? If it’s a creation, what are its constituents? Who is the creator? What is life? What is ‘truth’? What is ‘the nature of reality’?

What was revealed to them was expressed in hymns. With the passage of time, the systematized collection of these hymns constituted the Vedas and the Upanishads.

Indian philosophy distinctly exhibits a spiritual bent. The essence of religion is not dogmatic in India. Here, religion develops as philosophy progressively scales higher planes.

Some of the fundamentals expressed in the Indian philosophy and the Western philosophy may be similar. However, Indian philosophy differs from the Western philosophy on several counts. While the Western philosophy deals with metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics etc. separately, Indian philosophy takes a comprehensive view of all these topics.

For an Indian philosopher, philosophy is something beyond an intellectual pursuit.  The Indian philosopher exemplifies philosophy in his life. His intelligence, knowledge and wisdom are reflected in his life. This is why his life positively influences the life of masses.

The Indian philosophy uniquely describes four purusharthas of life.

Purusharthas:

The four basic ends (purusharthas) of human life, as recognized by the Indian tradition, are as follows:

1. Artha: The Sanskrit word artha means ‘that which one seeks.’ Whatever activity and physical material a man needs to support life can be considered as artha. Artha, in a broad sense, covers man’s professional activities, job, business, wealth, property and all such earthly material helpful in maintaining his life.
2. Kama: Man seeks pleasure in various activities and material objects. Pursuit of happiness and pleasure is a basic, natural instinct in man. Man derives pleasures from relationships and material objects like food, drink etc. This is kama.  Man largely accumulates artha for kama. Butartha and kama should be closely linked with the dharma. They should be directed towards dharma.
3. Dharma: ‘That which sustains’ is dharma. The word dharma stems from the Sanskrit root ‘dhr’ meaning ‘to sustain’ or ‘to support’. Dharma sustains or maintains life. Dharma supports the society. Man lives in the society with fellow-men and various life forms. Dharma lays down duties and obligations expected of man. An individual and the society, for their conduct and actions, get guidance from dharma. Man has obligation to his own self, to the fellow-men and to the society, in fact, to the whole environment of the world.  All the mutual obligations of these inter-relationships are spelt out by dharma.
4. Moksha: Moksha means liberation or total freedom. The Sanskrit word moksha is derived from the root ‘muk’. This root means ‘to emancipate’ or ‘to release’ or ‘to free’. Indian tradition considers moksha as the ultimate goal of life. The sufferings of man are due to avidya, his original ignorance about self. He has been oblivious of his true identity.
   He attaches himself to worldly objects.  Tempted and pressed by everlasting lust and insurmountable desires, he remains bonded to the mundane objects. When knowledge (vidya) dawns on him, he overcomes the dualities of the world and identifies himself as the infinite, eternal Being. Having been completely free from all attachments, expectations and desires, the liberated soul attains moksha.

The Systems of Indian Philosophy

The Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the world. The Indian philosophical systems are classified according as they accept the authority of the Vedas or not. The systems of Indian philosophy are classified into two groups:

1. The Orthodox Systems
2. The Unorthodox Systems

The Orthodox systems are: Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva-Mimamsa, and Uttar-Mimamsa.

The unorthodox systems are: Charvakism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Very often, Purva-Mimamsa is referred to as “Mimamsa” only and Uttar-Mimamsa as “Vedanta”.

The orthodox systems uphold the supremacy of the Vedas. The unorthodox systems reject the authority of the Vedas. Truly speaking Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Samkhya and Yoga are neither orthodox nor unorthodox. These four systems, while originating, neither accepted nor rejected the Vedas.

The orthodox systems form pairs as follows:

Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Yoga-Samkhya, Mimamsa-Vedanta. In each of the pairs, the first system is concerned with the practice and the second system focuses on the theoretical aspects.

It becomes difficult, sometimes, to name a single founder or a promoter of a system. However, the following are widely acknowledged as proponents of the above systems: Gautama for Nyaya, Kanada for Vaisheshika, Patanjali for Yoga, Kapila for Samkhya, Jaimini for Purva-Mimamsa and Shamkara for Uttar-Mimamsa.

Charvakism is believed to have been promoted by Charvaka. Vardhamana Mahavira is acknowledged as the founder of Jainism and Gautama Buddha as the founder of Buddhism.

The common characteristics in Indian Philosophies:

The systems of Indian philosophies, with a singular exception of Charvakism, have certain common characteristics. Charvakism remarkably differs from other systems as it promotes materialism.

The following characteristics are common to all other systems: 

1. All the schools emphasize that the philosophy must have a positive impact on life of man. The schools have a general agreement on the importance of the Purushartha.  All the schools agree that the philosophy should help man in realizing the main ends of human life: the purusharthas, i.e. artha, kama, dharma and moksha.
2. All the systems reflect that the philosophy should lead a man from darkness and ignorance to light and knowledge. 
3. There is a general agreement among the systems that the truth and reality should be verifiable. They should be substantiated with reasoning and experience. An experience may be sensory, conceptual or intuitional. 
4. It is accepted by all the schools that man’s suffering results from his ignorance. Man can conquer ignorance and attain total freedom (moksha) in this bodily existence. 
5. There is a general agreement on man’s essential spirituality.

The History of Indian Philosophy

The historians go on debating about the origin of the Aryans and the time-period when the Vedic civilization developed in India.

It is believed by the Western scholars that the Aryans descended from the regions of the North-Central Asia sometime around 1500 B.C., though this has been challenged by some other learned scholars. Some of the eminent Indian scholars also differ from their Western counterparts, saying that the Aryans were natives of India for long and that the Vedic civilization developed about 4000 to 8000 years ago.

The renowned Indian scholar Lokamanya Tilak contends that the first Vedic hymns could have been composed nearly 6000 years ago and the later works like the Upanishads themselves could be nearly 3000 years old.

The philosophies develop over long spells of time.  It is difficult for the historians to ascertain the period for the development of a particular philosophy.

However, we can safely outline the history of Indian philosophies, as per Dr. Radhakrishnan,  as follows:

1. The Vedic period (1500 B.C. to 600 B.C.)
2. The Epic period (600 B.C. to 200 A.D.)
3. The Sutra  period (200 A.D. to 1700 A.D.)
4. The Scholastic period ( From Sutra Period to 17^th century)

Let us get an idea of these periods:

1. The Vedic Period: This period can be regarded as the dawn of civilization in the world. It witnessed the real transformation of man from a prakrit man to a Sanskrit man. The Vedic period covers the rise and the development of the Aryan culture and civilization.
   The literature of the Vedic period is considered to be the most ancient in the world. It consists of the four Vedas, namely, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Each of the Vedas is divided into four parts: The Samhitas (the Mantras) , the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and theUpanishads.
2. The Epic Period: It is the period of the development of the early Upanishads and thedarshanas and is concerned with the enriching of intellect of man. The darshanas paved the way for the growth of the systems of philosophies in India. The invaluable dharma -shastras, the great treatises on ethical and social philosophy, are the gifts of this period.
   Apart from the extra-ordinary philosophical doctrines, the “non-systemic and the non-technical” literature appeared in this age. The great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are the gifts of this period. The period is very significant because it witnessed the rise and early development of Shaivism and Vaishnavismas well as that of Jainism and Buddhism.
   The Jainism and the Buddhism are considered as heterodox religious philosophies as they do not endorse the authority of the Vedas.
3. The Sutra Period: Over a period of time, the Vedic literature and the subsequent works grew to a massive scale. The great scholars made efforts to safeguard the rich heritage. That is how the illustrious Sutras were written. The Sutras are, mostly, epigrammatic sentences in the verse-form. They helped to preserve and transmit the treasure of philosophies expressed in the voluminous ancient works.
   Badarayana (Veda Vyasa), one of the greatest scholars, wrote Brahma-Sutra, also known as Vedanta-Sutra. The Sutras laid the foundation of the different systems of philosophies in India. The six orthodox systems based on the Sutras are Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva-Mimamsa and Uttar-Mimamsa.
4. The Scholastic Period: This period coinciding with the Sutra period, witnessed the distinguished scholars like Shamkaracharya, Kumarila, Madhavacharya, Ramanujacharya, Sridhara and others. With the passage of time, the ancient literature became nearly incomprehensible. The Vedas, expressed in the Chhandas, the old form of Sanskrit, became difficult to follow. Even the interpretation of the Sutras posed challenges to the learned scholars.
   Hence the scholars wrote commentaries on the ancient literature in general and on the Sutras in particular. Then a number of commentaries were written. Very often a commentary was written on the original commentary or on an earlier one. Various scholars wrote commentaries on Brahma-Sutra according to their own interpretation.
   Chief among them were Shamkaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhavacharya. Incidentally, three schools of Vedanta were developed: Shamkaracharya’s AdvaitaVedanta, Ramanujacharya’s Vishishtadvaita Vedanta and Madhavacharya’s Dvaita Vedanta.

Samkhya

Samkhya  is one of the most prominent and one of the oldest of Indian philosophies.  An eminent, great sage Kapila was the founder of the Samkhya School.

Based on the Upanishads, two schools of philosophy developed in India:
(1) The realistic (e.g. Samkhya) 
(2) The idealistic (e.g.Vedanta).

The Samkhya philosophy combines the basic doctrines of Samkhya and Yoga. However it should be remembered that the Samkhya represents the theory and Yoga  represents the application or the practical aspects.

The word Samkhya is based upon the Sanskrit word samkhya which means ‘number’. The school specifies the number and nature of the ultimate constituents of the universe and thereby imparts knowledge of reality. In fact, the term Samkhya also means perfect knowledge. Hence it is a system of perfect knowledge.

Samkhya is dualistic realism. It is dualistic because it advocates two ultimate realities: Prakriti, matter and Purusha, self (spirit). Samkhya is realism as it considers that both matter and spirit are equally real. Samkhya is pluralistic also because of its teaching that Purusha is not one but many.

Samkhya, to some extent, differs from Nyaya -Vaisheshika and Jainism. While Nyaya-Vaisheshika and Jainism contend that the atoms are the ultimate constituents of the physical world, Samkhya differs on the issue. According to Samkhya the cause is always subtler than the effect.  The Samkhya theory argues: How can so gross  atoms of matter can  be the cause of such subtle and fine objects as mind and intellect?  The Samkhya proposes  that some finest and subtlest stuff or principle underlies all physical existence. Samkhya names it as Prakriti. Prakriti is the primordial substance behind the world. It is the material cause of the world. Prakriti is the first and ultimate cause of all gross and subtle objects.

Prakriti is the non-self. It is devoid of consciousness Prakriti is unintelligible and gets greatly influenced by the Purusha, the self. It can only manifest itself as the various objects of experience of the Purusha

Prakriti is constituted of three gunas, namely sattva, rajas and tamas. The term guna, in ordinary sense means quality or nature. But here, it is to be understood in the sense of constituent (component) in Samkhya. Sattva is concerned with happiness. While rajas is concerned with action,tamas is associated with ignorance and inaction.

Sattva is the guna whose essence is purity, fineness and subtlety. Sattva is the component concerned with lightness, brightness and pleasure. Sattva is associated with ego, mind and intelligence. Its association with the consciousness is the strongest. Though sattva is an essential condition for consciousness, it is not sufficient. It should be remembered that consciousness is exclusively the Purusha.

Rajas is concerned with the actions of objects. It is associated with activity and motion. In material objects, motion and action are the results of rajas. In living beings not only activity and restlessness, but pain also are caused by rajas.

Tamas is the constituent concerned with the inertia and inaction. In material objects, it resists motion and activity. In living beings, it is associated with coarseness, negligence, indifference and inactivity. In man, it manifests itself as ignorance, insensitivity and inaction.

There are two views on the theory of causation in the Indian philosophy:

1. Satkaryavada(pre-existence of the effect in the cause): It maintains that karya (effect) is sat or real. It is present in the karana (cause) in a potential form, even before its manifestation.
2. Asatkaryavada (non-existence of the effect in the cause): It maintains that karya (effect) isasat or unreal until it comes into being. Every effect, then, is a new beginning and is not born out of cause. Charvakism and Nyaya -Vaisheshika systems favour asatkaryavada.

The Samkhya as well as the Vedanta uphold the satkaryavada but their interpretations are different.

There are two different interpretations of satkaryavada – Prakriti -parinamavada and Brahma-vivartavada.

The Parinamavada suggests that the effect is the real parinama (or transformation) of the cause. On the other hand, the Brahma-vivartavada suggests that the effect is an apparent or distorted appearance of the cause. The Advaita Vedanta supports the Brahma-vivartavada. It defends vivartavada and holds that transformation is only apparent, as the Brahman is the only true cause and the world is a distorted appearance of the cause. The Samkhya favours Prakriti-parinamavada.

In accordance with the satkaryavada, the Samkhya maintains that the three gunas of Prakriti are also associated with all the world-objects. Prakriti is the primordial and ultimate cause of all physical existence. Naturally the three gunas which constitute Prakriti also constitute every object of the physical world. Prakriti is never static. Even before evolution, the gunas are relentlessly changing and balancing each other. As a result, Prakriti and all the physical objects that are effected or produced by Prakriti, are also in a state of constant change and transformation. This is further confirmed by the scientists today. It is now proved beyond doubt that ultra-minute particles of objects – like electrons – are in a state of incessant motion and transformation.

According to Samkhya, the efficient cause of the world is Purusha and the material cause is the Prakriti. Here Purusha stands for the ‘Supreme spirit’ and Prakriti stands for ‘matter’. Purusha(spirit) is the first principle of Samkhya. Prakriti is the second, the material principle of Samkhya.

Purusha is neither produced nor does it produce. Prakriti  is not produced but it produces.

Prakriti is uncaused. It is eternal. It itself is not produced but it has inherent potential or tendency to produce.

Purusha(like the Brahmanof Vedanta) is the Transcendental Self. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable, above any experience and beyond any words or explanation. It remains pure, “nonattributive consciousness ”.

Prakriti is the material cause of the world. Prakriti  is dynamic. Its dynamism is attributed to its constituent gunas. The gunas are not only constituents, nor are they simply qualities. The gunasare the very essence of Prakriti. Gunas are constituents not only of Prakriti but also of all world-objects as they are produced by Prakriti. 

Prakriti is considered homogeneous and its constituentgunas cannot be separated. The gunas are always changing, rendering a dynamic character to Prakriti. Still a balance among three gunas is maintained in Prakriti. The changes in the gunas and in the Prakriti may take two forms: Homogeneous and Heterogeneous. Homogeneous changes do not affect the state of equilibrium in the Prakriti.

As a result, worldly objects are not produced.  Heterogeneous changes involve radical interaction among the three gunas. They disturb the state of equilibrium. This is the preliminary phase of the evolution. The evolutionary process is initiated by the rajas, which activates sattva and then the two gunas overpower the inertia of the tamas.

An important factor behind the disturbance is Purusha . The relation between Purusha and Prakriti may be compared to that between a magnet and a piece of iron. Purusha itself does not come into contact with Prakriti. But it influences Prakriti. Thus, the Prakriti is prompted to produce. As the gunas undergo more and more changes, Prakriti goes on differentiating into numerous, various world-objects. Thus it becomes more and more determinate. This is what is termed as evolution.

In evolution, Prakriti is transformed and differentiated into multiplicity of objects. Evolution is followed by dissolution. In dissolution the physical existence, all the worldly objects mingle back into Prakriti, which now remains as the undifferentiated, primordial substance. This is how the cycles of evolution and dissolution follow each other.

According to Samkhya the radical interactions among the three gunas disturb the state of equilibrium in Prakriti. Then there may be dominance of one or the other guna. This disequilibrium, with certain other influencing factors, prompts Prakriti to differentiate into world-objects.

The evolution  results in 23 different categories of objects. They comprise of three elements  of  Antahkaranas or the internal organs as well as the ten Bahyakaranas or the external organs.

Among all these, the first to evolve is Mahat(the great one). Mahat evolves as a result of preponderance of sattva. Since it is an evolute of Prakriti, it is made of matter. But it has psychological, intellectual aspect known as buddhi or intellect. Mahat or intellect is a unique faculty of human beings. It helps man in judgment and discrimination. 

Mahat helps to distinguish between the subject and the object. Man comes to understand the self and the non-self, the experiencer and the experienced as distinct entities with Mahat. Mahat, by its inherent association with sattva, possesses qualities like luminosity and reflectivity. Buddhi can reflect  Purusha owing to these qualities.

The second evolute is ahamkara (ego). It arises out of the cosmic nature of Mahat. Ahamkara is the self-sense. It is concerned with the self-identity and it brings about awareness of “I” and “mine”.

According to the Samkhya there emanates two sets of objects from ahamkara. The first set comprises of the manas (mind), the five sense-organs and the five motor organs. The second set consists of the five elements which may exist in two forms, subtle and gross.

The five subtle elements are also called tanmatras. These five subtle elements or tanmatras are: elemental sound, elemental touch, elemental colour, elemental taste and elemental smell. They areshabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa and gandha respectively. The gross elements  arise as a result of combination of the subtle elements.

The five gross elements are space or ether (akasa), water, air, fire and earth.

Let us elaborate on the above. Ahamkara has three aspects that differ according to the preponderance of the three gunas- sattva, rajas and tamas. With the dominant sattva-guna, theSattvika-ahamkara  produces manas (mind), the five sense organs and the five motor organs. The five sense organs are chakshu (to see), sroto (to hear), rasna (to taste), ghrana (to smell) and tvak (to feel).

The five motor organs are concerned with the powers of speech, handling, movement, excretion and procreation. These organs, in Sanskrit, are referred to as vak, pani, pada, paya andupastha respectively.

All these ten organs together form external organs (bahyakaranas). Mahat,ahamkara and manas form internal organs (antahkaranas.)

It should be noted here that the manas or the mind is different from Mahat or the buddhi. Manas or the mind in co-ordination with the sense-organs, receives impressions from the external world, transforms them into determinate perceptions and conveys them to the experiencer or the ego. Thus manas is produced and is capable of producing also. But though Mahat is produced, it can not produce.

As we have seen ahamkara produces both the subtle and the gross elements. These gross elements are produced by various combinations of subtle elements. For example shabda producesakasha (space) while shabda and sparsha together produce marut(air).

Rupa produces teja (fire).Shabda, sparsha, rupa and rasa together form ap (water). All five elements combine to producekshiti (the earth). The five gross elements combine in different ways to form all gross objects. All the gross elements and the gross objects in the world are perceivable.

Samkhya and the Theory of Knowledge

Samkhya accepts three sources of valid knowledge: Perception, inference and testimony.

According to Samkhya, the manas(mind), the Mahat (intellect = buddhi) and the purusha play a role in ‘producing’ knowledge. When the sense-organs come in contact with an object, the sensations and impressions reach the manas. The manas processes these impressions into proper forms and converts them into determinate percepts. 

These percepts are carried to the Mahat. By its own applications, Mahat gets modified. Mahat takes the form of the particular object. This transformation of Mahat is known as vritti or modification of buddhi. But still the process of knowledge is not completed. Mahat is a physical entity. It lacks consciousness so it can not generate knowledge on its own.

However, it can reflect the consciousness of the Purusha(self). Illumined by the consciousness of the reflected self, the unconscious Mahat becomes conscious of the form into which it is modified (i.e. of the form of the object). This is better explained by an illustration. The mirror cannot produce an image on its own. The mirror needs light to reflect and produce the image and thereby reveal the object. Similarly, Mahat needs the ‘light’ of the consciousness of the Purusha to produce knowledge.

Samkhya cites out two types of perceptions:

Indeterminate (nirvikalpa) perceptions and determinate  (savikalpa) perceptions.

Indeterminate perceptions are sort of pure sensations or crude impressions. They reveal no knowledge of the form or the name of the object. There is vague awareness about an object. There is cognition, but no recognition. An infant’s initial experiences are full of confusion. There is a lot of sense-data, but there are improper or inadequate means to process them. Hence they can neither be differentiated nor be labeled.  Most of them are indeterminate perceptions.

Determinate perceptions are the mature state of perceptions which have been processed and differentiated appropriately. Once the sensations have been processed, categorized and interpreted properly, they become determinate perceptions. They can lead to identification and also generate knowledge.

Samkhya and God

Kapila, the proponent of the Samkhya School, rules out the existence of God. He asserts that the existence of God can not be proved and that God does not exist. Samkhya argues that if God exists and if God is eternal and unchanging as is widely claimed, then he can not be the cause of the world. A cause has to be active and changing. However some of the later commentators of Samkhya seem to bend towards theistic interpretation.

Bondage and Salvation

Like other major systems of Indian philosophy, Samkhya regards ignorance as the root cause of bondage and suffering.  According to Samkhya, the self is eternal, pure consciousness.  Due to ignorance, the self identifies itself with the physical body and its constituents Manas, ahamkara and Mahat, which are products of Prakriti. Once the self becomes free of this false identification and the material bonds, the salvation is possible.

Yoga

Patanjali was the proponent of the Yoga system. Yoga is closely associated with Samkhya. Yoga is largely based on the Samkhya philosophy. They are two sides of the same coin. Samkhya is the theory, Yoga is the practice. It should be noted, however, that Samkhya is basically an atheistic system, but Yoga is theistic.

Patanjali propagated his philosophy of Yoga in his great work – Yoga-Sutra.  Yoga-Sutra consists of four parts. 

While Samkhya uses three terms – Mahat, ahamkara and manas – to refer to antahkarana, Yogahas only one word – Chitta. Yoga adopts a single term, chitta, to refer to a complex of Mahat,ahamkara and manas.

Chitta is considered as being composed of intellect, ego and mind. Chitta has a predominance of sattva guna.

Patanjali shows the way to emancipation by ashtanga-yoga. Yoga is a self-disciplining process of concentration and meditation. Such a Yogic practice leads one to higher states of consciousness. This helps one in acquiring direct knowledge and the result is Self–Realization.

Patanjali lays emphasis on the complete control and mastery of chitta. He proposes the practice of certain physical and mental exercises. They form the basis of ashtanga–yoga.

Ashtanga–yoga comprises of eight anga (steps):

1. Yama
2. Niyama
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Ppratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi

These eight steps are divided into two parts:

External part of five anga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara.

Internal part of three anga: dharana, dhyana and samadhi.

Yama means restraint. One must turn to ethics by refraining himself from immoral activities. This is the first step towards self–discipline. Niyama means observance. It refers to the cultivation of values and virtues in life. These two anga –Yama and Niyama – protects the aspirant from irresistible temptations and desires and offer a protection from the distractions.

The next two steps, asana and pranayama, prepares the physical body for the Yogic practice.

Asana means posture of the body. A steady but comfortable posture is essential for Yoga.Pranayama is concerned with the control of breath. The cycles of inspiration, kumbhaka and expiration have to be carefully monitored. Both these anga enhances the steadiness of the body and mind.

Pratyahara is concerned with the withdrawal of the senses. The senses, by their inherent nature, remain focused on the external world. Pratyahara helps to detach the sense organs from the objects of the world. The isolation from the world objects facilitates the concentration of the mind on any particular object.

The ultimate three steps are: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (spiritual absorption).

Dharana is concerned with the concentration. It is concerned with concentrating the chitta on a single object. The subject is focusing on an object. If the mind diverts to some other object, it has to be fixed again on the chosen object of concentration.

Dhyana is concerned with contemplation. In this stage, the aspirant can keep the mind steady on the object chosen for contemplation. The mind is focused without interruptions and there is unidirectional flow of chitta. Though the mind is steadfast, yet there is awareness of the mind of the self. There is an observer; there is also the one that is being observed.

Samadhi is the ultimate stage of Yogic practice. Now all self-awareness of the mind disappears. The aspirant (seeker) becomes aware that his attachment to the Prakriti was owing to the ignorance (avidya). The illusion is gone. This is the ultimate, nirbeej Samadhi. There is the unification of the subject and the object. Now there is no object at all.  The duo, the subject and the object, mingles into unity. They are no separate entities. There is only one, but it is not an object.  There is oneness devoid of material existence; it is pure Consciousness.

Samkhya  system is based on atheism but Yoga believes in God. Both Yoga and Samkhya holds that there are many purushas. Unlike Samkhya, Yoga holds that there is one SupremePurusha (God) who is above all purushas and that no other Purusha can be like that SupremePurusha. This Supreme Purusha does not create the Prakriti or other purushas.

Vaisheshika

Kanada, a learned sage, founded this system. This system is believed to be as old as Jainismand  Buddhism. Kanada presented his detailed atomic theory in Vaisheshika-Sutra. Basically, Vaisheshika is a pluralistic realism. It explains the nature of the world with seven categories:

Dravya (substance), guna (quality), karma(action), samanya(universal), vishesha (particular), amavaya(inherence) and abhava (non-existence).

Vaisheshika contends that every effect is a fresh creation or a new beginning. Thus this system refutes the theory of pre-existence of the effect in the cause. Kanada does not discuss much on God. But the later commentators refer to God as the Supreme Soul, perfect and eternal.  This system accepts that God (Ishvara ) is the efficient cause of the world. The eternal atoms are the material cause of the world.

Vaisheshika recognizes nine ultimate substances : Five material and four non-material substances.

The five material substances are:

Earth, water, fire, air and akasha.

The four non-material substances are:

Space, time, soul and mind.

Earth, water, fire and air are atomic but akasha is non-atomic and  infinite.

Space and time are infinite and eternal. The concept of soul is comparable to that of the self or atman. This system considers consciousnessas an accidental property. In other words, when the soul associates itself to the body, only then it ‘acquires’ consciousness. Thus, consciousness is not considered an essential quality of the soul.

The mind (manas) is accepted as atomic but indivisible and eternal substance. The mind helps to establish the contact of the self to the external world objects.

The soul develops attachment to the body owing to ignorance. The soul identifies itself with the body and mind. The soul is trapped in the bondage of karma, as a consequence of actions resulted from countless desires and passions. It can be free from the bondage only if it becomes free from actions. Liberation follows the cessation of the actions.

Nyaya

Nyaya is an orthodox school of philosophy.  It was founded by a great sage called Gautama, not to be confused with the Lord Buddha.

Nyaya accepts the basic philosophy of Vaisheshika system.  It can be said that the Vaisheshika system is theory, Nyaya is the practice.

Nyaya recognizes god but Gautama does not deal with the problem of existence of god in any detail.

Like the Vaisheshika, Nyaya  holds that the self is an individual substance, eternal and all pervading. Consciousness is not an essential attribute of the self, but it is only an accidental one. According to Nyaya, salvation is the state of absolute freedom. It is freedom from all pains and pleasures. Then there is freedom from the cycle of the birth and death also.

Purva Mimamsa

The first major orthodox philosophical system to develop was Purva Mimamsa. The other one to follow was the Uttar Mimamsa. The orthodox systems accept the authority of the Vedas.

The Sanskrit word ‘mimamsa means a ‘revered thought’. The word is originated from the root ‘man’ which refers to ‘thinking’ or ‘investigating’. The word ‘mimamsa’ suggests “probing and acquiring knowledge” or  “critical review and investigation of the Vedas”.

Each of the Vedas is considered to be composed of four parts: The Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The first two parts are generally focused on the rituals and they form the Karma-kanda portion of the Vedas. The later two parts form the Jnana-kanda(concerned with knowledge) portion of the Vedas.

Purva-Mimamsa is based on the earlier (Purva = earlier) parts of the Vedas.

Uttar-Mimamsa is based on the later (Uttar = later) parts of the Vedas.

Purva-Mimamsa is also known as Karma Mimamsa since it deals with the Karmic actions of rituals and sacrifices. Uttar-Mimamsa is also known as Brahman Mimamsa since it is concerned with the knowledge of Reality. In popular terms, Purva-Mimamsa  is known simply as Mimamsa and Uttar-Mimamsa as Vedanta.

Jaimini is credited as the chief proponent of the Mimamsa system. His glorious work is Mimamsa-Sutra written around the end of the 2^nd century A.D.  Mimamsa-Sutra is the largest of all the philosophical Sutras. Divided into 12 chapters, it is a collection of nearly 2500 aphorisms which are extremely difficult to comprehend.

Earlier scholars wrote commentaries on Mimamsa-Sutra. Unfortunately they are lost with the passage of time. The earliest available commentary is Sabarasvamin’s Sabara-bhasya, which is still the authoritative basis of all subsequent works on Mimamsa. Renowned scholars Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara independently wrote their commentaries on Sabara-bhasya. Prabhakara was a student of Kumarila Bhatta. However, they differed, to some degree, on the interpretation of  Sabara-bhasya  and  wrote separate commentaries. (Mandan Mishra, the erudite scholar, was a follower of Kumarila Bhatta. He also wrote a commentary, but at a later stage he changed his thinking and became a disciple of Shamkaracharya.)

This system out rightly accept the Vedas as the eternal source of ‘revealed truth.’ Thus though it differs from the earlier four philosophical systems (Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga whichneither accept nor reject the authority of the Vedas), a great chunk of Mimamsa philosophy  is derived from the Vaisheshika-Nyaya duo.

Mimamsa system attaches a lot of importance to the Verbal testimony which is essentially the Vedic testimony. Jaimini accepts the ‘Word’ or the ‘Shabda’ as the only means of knowledge. The ‘word’ or the ‘Shabda’ is necessarily the Vedic word, according to Jaimini. This system strongly contends that the Vedas are not authored by an individual. Since they are ‘self-revealed’ or ‘apaurusheya’, they manifest their own validity.

The system is a pluralistic realist. It endorses the reality of the world as well as that of the individual souls. The soul is accepted as an eternal and infinite substance. Consciousness is an accidental attribute of the soul. The soul is distinct from the body, the senses and the mind. Though Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara differ on issues like the self, the soul and it attribute. The earlier mimamsakas do not give much importance to the deities. Hence they do not endorse God as the creator of the universe. But later mimamsakas show a bent towards theism.

This system has a profound faith in the Vedas.  The system supports the law of karma. It believes in the Unseen Power or ‘apurva’. Apart from accepting the heaven and the hell, the system supports  the theory of liberation.

Uttar Mimamsa

Uttar Mimamsa is the Vedanta, one of the most significant of all Indian philosophies. As compared to other systems, its advent and growth is recent. Still it is the most influential orthodox philosophical systems of India.

The Vedas are the most valuable scriptures of the mankind. They present the most exalted form of superhuman knowledge and wisdom. The Vedas are eternal. They are timeless since they might have taken ages to acquire the written form.

The four Vedas are: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Each of the Vedas is divided into four parts : The Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Upanishads are the concluding parts of the Vedas. They expound the supreme philosophical knowledge. The word ‘Vedanta’ usually refers to the Upanishads. The word is a compound of ‘Veda’ and ‘Anta’. 

It means the ending portion of the Vedas. However, the word ‘Vedanta’, in a broad sense, covers not only the Upanishads but all the commentaries and interpretations associated with the Upanishads. All these works constitute the Vedanta philosophy.

The great scholar Badarayana(?500-200 B.C) initiated the efforts to simplify the Upanishadic philosophy. Badarayana is also known as Ved Vyasa. He was the first scholar to take up the challenging task of systemizing the immensely vast philosophical doctrines of the Upanishads. The result of his efforts was one of the most illustrious works on Vedanta.

Badarayana’s work is known as Brahma-Sutra or Vedanta-Sutra. It is also referred to as Uttar-Mimamsa-Sutra. The Brahma-Sutra has 555 sutras. Most of them are aphoristic and almost unintelligible at first sight. Hence, a number of commentaries were written to interpret them. Among these the commentaries of Shamkaracharya, Ramnujacharya  and Madhavacharya  are regarded authentic and are held in very high view. They are regarded as the greatest scholars of Indian philosophy.

They are not only the principal commentators of  Brahma-Sutra (Vedanta-Sutra) but are also its leading  interpreters. Thus, we have three major schools of Vedanta based on the philosophy of the distinguished trio: Advaita(non-dualism) of Shamkaracharya, Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) of Ramnujacharya and Dvaita(dualism) of Madhvacharya.

All three schools are founded on the Vedanta philosophy. However, there have been differences among them. Even the followers of a particular system, within their own fold, differ to some degree on certain issues.

The Vedanta philosophy is focused on the Jagat(the universe), the Jiva(individual soul) and the Brahman (the Supreme Being). Brahman is the repository of all knowledge and power. Jivas are trapped in the Jagat. Attached to the physical world and driven by passions and desires, they remain chained to ceaseless actions (karma). As a result, they subject themselves to countless births in various forms. Their transmigration from this birth (life) to the next depends on thekarma (the quality of action). 

Moksha or  mukti (liberation) is the goal of life. This philosophy, in general, is accepted by all the three schools. Now let us understand the basic difference among the three schools.

Dvaita refers to ‘two’. Dvaita school is based on the concept of dualism. Madhavacharya emphasizes the distinction between God and individual soul (Jiva). In addition, the school differentiates God from matter as well as the soul from matter. The school maintains that the God, Jiva and the Jagat are three separate and everlasting entities.

God governs the world and has control over the souls. The souls in its ignorance remains shackled in the world. By devotion and God’s mercy, the soul can migrate to the Heaven above. It can obtain Mukti from the cycle of life and death and live with God forever in the Heaven.

Vishishtadvaita literally means “qualified non-dualism”. Ramanujacharya stresses that God alone exists. He says that Brahman is God. He is not formless. The Cosmos and the Jivas form his body. When the Jiva (soul) realises that he is a part of Paramatman (God), the soul is liberated. On liberation, his soul enjoys infinite consciousness and infinite bliss of God. The soul is in communion with God, but it does not share the power of the creation or destruction.

Advaita means “non-dualism”. Brahman is the sole Supreme Reality. Brahman, Jagat and Jivaare not different, separate entities.

The Basic Concepts of Advaita Vedanta

The Advaita Vedanta focuses on the following basic concepts:

Brahman, atman, vidya (knowledge), avidya (ignorance), maya, karma and moksha.

(1) Brahman is the Ultimate, Supreme Reality. Brahman is eternal. Brahman is beyond words. It is beyond names and forms. Brahman cannot be perceived nor could it be described by words. It is beyond senses and intellect. It is indefinable. However, if at all it has to be described; Brahman can be considered as Pure Consciousness.

In Vedanta philosophy, the svaroop of Brahman is referred to as Sachchidananda. Brahman is Sachchidananda i.e. Sat-Chitta-Ananda(Pure Existence-Pure Consciousness-Pure Bliss). Brahman is eternal, immutable, inexpressible and unthinkable pure-existence, but it is not the cause or the creator of the universe.

(2) Atman is the inmost Self or Spirit of man but different from the ‘empirical ego’. Atman is the fundamental, ultimate, eternal, immutable pure consciousness. Thus, it appears thatBrahman is the ultimate reality behind all world-objects and Atman is pure spirit in all beings. Truly speaking, both Brahman and Atman are not different realities. They are identical. For practical purposes, they are referred to separately, which they are not. They are the eternal, all-pervading realities underlying all existence. They are two different ‘labels’ for one and the same reality behind all the objects, all matter, all beings of the universe.

(3) Maya is the unique power (shakti) of Brahman. Maya is trigunatmika; it has three gunas or attributes. But Shuddha Brahman is nirguna and is free from attributes. Shuddha Nirguna Brahmanalone is the Supreme Reality. When Nirguna Brahman comes to acquiesce Maya and acknowledges the gunas of maya, it is known as Saguna Brahman. Saguna Brahman is God, the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world. Saguna Brahman is Ishvara or a ‘personal god.’ Man worships gods in different forms and names.

(4) Brahman  manifests itself in the world with the help of Maya. The world and the world objects come into existence due to the power of maya.  Maya and its creation is termed illusory. It does not mean that the world is not real. Unreality and illusion are different. An illusion may not be an unreality for an illusion is grounded in reality. Reality is that which exists on its own. Mayais dependent on Brahman. Maya has created the world of appearances. So the world is illusion. But this does not mean at all that the world is non-existent. The AdvaitaVedanta, with the help of the famous “rope–snake” illustration,  maintains that ‘it is neither ultimately real, nor wholly unreal, illusory and non existent.’

(5) Avidya (ignorance) has its seat in the human intellect. Avidya means not only absence of knowledge, but also erroneous knowledge. A man trapped in Avidya does not know what is real and thinks that the appearances are real. An individual identifies himself with empirical self. He equates his existence with the physical body. Under the influence of Maya and Avidya, he dissociates himself from the Ultimate Reality. When the man acquires knowledge, the duality of the self and Brahman disappears. He realizes that the self is really one with Brahman. This realization of the self puts an end to the ignorance (avidya).

(6) Moksha is freedom from bondage of ignorance. Man suffers in the grip of incessant desires and ignorance.  Upon realization of the self, one becomes free from the shackles of desires, aspirations, passions, karma and avidya. This is Moksha (kaivalya) or liberation. Moksha is to be attained here and now during this life-span only.

(7) Knowledge and truth are of two kinds: the lower one and the higher one. The lower, conventional knowledge and truth is referred to as vyavavahrika satya. It is a product of the senses and the intellect. The higher one is referred to the paramarthika satya. It is absolute. It is beyond words, thoughts, perception or conception. It is in no way, related to the senses and the intellect. It is non-perceptual and  non-conceptual. It is a product of sublime intuition and “divine vision“. The higher knowledge and truth brings about radical transformation in an individual so it is soteriological.

(8) Advaita  Vedanta recognizes the six  pramanas (sources and criteria of valid knowledge) on the basis of the  Mimamsa school of Kumarila Bhatta. They are as follows: 

(1) Perception (pratyaksha) 

(2) Inference (anumana)

(3) Testimony(shabda)

(4) Comparison (upamana)  

(5) Postulation (arthapatti)  

(6) Non-cognition (anupalabdhi)

Charvakism

Charvakism is one of the unorthodox systems of Indian philosophy.

Charvakism is materialism. It is believed to have stemmed in the post-Upanishadic era, but before the rise of Buddhism. A sage, Charvaka, is believed to be the founder of this Indian system of materialism.

Like other schools of philosophy, Charvakism explores the sources and validity of man’s knowledge of reality. The Charvaka materialists validate ‘Pratyaksa’ (perception) as the sole source and criterion of knowledge. For the materialist, the sense perception (pratyaksa) is the only acceptable source and hence they rule out ‘inference’ and ‘testimony’ as the source and criterion of knowledge.

The materialists emphasize that what you perceive with your senses alone is true. They challenge the inference as the source or criterion of knowledge. They argue, “The man you have encountered are mortal.  May be, yes.  But how can you say that all men in the past, present and future are mortal?”  They contend that  limited, perceived instances cannot lead to unrestricted universal generalizations. 

The materialists hold that matter is the only reality. They straight away reject gods and souls, as they are beyond perceptual experience. They also regard heaven and hell as non-existent as they are not perceivable. For the Charvakas, matter has always existed and will always exist. Matter is both the material and efficient cause of the universe. Hedonism seems to be a feature of Charvakism. However not all followers seem to endorse them.  Many of them acknowledge the importance of society, law and order.

Jainism

Though it is widely believed that Vardhamana Mahavira (599 B.C. – 527 B.C.) founded Jainism, the Jain tradition maintains that he was the 24^th Tirthankara of Jainism. Rishabhadeva was the first Tirthankara. Parshvanatha was the 23^rd Tirthankara.

The two main sects of Jainism are:

(1) Digambara 

(2) Shwetambara.

The Digambaras believe that a monk must give up all property including clothes and then only they get moksha. They also deny the right of women to moksha. 

Jainism is both a philosophy and a religion. It is a heterodox philosophy in the sense that it does not uphold the authority of the Vedas.  It is atheist and does not accept the existence of God. 

Jainism rejects the concept of a Supreme Being or the Brahman as the creator of the world. The Tirthankaras are the liberated souls. The followers offer prayers to the Tirthankaras. Jainism believes that the universe is eternal and boundless (infinite).

The Jains classify all the things into two groups: ‘jiva’ and ‘ajiva’. Jiva  is what is known as the soul or the ‘atman’ or the ‘purusha’ in other systems. Jiva can be considered as ‘the composite unit of body and soul.’ The soul manifests itself in a material body. Its essential character is consciousness.

The jivas or the souls are innumerable and are divided into many grades or categories depending on the sense-organs they possess. The jiva is not permanent. Its magnitude keeps on changing from body to body. The soul of an elephant is bigger than that of an insect.

While the Hindu philosophies maintain that the karma is immaterial, Jainism advances the material form of karma. According to Jainism, karma is “paudgolik”;  it is constituted of subtle particles of matter.

Buddhism

Gautama Buddha (563 B.C.– 483 B.C.) was the founder of Buddhism.

Buddhism gives importance to the impermanence of existence and the sufferings associated with it. All existence, animate or animate, being  in a state of flux, undergoes changes incessantly.  Nothing is permanent. Existence is the source of all suffering. Life is suffering. The impermanence itself is the greatest dukha. Ignorance leads to sufferings and bondage. 

Karma is born out of ignorance. Karmic impressions are carried from this birth to the next birth. This means that the present conditions of life are the results of the past karma. Every thought, word or action of the past existence has a bearing on the present existence.

The most ‘striking’ feature of Buddhism is the doctrine of non-self (Anatta). In a glaring and sharp contrast to the major philosophies, the Buddhism does not accept the permanent entity such as ‘soul’ or the ‘atman’. It maintains that there is no permanent and enduring entity in man.

There is no distinct entity as the self or the soul. Buddhism advances the theory of Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of total freedom and no sufferings. With perfect knowledge, perfect peace and perfect wisdom, man is free from all bondage in a state of Nirvana.

Lord Buddha has presented four Noble Truths:

(1) Existence is invariably associated with suffering.

(2) Every suffering (dukha) has a cause.

(3) Suffering can be eliminated if the cause is eliminated.

(4) There is a path to Nirvana which puts an end to all sufferings.

The eight-fold path to Nirvana suggested by the Buddha is:

(1) Right views 

(2) Right resolve 

(3) Right speech 

(4)  Right conduct 

(5)  Right livelihood 

(6)  Right effort 

(7) Right mindfulness 

(8) Right concentration.

Buddhism is divided into two sects: Mahayana and Hinayana. 

Mahayana literature is written in Sanskrit and Hinayana literature is written in Pali.

Compiled from: http://indianphilosophy.50webs.com/