Part 1 - Introduction to Indian Philosophy

The ultimate goal of any philosophy is to know the self and related facts of the life. Whenever we try to go deeper, in search of our existence on this Earth, lots of questions which are the basis of spiritual enquiry arise in the mind like:

“Who am I?”

“From where do I come?”

“Where will I go after death?”

“What is the significance of this universe?”

“What do I know about myself and others?” “What is reality?”

“Does God exist? If yes, then where is he?”

And so on. The role of Philosophy is to analyse these questions critically to help us towards the solutions. It is an outlook towards you, others, the world and everything. The word "Philosophy" comes from the Greek word “philosophia”, which literally means "love of wisdom^[1] ". Philos means love and Sophia means knowledge^[2]. The Sanskrit term for philosophy is darsana and "philosopher" is darsanika, one who is familiar with the systems of Philosophy.

Some of the definitions of “Philosophy” are:

1. “Origin, love of, or the search for, wisdom or knowledge”

2. “Philosophy is theory or logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, thought, knowledge and the nature of the universe^[3] ”.

Thus, the study of philosophy takes us to the journey of mysteries of universe, of an individual as well and from our mind to the universal consciousness.

“Philosophy is rationally critical thinking, of a more or less systematic kind about the general nature of the world (metaphysics or theory of existence, key concept), the justification of belief (epistemology or study of the nature and scope of or philosophical theory of knowledge) and the conduct of life (ethics or theory of value)”.

Each of the three elements in this list has a non-philosophical counterpart, from which it is distinguished by its explicitly rational and critical way of proceeding and by its systematic nature.

Philosophy is conceptual analysis. The Indian thinkers of antiquity viewed philosophy as a practical necessity that needed to be cultivated in order to understand how life can best be led. They proclaimed the principle that knowledge in itself was of no value and was needed only because it taught people the correct path in life. This understanding of the aim of knowledge, philosophy and wisdom distinguishes Indian Philosophy from the western ones.

It became a custom for Indian writers to explain at the beginning of philosophical work how it serves human ends (purusartha). Indian philosophers were also concerned with religious and metaphysical questions such as, the precise nature of liberation. The philosophy of India takes its stand on the spirit which is above mere logic, and holds that culture based on mere logic or science may be efficient, but cannot be inspiring. Darsana is a culture which means a doctrine that helps one see and experience the reality. In India, two types of cultures or Darsanas were developed, namely Vedic culture and Sramana culture. Jainism and Buddhism belong to Sramana culture. And Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta follow Vedic culture.

Basically, darsanas were designed to solve the practical difficulties and sufferings of our life. Majority of Indian darsanas accept “Karma Siddhanta” (Laws pertaining to human actions), which believe that our present life is due to our past actions called as karma. Happiness and miseries are essential fruits of our past deeds. This is scientific as it has cause and effect relationship. Each one is a creator of one’s fortune. Selfless deeds are independent of the law of karma. This karma theory easily explains why one person and his life are different from the others in status and many aspects. And accordingly, each one is unique.

By understanding this philosophy, we stop blaming others for our status, sufferings and all. Only we are responsible for what we get in our life. So, it gives us hopes. One can make his life worth living, contented with his own karma.

Each human being wishes to get rid of suffering. Darsanas lead us towards moksa i.e. liberation from sufferings and therefore these darsanas are also called as “moksa-darsana”. Buddhism (Bodhicarya) explains the process or sadhana to the final goal as a march towards enlightenment. Jainism names it as kaivalya followed by moksa. Patanjala Yogasutra’s goal is achievement of “discriminating insight” (viveka) followed by kaivalya. Vedanta calls it as realization of the transcendental self (Atman-Brahman). The main instrument for this purpose is our own consciousness, atman that makes Indian Philosophy “atma-vidya’.

As compared to this, Western philosophy was basically started out of curiosity and without any practical approach. According to them, “Philosophy” is a mental and analytical exercise. Darsana is an end in itself (sadhya) according to Western philosophers. Whereas, eastern philosophers believe that philosophy is only an instrument (sadhana) to gain knowledge initially and thereafter intuitive experience and spiritual contentment (moksa). Spirituality corrects, purifies, decorates and develops inner life. As such, it is an inward journey making us introvert. As against this, Science which deals with our outer life is an extrovert process. But, as we see and experience today, both are complimentary to each other.

Western philosophies were developed sequentially, one after the other. One philosopher got popularity at the cost of previous one. The next philosophy got accepted widely when the previous got destroyed. Western philosophers^[4] like Democritus (460-370^B.C.), Plato (428-348^B.C.) and Socrates (464-399^B.C.) all of Greece, Descartise Rene (1596-1650) of France, Spinoza Baruch (1623-1677) Dutch-Jewish, Irish Berkeley, Bishop George (1685 to 1753), Locke John (1632-1704) of England and Hegel G.W.F. (1770-1831) of Germany are examples of it. They have emphasized importance of intelligence to gain knowledge, but this is indirect and intuitional knowledge as per Indian Philosophy.

Indian Darsanas are developed in co-ordination with each other and all are alive today as part of our life. According to Max Muller, in India, the study of darsanas is not done only for gaining knowledge but to achieve the ultimate goal of the life^[5].

The common observation of the author of this Thesis while studying most of the scripture, is that the great Rishis centered philosophy on an assumption that there is a unitary underlying order in the universe which is all pervasive and omniscient. The efforts by various schools were concentrated on explaining this order and the metaphysical entity at its source. The concept of natural law (Dharma) provided a basis for understanding questions of how life on earth should be lived. The sages urged humans to discern this order and to live their lives in accordance with it.

Traditionally, schools or Darsanas of Indian Philosophy are classified as orthodox (astika) and heterodox or non-orthodox (nastika) depending on whether they regard the Veda as an infallible source of knowledge.

There are six schools of orthodox Indian Philosophy which trust in validity of Veda and they all have drawn from a common reservoir of thoughts. And the other three heterodox schools are those do not believe in Veda.

The orthodox schools are:

1. Nyaya, the school of logic
2. Vaisesika, the atomist school
3. Samkhya, the enumeration school
4. Yoga, the school of Patanjali (which provisionally asserts the metaphysics of Samkhya)
5. Purva Mimamsa (or simply Mimamsa), the tradition of Vedic exegesis, with emphasis on Vedic ritual, and
6. Uttara Mimamsa (also called Vedanta), the Upanisadic tradition, with emphasis on Vedic Philosophy.

All these systems recognize as obligatory unselfish love and disinterested activity, and insist on cittasuddhi (purification of mind) as essential to all moral cultures. In different degrees, they adhere to the rules of caste (varna) and stages of life (asramas). Of these six systems, the Vaisesika is not very much in honour, while the Nyaya on its logical side is popular and finds many devotees, especially in Bengal.

Yoga Philosophy in its practical form is being practiced and getting more and more popular due to its positive effects in modern stressful life. The Purva - Mimamsa is closely related to Hindu traditions and customs; whereas the Samkhya was not a living faith. The Vedanta in its different forms pervades the whole atmosphere. Though, during last fifty years most of the yoga followers have started creating faith in Samkhya and getting more popularized.

These darsanas are grouped like as “Nyaya-Vaisesika”, where both are having many common principles forming a complete darsana, and their theories give us an analysis of the world of experience. They accept God as the result of inference. Samkhya is not theism. “Samkhya” and “Yoga” have common principles of purusa and prakrti; both developed independently having indirect influence of Veda.

Mimamsa and Vedanta are termed as “Vedanta” and this group is a gift of Vedic culture, where Mimamsa describes rituals in the form of karmakanda and Vedanta describes the explanations in the form of jnanakanda. Purva Mimamsa derives the general conception of deity from Vedas, though not anxious about the supreme spirit. The Uttara Mimamsa accepts God on the basis of sruti (listening to authorities and analytical thinking) assisted by inference. Realization of God can be had through Meditation and jnana.

Therefore, in India, Darsana is an instrument towards final goal, which is to get free from miseries. Philosophy is for life and not merely a thought process^[6].

The Heterodox are Jains, Buddhists and Materialists (Carvaka). However, Vidyaranya classifies Indian Philosophy into sixteen schools where he includes schools belonging to Saiva and Radhesvara thoughts with others.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/philosophy (Retrieved on 02.02.2012)

[2]:

H.P.Sinha, Bharatiya Darshan Ki Ruparekha, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 2010, p.3

[3]:

Webster's New World Dictionary, 2^nd edition, World Publishing Company of Cleveland, Ohio, 1970, p.15

[4]:

http://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers.html (Retrieved on 08.01.2015)

[5]:

F.M.Muller, The Six systems of Indian Philosophy, BiblioLife, Longmans Green And Co., New York, 2009, p.370

[6]:

Radhakrishnan and Moore, A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1967, p.4