Indian Schools of Philosophy| 6 Orthodox Schools and 3 Heterodox Schools| Important Points| UPSC

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Introduction of Indian Philosophy

Philosophy arose in India as an enquiry into the mystery of life and existence. Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the premises of Brahman and Atman; and whether the school believes in afterlife and Devas.

The Hindu philosophy is categorized into six Orthodox and three Heterodox philosophies. The classification is based on the acceptance of the authority of the Vedas. The Orthodox school of philosophy also called the Aastika school believes in the authority of Vedas, while the Heterodox school of philosophy, popularly known as Nastika school rejects the principle of authority of Vedas.

Six Orthodox Schools of Indian Philosophy

This school believed that Vedas were the supreme revealed scriptures that hold the secrets to salvation. They did not question the authenticity of the Vedas. They had six subschools that were called the Shada Darshana: Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Veisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Of the historical division into six darsanas, only two schools, Vedanta and Yoga, survive.

Most of these schools of thought believe in the theory of Karma and rebirth. Moksha (salvation) is believed to be the liberation from the cycle of birth and death and is the ultimate goal of human life.

The basic information about 6 orthodox philosophy are as follows:

School	Author	Main Book	Core Philosophy
Nyaya	Gautama	Nyayasutra	focus on logical thinking.
Vaisheshika	Kanaad	Vaisheshik Sutra	It is a form of atomism in natural philosophy.
Samkhya	Kapila	Sankhya Sutra	postulates that everything in reality stems from purusha (self, soul or mind) and prakriti (matter, creative agency, energy).
Yoga	Patanjali	Yog Sutra	Yogic techniques control body, mind & sense organs, thus considered as a means of achieving freedom or mukti.
Poorva Mimansa	Jaimini	Poorva Mimansa Sutra	emphasis on the power of yajnas and mantras.
Uttar Mimansa or Vedanta	Badrayan or Maharishi Vyas	Uttar Mimansa Sutra	believes world is unreal and the only reality is Brahman

Samkhya Philosophy

Samkya or Samkhya means Enumeration. The founder of the Sankya school of Philosophy was Maharishi Kapil. The school denies the “existence of God” and postulated that there are two realities Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is the consciousness and Prakriti is the phenomenal realm of matter.

Samkhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems. It was put forward by Kapila.
It postulates that everything in reality stems from purusha (self, soul or mind) and prakriti (matter, creative agency, energy).

Purush cannot be modified or changed while prakriti brings change in all objects.
Advaita Vedanta derives its base from Sankhya School. Sankhya also devolves philosophical basis for Yoga. It emphasizes the attainment of knowledge of self through meditation and concentration.
Sankhya philosophy provided the materialistic ontology for Nyaya and Vaisheshik, but there is very little original literature in Sankhya.
Sankhya holds that it is self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent. 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.

This school believed in dualism or dvaitavada, i.e. the soul and the matter are separate entities. This concept is the basis of all real knowledge. This knowledge can be acquired through three main concepts:
- Pratyaksha: Perception
- Anumana: Inference
- Shabda: Hearing
This school has been famous for their scientific system of inquiry. The final philosophy argued that Prakriti and Purusha are the basis of reality and they are absolute and independent.
As Purusha is closer to the attributes of a male, it is associated with the consciousness and cannot be changed or altered. Conversely, Prakriti consists of three major attributes: thought, movement and transformation. These attributes make it closer to the physiognomy of a woman.
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.

Yoga Philosophy

Founder of this school of Philosophy was Patanjali. Rāja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga are its main branches. The Yogasutras of Patanjali which mainly postulate the Raj Yoga, date back to Mauryan Period while Hathayoga was introduced by Yogi Swatmarama. The major difference between Raj Yoga and Hathayoga is that Raja Yoga aims at controlling all thought-waves or mental modifications, while a Hatha Yogi starts his Sadhana, or spiritual practice, with Asanas (postures) and Pranayama. So Raj Yoga starts from Mind and Hathyoga starts from Body.

The Yoga school literally means the union of two major entities. They argue that human being can achieve salvation by combining meditation and physical application of yogic techniques.
The practice of control over pleasure, the senses, and bodily organs is central to this system.

It is argued that these techniques lead to the release of Purusha from the Prakriti and would eventually lead to salvation.
This freedom could be attained by practising self-control (yama), observation of rules (niyama), fixed postures (asana), breath control (pranayama), choosing an object (pratyahara) and fixing the mind (dharna), concentrating on the chosen object (dhyana) and complete dissolution of self, merging the mind and the object (Samadhi).
Yoga presents a practical path for the realization of the self whereas the Samkhya emphasizes the attainment of knowledge of the self by means of concentration and meditation. Releasing Purush from Prakriti by means of physical and mental discipline is the concept of Yoga.
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. Yoga admits the existence of God as a teacher and guide.

Nyaya Philosophy

Nyaya Philosophy states that nothing is acceptable unless it is in accordance with reason and experience (scientific approach). Nyaya is considered as a technique of logical thinking.
It is based on texts known as the Nyaya Sutras, which were written by Aksapada Gautama from around the 2nd century AD.
Nyaya Sutras say that there are four means of attaining valid knowledge: perception, inference, comparison, and verbal testimony.
As the name of the school suggests, they believe in the technique of logical thinking to achieve salvation. They consider the life, death and salvation to be like mysteries that can be solved through logical and analytical thinking. The school argues that by using logical tools like inference, hearing and analogy; a human being could verify the truth of a proposition or statement. It believes that God not only created the Universe but also sustained and destroyed it. This philosophy constantly stressed on systematic reasoning and thinking.
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. There are also other pramanas like anumana (inference, through which we can obtain true knowledge) and shabda pramana (a statement of an expert).

Vaisheshika Philosophy

Vaisheshika school deals with metaphysics. It was founded by the sage Kanada. It is an objective and realistic philosophy of the Universe. According to the Vaisheshika school of philosophy, the universe is reducible to a finite number of atoms, Brahman being the fundamental force causing consciousness in these atoms.

It was proposed by Maharishi Kanaad.

It accepts only two sources of knowledge : perception and inference.
It propounded the atom theory believing that all material objects are made up of atoms.
This school gives importance to the discussion of material elements or dravya.
It marked the beginning of physics in India.
It believes in the physicality of the Universe and is considered to be a realistic and objective philosophy that governs the Universe.

They argue that everything in the Universe was created by the five main elements: fire, air, water, earth and ether (sky). These material elements are also called Dravya.
They also argue that reality has many categories, for example, action, attribute, genus, inherence, substance and distinct quality.
As this school has a very scientific approach, they also developed the atomic theory, i.e. all material objects are made of atoms. They explain the combined to make matter, which is the basis for everything that can be physically touched or seen. This school was also responsible for the beginning of physics in Indian sub-continent. They are considered to be the propounders of the mechanical process of formation of this Universe.
They believe that God is the guiding principle. The living beings were rewarded or punished according to the law of karma, based on actions of merit and demerit.

Difference between Nyaya and Vaisheshika :

The classical Indian philosophy Vaisheshik was the physics of ancient times. It propounded the atomic theory of its founder Kannada. At one time Vaisheshik was regarded as part of the Nyaya philosophy since physics is part of science. But since physics is the most fundamental of all sciences, Vaisheshik was later separated from Nyaya and put forth as a separate philosophy. To make it short, Vaisheshik is a realistic and objective philosophy of the universe.

Vaisesika is allied to the nyaya system of philosophy. Both systems accept the liberation of the individual self as the end goal; both view ignorance as the root cause of all pain and misery; and both believe that liberation is attained only through right knowledge of reality.

There are, however, two major differences between Nyaya and Vaisesika.

First, nyaya philosophy accepts four independent sources of knowledge — perception, inference, comparison, and testimony — but vaisesika accepts only two — perception and inference.

Second, nyaya maintains that all of reality is comprehended by sixteen categories (padarthas), whereas vaisesika recognizes only seven categories of reality. These are: dravya (substance), guna (quality), karma (action), samanya (generality), visesa (uniqueness), samavaya (inherence), and abhava (nonexistence). The term padartha means “the object denoted by a word,” and according to vaisesika philosophy all objects denoted by words can be broadly divided into two main classes — that which exists, and that which does not exist. Six of the seven padarthas are in the first class, that which exists. In the second class, that which does not exist, there is only one padartha, abhava, which stands for all negative facts such as the nonexistence of things.

Purva mimansa (mimansa)

Mimansa means investigation or enquiry. The primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close theology of the Vedas. it has two divisions, Poorva Mimansa and Uttar Mimansa. Uttar Mimansa is treated as Vedanta. The poorva Mimansa was postulated by Jamini. The ideology of Poorva Mimansa was to counteract the challenge by Buddhism and vedanta which marginalized the Vedic sacrifices. This school got momentum in Gupta period and reached its climax in 7-8th century.
Sabara and Kumaril Bhatta were two main interpretators. It was one of the major forces to decline Buddhism in India , but later itself was eclipsed by Vedanta.

The Mimansa was postulated by Jamini.
It literally means the art of reasoning and interpretation.
The reasoning was used to provide justifications for various Vedic rituals, and the attainment of salvation was made dependent on their performance.
According to it, the Vedas contain the eternal truth.
The principal object of this philosophy was to acquire heaven and salvation.
A person will enjoy the bliss of heaven so long as his accumulated acts of virtue last.
When his accumulated virtues are exhausted, he will return to earth, but if he attains salvation he will be completely free from the cycle of birth and death.
Through the propagation of the Mimamsa philosophy, the Brahmanas sought to maintain their ritual authority and preserve the social hierarchy based on Brahmanism.
This philosophy encompasses the Nyaya-vaisheshika systems and emphasises the concept of valid knowledge.

Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta)

This school upholds the philosophies of life as elaborated in the Upanishads. The oldest text that formed the basis of this philosophy was Brahmasutra of Badrayana or Maharishi Vyasa. The philosophy propounds that Brahm is the reality of life and everything else is unreal or Maya. Furthermore, the atma or the consciousness of self is similar to the brahm. This argument equalizes atma and brahm and if a person attains the knowledge of the self, he would automatically understand brahm and would achieve salvation. This argument would make brahm and atma indestructible and eternal.

The Vedanta theory also gave credence to the Theory of Karma. They believed in the theory of Punarjanama or rebirth. They also argued that a person would have to bear the brunt of their actions from the previous birth in the next one. This philosophy would also allow people to argue that sometimes they suffer in their present birth because of a misdeed of the past and the remedy is beyond their means except through the finding of one’s brahm.

It was given by Badrayana or Maharishi Vyasa.
It means the end of the Veda.
The Brahmasutra of Badarayana compiled in the second century BC formed its basic text.
Later, two famous commentaries were written on it, Shankara in the ninth century and Ramanuja in the twelfth.
Shankara considers Brahma to be without any attributes, but Ramanuja’s Brahma had attributes.
According to it, Brahma is the reality and everything else is unreal (Maya).
The self (soul) or Atma coincides with Brahma.
If a person acquires the knowledge of the self (Atma), he acquires the knowledge of Brahma, and thus attains salvation.
Both soul and Brahma both are eternal and indestructible.

The theory of karma came to be linked to Vedanta philosophy.

This philosophy evolved in 9th century AD through the philosophical intervention of Shankaracharya who wrote commentaries on the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. His changes led to the development of Advaita Vedanta. Another major philosopher of this school was Ramanujan who wrote in the 12th century AD. His intervention led to some differences in Vedanta school:

Difference between Shankaracharya’s View and Ramanujan’s View

Shankaracharya’s View	Ramanujan’s View
He considers brahm to be without any attributes.	He considers brahm to possess certain attributes.
He considers Knowledge or jnana/gyan to be the main means of attaining salvation.	He considers loving the faith and practicing devotion as the path to attain salvation.

Vedanta school separated into six sub-schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own series of sub-commentaries:

School Name	Propounders
Advaita	Adi Shankar and his Guru Gaudapada
Vishishtadvaita	Rāmānuja
Dvaita	Madhwāchārya
Dvaitādvaita	Nimbarka
Shuddhādvaita	Vallabha
Achintya Bhedābheda	Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Advaita

Its proponent was Adi Shankaracharya and his Guru Gaudapada.
The essence of this Vedanta is that “Brahman is the only reality, and the world, as it appears, is illusory.”

Vishishtadvaita

Its proponent was Rāmānuja.
The basic theory is that “jīvātman is a part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical.
Brahman, matter and the individual souls are distinct but mutually inseparable entities”.
Vishishtadvaita advocates Bhakti to attain God.

Dvaita

The proponent of the Dvaita was Madhwāchārya.
This theory is also known as Tatvavādā – The Philosophy of Reality.
t identifies God in the Brahman (Universe) and its incarnations such as Vishnu and Krishna.
It considers Brahman and Atman as two different entities, and Bhakti as the route to eternal salvation.

Dvaitādvaita

It states that the Brahman is the highest reality, the controller of all.

The theory of Dvaitādvaita was given by Nimbarka.
It is based upon the early school of Bhedābheda of Bhaskara.
It says that jīvātman is at once the same as yet different from Brahman.
The jiva relation may be regarded as dvaita from one point of view and advaita from another. This school identifies God in Krishna.

Shuddhādvaita

It states that both God and the individual self are the same, and not different.

The proponent of Shuddhādvaita was Vallabha.
It says that World is Leela of God that is Krishna and he is Sat-Chid-Aananda.
It identifies Bhakti as the only means of liberation.
Vallabha was also a famous saint of Pushti Marg. He won the famous debate of Brahmavad over Shankars.

Achintya Bhedābheda

It emphasizes that the individual self (Jīvatman) is both different and not different from Brahman.

The proponent of Achintya Bhedābheda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a follower of the Dvaita vedanta of Sri Madhwacharya.
The doctrine of Achintya Bhedābheda or inconceivable and simultaneous one-ness and difference states that the soul or energy of God is both distinct and non-distinct from God and he can be experienced through a process of long devotion.
It identified God in Krishna. This Philosophy is followed by ISKCON.

Three Heterodox Schools of Indian Philosophy

Schools that do not accept the authority of Vedas are by definition unorthodox (nastika) systems. The following schools belong to heterodox schools of Indian Philosophy.

Charvaka School or Lokayata Philosophy :

Brihaspati laid the foundation stone of this school and it was supposed to be one of the earliest schools that developed a philosophical theory. The philosophy is old enough to find mention in the Vedas and Brihadarankya Upanishad. The Charvaka School was the main propounder of the materialistic view to achieve salvation. As it was geared towards the common people, the philosophy was soon dubbed as Lokayata or something derived from the common people.

The word ‘Lokayata’ also meant a keen attachment to the physical and material world (loka). They argued for a complete disregard of any world beyond this world that was inhabited by a person. They denied the existence of any supernatural or divine agent who could regulate our conduct on earth.

They argued against the need to achieve salvation and also denied the existence of brahm and God. They believed in anything that could be touched and be experienced by the human senses. Some of their main teachings are:

Charvaka was the main expounder of this philosophy. It underlined the importance of intimate contact with the world (loka) and showed a lack of belief in the other world.
It opposed to the quest for spiritual salvation.
This philosophy denied the existence of any divine or supernatural agency.
It accepted the existence/reality of only those things that could be experienced by human senses and organs.
They argued against Gods and their representatives on the earth – the priestly class. They argued that a Brahman manufactures false rituals so as to acquire gifts (dakshina) from the followers.
Man is the centre of all activities and he should enjoy himself as long as he lives. He should consume all earthly goods and indulge in sensual pleasure.
The Charvakas do not consider ‘ether’ as one of the five essential elements because it cannot be experienced through the perception. Hence, they say that Universe consists of only four elements: fire, earth, water and air.
This school argues that there is no other world after this one, hence death is the end of a human being and pleasure should be the ultimate objective of life. Hence, they propound the theory of ‘eat, drink and make merry’.

The original texts have been lost and our understanding of them is based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools. 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.

Buddhist Philosophy

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.
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).
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). To know more about Buddhism, click here.

Jain Philosophy

The central tenets of Jain philosophy were established by Mahavira in the 6th Century B.C., although Jainism as a religion is much older.
According to Jainism, Nirvana or liberation is obtained through three jewels: Right Philosophy, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (Tri-ratna).
Right conduct implies 5 abstinences: 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).
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).
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.
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.
Jain belief emphasizes the immediate consequences of one’s behavior.

Other Two Important Heterodox Philosophy: Ajivika and Ajnana

Ajivika Philosophy

Ajivika is one of the nāstika or “heterodox” schools of Indian philosophy. Believed to be founded in the 5th century BCE by Makkhali Gosala, it was a śramaṇa movement and a major rival of Vedic religion, early Buddhism and Jainism.
The Ājīvika school is known for its Niyati (“Fate”) doctrine of absolute determinism, the premise that there is no free will, that everything that has happened, is happening and will happen is entirely preordained and a function of cosmic principles.
Ājīvikas considered the karma doctrine as a fallacy.
Ajivika metaphysics included a theory of atoms which was later adapted in Vaisheshika school, where everything was composed of atoms, qualities emerged from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms was predetermined by cosmic forces.
Ājīvikas were mostly considered as atheists. They believed that in every living being is an ātman – a central premise of Hinduism and Jainism.
Ājīvika philosophy reached the height of its popularity during the rule of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara, around the 4th century BCE.
The Ājīvika philosophy, along with the Chārvāka philosophy, appealed most to the warrior, industrial and mercantile classes of ancient Indian society.

Ajñāna

Ajñāna is one of the nāstika or “heterodox” schools of ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of radical Indian skepticism.
It was a Śramaṇa movement and a major rival of early Buddhism, Jainism and the Ājīvika school.
They have been recorded in Buddhist and Jain texts.
They held that it was impossible to obtain knowledge of metaphysical nature or ascertain the truth value of philosophical propositions; and even if knowledge was possible, it was useless and disadvantageous for final salvation.

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