Indian philosophy

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The term Indian philosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought, including:

Part of a series on Hindu philosophy
Schools
Samkhya · Yoga
Nyaya · Vaisheshika
Purva Mimamsa · Vedanta
Schools of Vedanta
Advaita · Vishishtadvaita
Dvaita · Shuddhadvaita
Dvaitadvaita · Achintya Bheda Abheda
Important figures
Kapila · Patañjali
Gotama · Kanada
Jaimini · Vyasa
Medieval
Adi Shankara · Ramanuja
Madhva · Madhusudana
Vedanta Desika · Jayatirtha
Vallabha · Nimbarka
Chaitanya
Modern
Ramakrishna · Ramana
Vivekananda · Narayana Guru
N.C. Yati · Coomaraswamy
Aurobindo ·Sivananda
Satyananda · Chinmayananda
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• Hindu philosophy
  • Samkhya
  • Vedanta
    • Advaita
    • Dvaita
    • Visishtadvaita
    • Dvaitadvaita
    • Shuddhadvaita
    • Achintya Bheda Abheda
  • Mimamsa
  • Nyaya
  • Vaisheshika
  • Yoga
    • Jnana Yoga
    • Karma Yoga
    • Bhakti Yoga
    • Raja Yoga
    • Hatha Yoga
• Buddhist philosophy
• Jain philosophy
• Sikh philosophy
• Carvaka/Lokayata materialist philosophy
• Tantric religious philosophy
• Bhakti religious philosophy
• Sufi religious philosophy
• Ahmadi religious philosophy
• Political and military philosophy such as that of Chanakya
• Non-violent Gandhism that inspired Martin Luther King
• Nehruvian socialism that was applied in the developing world
• Political non-alignment
• Indian logic

[edit] Origins

The origins of Hindu philosophy are to be traced in Vedic deliberations about the universe and Rta ("universal order"), the first of which was the Rig-Veda, composed in the 2nd millennium BC. Other major texts with philosophical implications include the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutra, from circa 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.^[1] The Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana also cover Indian philosophy in much depth. At about the same time, the shramana schools, including Jainism and Buddhism, also developed. It is notable that the Vedanta schools of Hindu philosophy are still living traditions today. Hinduism has no known founder or single, authoritative text ^[2].

Hindu philosophy is traditionally seen through the prism of six different systems (called darshanas in Sanskrit). The six major Astika schools of thought are the Samkhya (enumeration), Yoga (union), Nyaya (logic), Vaisheshika (atomism), Mimamsa (investigation), and Vedanta (culmination of the Vedas) schools. The Vedanta school is further divided into six sub-schools: Advaita (monism/nondualism), VisishtAdvaita (monism of the qualified whole), Dvaita (dualism), Dvaitadvaita (dualism-nondualism), Suddhadvaita, and Achintya Bheda Abheda schools.

Buddhist philosophy is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a Nepalese prince later known as the Buddha, derived from the Sanskrit 'bud', 'to awaken'. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, one whose tenets are not especially concerned with the existence or nonexistence of a God or gods. The Buddha himself expressly disavowed any special divine status or inspiration, and said that anyone, anywhere could achieve all the insight that he had. The question of God is largely irrelevant in Buddhism, though some sects (notably Tibetan Buddhism) do venerate a number of gods drawn in from local indigenous belief systems.

From its inception, Buddhism has had a strong philosophical component. Buddhism is founded on the rejection of certain orthodox Hindu philosophical concepts, in which the Buddha had been instructed by various teachers. Buddhism rejects atheism, theism, monism, and dualism alike. The Buddha criticized all concepts of metaphysical being and non-being, and this critique is inextricable from the founding of Buddhism.

Most Buddhist sects believe in karma, a cause-and-effect relationship between all that has been done and all that will be done. Events that occur are held to be the direct result of previous events. One effect of karma is rebirth. At death, the karma from a given life determines the nature of the next life's existence. The ultimate goal of a Buddhist practitioner is to eliminate karma (both good and bad), end the cycle of rebirth and suffering, and attain Nirvana, usually translated as awakening or enlightenment.

Jaina philosophy, founded by Mahavira (599-527 BCE), is based upon eternal, universal truths, according to its followers. Over a period of time, these truths may lapse among humanity and then reappear through the teachings of enlightened humans, those who have reached enlightenment or total knowledge (Keval Gyan).

Anekantavada is a basic principle of Jainism positing that reality is perceived differently from different points of view, and that no single point of view is completely true. Jain doctrine states that only Kevalis, those who have infinite knowledge, can know the true answer, and that all others would only know a part of the answer. Anekantavada is related to the Western philosophical doctrine of Subjectivism.

[edit] External links

• More articles about Indan Philosophies
• Sarva Darshana Samgraha - an e-compendium of Indian philosophies
• Online course material for InSIGHT, a workshop on traditional Indian sciences for school children conducted by the Computer Science department of Anna University, Chennai, India.
• Indian Philosophy and Religion - A collection of resources to traditional and modern schools of Indian Philosophy and Religion

[edit] See also

• Important publications in Indian philosophy