The Six Amazing Philosophical Schools of Ancient India

The civilization that shaped the Indian subcontinent’s philosophy was much older and deeper than we originally thought. The more I investigated, the more I was intrigued by the depth and vastness of the concepts which remained shrouded in mystery.

During 800 BC, Indian philosophy was taking a different shape. The Vedic period, which lasted from 1500 BC - 800 BC, ended when all four Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda) were conceived. Veda means knowledge and all four have overlaps but serve different purposes. Vedas are the oldest text source of Philosophy in ancient India.

After 800 BC, the evolution of knowledge in the subcontinent took a different direction towards Schools of Philosophy. There are two branches of Indian Philosophy- Astika, which means those who consider the four Vedas as its core, and Nastika, which means those who do not consider Vedas at its core. Both agreement and disagreement led to further evolutions.

The six schools of Indian Philosophy of the Astika branch

1. Vaisehishka

2. Vedanta

3. Nyaya

4. Mimansha

5. Yoga

6. Samakhya

Besides these six pillars, there were more schools of Indian Philosophy, which were called the Nastika branch, which took a different line to thought were

1. Buddhism

2. Jainism

3. Hedonism or Materialism

Both branches were quite popular but the Nastika branch was a deviation from mainstream philosophy but also had a strong foundation and made its contributions. Indian subcontinent between 800 BC to 100 AD was mostly ruled by Buddhists and Jains. I will discuss the six Schools of the Astika Branch at the moment provided below.

1. Vaiseshikha School of Philosophy

Vaiseshika, one of the six systems of Indian philosophy, is significant for its naturalism. The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kashyapa during the 6th century BCE, expounded its theories and is credited with founding the Vaiseshika school of thought. He was heading this school during his time.

?Vaisheshika is a combination of Physics and metaphysics. This contains philosopher Kanada's commentary on various conscious objects like Gravity, Atoms, Materials, Sound, Cause and effect, Taste, Smell, Color, Cognition, and soul mainly derived from logical conclusions and thinking.

?I am giving some examples from what philosopher Kanada has said in his seminal literature. You may find it interesting, that thousands of years later, Newton said the same thing and is known as the inventor of the concept. For example, if we read his Gravity related statements, we find:-

????????????? ?????????? ????? ? ?.?.?? ?

???? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????????? ???????????? (???? ???????????????????? ???????????? ?????????????????? ???? ????????????); ?????????????????—???????? ??????????????; ??????????????—??????????????.

????????????????????????? ? ?.?.? ?

But a conjunction of atoms is not denied. A mutual conjunction of the five elements as (the basis or) conditional causes of one another, is not denied.

The school dedicated itself to touching many aspects of the physical world as we see and they are explained by Kanada and explains why it happens. Kanada is also referred to in scientific literature who touched upon these subjects before the modern scientific discoveries started.

?2. Vedanta School of Philosophy

Vedanta means the end of the Veda and it contains a summary of Vedas. Vedas were the first book of Indian Philosophy and contained hymns for various deities connected to various forms of nature. The hymns in Vedas are to be recited, remembered, and passed on to the next one with understanding. It is the"what" needs to be done. "How" is another part called Brahmanas, which contains the process of conducting various rituals and Sacrifices. The question "why" is answered in Vedanta. It contains the underlying philosophy behind the hymns and rituals. There were various authors of Vedanta and it evolved from 800 BC to 800 AD over a thousand years.

?Vedanta School of thought consists of non-dualism. Non-dualism in the context of Indian Philosophy means that the self and the cosmic energy or universe around us are both the same. Indian philosophy is based on monotheistic principles (what you see today is different) at its core and has one ultimate cosmic energy and everything is a part of that cosmic energy. I will use Vedanta and Upanishads interchangeably here as both are the same.

Vedanta is not just one set of insights, it is 108 scripts captured in the form of Upanishads, which are books containing several hymns. There are thirteen major of them. Vedanta has always surprised many physicists, and philosophers across the world as it connects both physics (quantum) and metaphysics. vedanta tried to explain the laws of karma (deeds), cause and effect, life and death, consciousness, good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, birth and rebirth, and much more which we see in our daily life. It says thus, therefore, no need to look for God because God is already dwelling within. As per Vedanta, “Tat Tvam Asi ??????????? ” meaning “Thou Art That” – one is already what one wants to become; one only has to realize it. Upanishads or Vedanta are dialogues between a giver and seeker of knowledge and are written with loads of dilemmas contained within. The discussion between the seeker as an actor and the giver is interesting as the seeker throws one after another question. Various books of Vedanta target different concepts. It further says that the god cannot be seen or realized and the only way to realize it is by negation - "Neti Neti" - means neither this nor that.

Vedanta has overlaps with modern quantum theories. Particle physicists like Schrodinger, Einstien, Nikola Tesla, Heisenberg, Neils Bohr, etc found Vedanta interesting as it resonated with their thinking surprisingly. Schrodinger often used concepts of Vedanta to wrap up his arguments (Atman=Brahman). Even contemporary philosophers like Max Muller, Arthur Schopenhauer, Lucian Blaga, Theodore Goldstücker, Helena Blavatsky, and Dara Sikoh also found it very interesting.

?3. Nyaya School of Philosophy

Nyaya means logic and reasoning or to some extent justice. This philosophical school is about how to conduct research and understand and analyze logic. The initial Nyaya Script was written between 600 BC - and 200 BC and was by an unknown author but later Rishi Aksapada Gautama and Dirghatapas led the development of the concept (Sutras). It is discussed in ten different chapters across five books, which talk about:-

?1. Nature of argument and evidence collection

2. How to analyze Contrarian views and opinions, how to filter the correct conclusion

3. Theory of doubt - the reliability, quality of information, testimony, and epistemology.

4. Understanding Confusion caused by presumption and prejudice\

5. theory of sensory organs and their role in correct and incorrect knowledge

6. Theory of Karma and its effects, and impacts on the Soul and person

7. Theory of defects, eternal and non-eternal laws

8. Presentation and maintenance of knowledge

9. Futite rejoinders and how to avoid the pitfalls

10. How to lose an argument - 22 different ways is the last chapter.

What made it interesting is to see the depth of the literature and how it currently can be used as a research methodology. This is beyond the understanding of any known Pandit or religious school. They will even remotely not understand any of the six pillars of Indian philosophy.

?4. Mimansa School of Philosophy

Mimansa is a Sanskrit word that means "reflection" or "critical investigation" and was a part of six schools of Indian Philosophy. This was written by Saint Jamini in 300 BC.

?Mimansa extends the concepts of Vaiseshika mentioned above and expands its coverage to more items. Contents and research are different but the principles of research remain the same and Mimansa complements and extends the work done by Vaiseshikha ?School. Hence it is an extension of Vaiseshikha ?School and later merged.

?Mimansa dealt with logic and reasoning. It questions blind faith motivates people to use questions and expects the concepts to be proven. Mimansa welcomes not only the demand for proof of an injunctive proposition such as "agnihotra (fire sacrifice) ritual leads one to heaven", but suggests that one must examine and prove alternate propositions such as "ritual does not lead one to heaven", "something else leads one to heaven", "there is heaven", "there is no heaven" and so on. Mimansa literature states that if satisfactory, verifiable proof for all of such propositions cannot be found by its proponents and its opponents, then the proposition needs to be accepted as a part of a "belief system".

?There are six principles that Minansa teaches for research are –

?1. Prtayaksha means perception

2. Anumana means Inference

3. Upamana means Comparision

4. Arthapatti means postulation

5. Anupalabdhi means negation

6. Sabda means content delivery

Needless to say, Socrates and Plato managed to transform the West were not alone and they had their counterparts in other regions who failed to make a similar impact.

?5. Yoga School of Philosophy

This one is concise but more organized. There are nearly 200 hymns of Yoga Sutras contributed by saint Patanjali. I enjoyed each of them. Saint Patanjali, born between 400 - 200 BCE, was the one who organized the Yoga school of thought and he was recognized for Yoga sutras. He was also a contributor to Ayurveda (herbal medicine) and refined the Sanskrit grammar and language further. Whomsoever he was, he appeared to be a genius at that point. There are other yoga Sutras and more contributions have been made around this work of Patanjali.

Yoga means Union, a union of mind, body, and soul. Most people confuse Yoga with Asanas (Stretching exercises) but that is only one dimension. Patanjali defined Yoga with eight dimensions

• Yama (The five abstentions): Non-violence, truthfulness non-stealing), ?fidelity to one's partner, and non-possessiveness.
• Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, persistent meditation, self-reflection, contemplation
• Asana: Means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation and various stretching exercises.
• Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Inhale extend, restrain, stop.
• Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
• Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
• Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
• Samadhi ("Liberation"): merges consciousness with the object of meditation.

?6. Samakhya School of Philosophy

?Samakhya school of philosophy was preached and authored by Saint Kapil during the 8th Century BCE. The concept of Samkhya was not new, and the date range varies widely.

There are two contrarian concepts in Indian Philosophy. Whether the Self and the all-pervading universe are different or the same? Is one part of another? When they call them separate, that is dualism. When they call the soul and the all-pervading universe are same, that is non-dualism. In Vedanta it is the same which means non-dual and in Samkhya, they are considered separate and another influences one. So Samakhya is dualism and takes a different approach and may contradict Vedanta discussed above but in essence, they point in the same direction but the approach is contrarian.

?Samakhya describes two ultimate realities - Prak?ti (nature or non-self) and Purusas (Self). It further tells that Prakriti (non-self) is radically different from Purusa (Self). The arguments of Samakhya yoga revolve around two ultimate questions - ‘what is the ultimate cause of an object?’ and, ‘What are the constituents of the universe?’ In other words, what is the ultimate component of which the various objects of the world are made?

Samakhya goes on to explain the cause and its effect. Every cause has an effect and an effect is the result of a cause. But there has to be a first cause. This whole universe is a result of the first cause. Everything in this world is the result of that first cause – the creation of our Universe. Thereafter the cause-and-effect cycle continues. Objects are limited within the space-time continuum but Prak?ti (nature) is beyond it. Objects are manifest and composite but Prak?ti (nature) is unmanifest and without parts. Hence, Prak?ti (nature) is both ‘is’ and ‘is-not’.

?Prakriti has three properties – Sattva means illuminating pleasure, Rajas means the principle of activity, and Tamas means the principle of inactivity. In nature, all three play an important role in creation destruction, and recreation. Prakriti is unconscious. Prakriti evolves itself continuously to serve the Purusa (the self)

?Then it explains the Purusa (the self) as pure consciousness – the basis of all knowledge. It is beyond the space-time continuum, change, and activity. It is the self-enlightened, self-proved, and hence, Causation. It is all-pervading, formless, and eternal. Its existence can’t be doubted because, in its absence, all knowledge even doubt is not possible.

The world and worldly objects are created because of the contact between Prak?ti (non-self) and Purusa (self). The purusa has attributes like Mahat (Intelligence), Ahamkara(ego), Manas (mind), Jananedriya (Sense organs), Karmendriya (Organs of actions – mouth, feet, hand, anus, sex ..), Tanmatras (sound, touch, shape, taste, smell, etc) and contains earth, water, air, fire, and ether.

The self, who is eternal, pure conscious, and all-pervading, due to its ignorance identifies itself with the Manas (mind), Ahamkara (ego), and Mahat(intelligence) which are the products of Prakrti. Thus, it experiences the worldly pain and suffering.

Conclusion

The books and scripts of each school are available in the public domain. I have used primary sources more and secondary sources less. Today, what you see in the subcontinent does not even remotely reflect what it was before 800 BC or before. The civilization changed and I will cover the several titanic shifts in Indian civilization from the arrival of Aryans from central Asia and Europe in 1700 BC onwards to what we see today in subsequent posts. The earlier civilizations of ancient India remained buried in suppressed by design more due to political considerations and economic changes. However, I see these schools are a matter of further investigation to understand the evolution better and I am not sure whether they always remained wrapped in mystery.

Note: The content provided above is to generate healthy debate and understanding. Constructive criticisms are welcome.

Disclaimer: This study does not reflect the views of my employer and is purely my personal endeavor. The views and expressions are my own and done to drive thought leadership. These are not even remotely connected to my profession.