The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy The six systems of Indian philosophy are Nyaya, Vasiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga,

Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa !a"h of these systems differs in one #ay or the other in terms of its "on"epts, phenomena, la#s and dogmas !a"h system has it$s o#n founder as #ell It is important to kno# that the founders of these systems of philosophy are sages of the highest order that have devoted their lives for the study and propagation of philosophy !a"h system of Indian philosophy is "alled a %arshana Thus the Sanskrit #ord &Shad'%arshana( refers to &the six systems of philosophy( Nyaya The founder of the Nyaya system of philosophy is )autama Nyaya *elongs to the "ategory of +stika %arshanas It is important to kno# that +stika %arshanas reali,e the signifi"an"e of ver*al testimony or the authority of the Vedas )autama is thought to have lived during the middle -th "entury, ./ 0e is also "alled +kshapada +ll six systems of philosophy lay e1ual importan"e to 2valid means of a"1uiring kno#ledge2 "alled the &Pramanas( )autama #as the first philosopher to stress the importan"e of the valid means of kno#ledge and hen"e the Nyaya system of philosophy is said to have laid the firm foundation to the development of the s"ien"e of 0indu logi" )autama(s Nyaya system of philosophy is also "alled *y names su"h as Nyaya Sastra and Tarka Sastra The philosophi"al system of Nyaya a""epts four Pramanas or valid means of a"1uiring kno#ledge They are Pratyaksha 3per"eption4, +numama 3inferen"e4, Upamana 3"omparison4 and Sha*da 3ver*al testimony4 Nyaya, like many other systems of philosophy aims at the attainment of li*eration +""ording to them the attainment of Moksha #hi"h they "all &+pavarga( is the highest goal of human life The attainment of +pavarga *rings a*out the end of all the sufferings of human life Nyaya %arshana a""epts the existen"e of )od They "all 0im &Ish#ara( and say that 0e is the "ause for the "reation of the universe 0e alone sustains it and destroys it as #ell 5ne of the most important vie#s put forth *y )autama is a*out the theory of "reation +""ording to him the universe is "reated *y )od #ith the help of the eternal atoms, time, individual minds, spa"e and individual souls or 6ivas and ether 0e does not "reate the universe out of 0imself as pointed out *y the other later systems of philosophy Vaiseshika The founder of the Vaiseshika system of Indian philosophy is 7anada or Uluka 0en"e it is also "alled +ulukya %arshana It is important to kno# that the Vaiseshika system follo#ed the Nyaya system very "losely and hen"e experts in the study of philosophy often "om*ine the t#o s"hools as Nyaya'Vaiseshika The Vaiseshika system re"ogni,es seven &Padarthas( or "ategories #hi"h are8 are su*stan"e, 1uality, a"tion, generality, parti"ularity, relation of inheren"e and non' existen"e The follo#ers of this system of philosophy also a""ept the existen"e of )od and they say that 0e "reated, sustained and destroyed the universe +""ording to the Vaiseshika S"hool of philosophy, the #ill of )od is the "ause for "reation .rahma is the very first produ"t of the #ill of )od and 0e does the se"ond part of "reation a""ording to the merits and the demerits of the individual souls 0e "auses the "om*ination of the moving atoms and thus is instrumental in the

"reation of the #orld +t the time of the dissolution of the universe the entire #orld is redu"ed to the primary state of the seven "ategories Sankhya Sage 7apila founded the Sankhya system of philosophy In fa"t it "an *e said that the Sankhya system laid the firm foundation for the +dvaita Vedanta later on S#ami Vivekananda on"e said that the Vedanta system of +dvaita o#ed a lot to Sage 7apila, the founder of the Sankhya system of philosophy The dogmas put forth *y 7apila #ere further expounded *y his dis"iples +suri and Pan"hashikha The Sankhya Sutras "ompiled *y 7apila #ere "ommented on later *y Ishvara 7rishna of the -th /entury +% It is interesting to note that the Sankhya system a""epts only three Pramanas or the valid means of a"1uiring kno#ledge They a""ept Pratyaksha or per"eption, +numana or inferen"e and Sha*da or ver*al testimony They don(t a""ept Upamana or "omparison Sankhaya a""epts only t#o realities, namely, the Prakriti or the insentient nature and the Purusha or the soul These t#o are eternal a""ording to 7apila +""ording to the Sankhya system of philosophy, something "an never *e produ"ed out of nothing 5ne "an see the influen"e of the Nyaya system on the Sankhya system #hen it "omes to the pro"ess of "reation Pleasure, pain and indifferen"e are derived *y the three &gunas( or &1ualities(, namely, Sattvaguna, 9a6oguna and Tamoguna Sattva guna gives rise to happiness or pleasure, 9a6oguna produ"ed pain and suffering #hereas Tamoguna gives rise to ina"tivity The three 1ualities mentioned a*ove reside in the Prakriti, a state of perfe"t *alan"e 7apila says that the entire universe is *orn out of the Prakriti or the primordial matter Purusha on the other hand is as innumera*le as there are living *eings Purusha is all'pervading and eternal 0e is "ons"iousness in its very essen"e Sankhya *elieves in the "reation of the universe as a result of the union *et#een Prakriti and Purusha 7apila des"ri*es an interesting pro"ess of evolution of the #orld The very first evolute that issues forth from the Prakriti *y the "om*ination of the three gunas is the Mahat or the "osmi" intelle"t /osmi" ego is *orn out of the "osmi" intelle"t There are various evolutes issuing forth from the different parts of the "osmi" ego "hara"teri,ed *y the gunas The mind, the five organs of kno#ledge like the eyes and the ears, the five "osmi" organs of a"tion like the hands and the feet and the five su*tle elements like the #ater and earth :rom the five su*tle elements are *orn the five gross elements or Pan"ha Maha*hutas "alled earth, #ater, fire, air and ether Thus ;< evolutes issue forth from Prakriti or the primordial matter They are "alled ;< "osmi" prin"iples +""ording to the Sankhya system of philosophy, a dead person #ill not return *a"k to the mortal #orld sin"e he attains &Videhamukti( a state of final li*eration Yoga The Yoga system of philosophy #as founded *y Patan6ali 0e authored the Yoga Sutras or the aphorisms of Yoga The date is not "learly kno#n *ut his #ork is of great value to the seekers of the state of spiritual a*sorption Yoga aims at the final state of spiritual a*sorption through eight "omponent parts, together "alled +shtanga Yoga The eight lim*s of Yoga a""ording to Patan6ali are Yama, Niyama, +sana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, %harana, %hyana and Samadhi +ll the eight are 6ointly "alled 9a6a Yoga Yama aims at internal purifi"ation, Niyama aims at external purity, +sana "onsists in the performan"e of the postures of Yoga, Pranayama is *reath "ontrol,

Pratyahara results from the #ithdra#al of sense organs from the "orresponding sense o*6e"ts, %harana is "on"entration, %hyana is meditation and Samadhi is the final state of spiritual a*sorption The Yoga system of philosophy a""epts three fundamental realities, namely, Ish#ara, Purusha and Prakriti or the primordial matter Patan6ali says that s"riptures are the sour"es of the existen"e of Ish#ara Ish#ara is omnis"ient and is free from the 1ualities inherent in Prakriti Patan6ali defines Yoga as &/hittavriitinirodha( Yoga is the restraint of the mental operations Patan6ali names some o*sta"les to the path of Yoga They are "alled &+ntarayas( and they in"lude Vyadhi 3illness4, styana 3apathy4, Samsaya 3dou*t4, Pramada 3inadverten"e4, +lasya 3la,iness4, +virati 3in"ontinen"e4, .hrantidarshana 3#rong understanding4, +la*dha .humikatva 3non'attainment of mental plane4 and +navasthitatva 3insta*ility4 In addition to the o*sta"les mentioned a*ove, Patan6ali a""epts five more o*sta"les "alled %ukha 3pain4, %aurmanasya 3frustration, +ngame6ayatva 3fi"kle lim*s4, Svasa 3spasmodi" *reathing in4 and Prasvasa 3spasmodi" *reathing out4 Patan6ali speaks a*out =atyantara Parinama or the phenomenon of the evolution of one spe"ies or genus into another spe"ies or genus Purva Mimamsa The philosophi"al system of Purva Mimamsa #as founded *y =aimini The Mimamsa %arshana *elieves firmly in the performan"e of rituals and supports the vie# that the *ody is perisha*le *ut the soul survives even after the death of the *ody and it reserves the right to en6oy the fruits of the rituals in heaven The s"hool firmly *elieves in the preservation of the effe"t or the fruits of the rituals *y a remarka*le po#er It *elieves that the Vedas are impe""a*le in #hat they say It does not talk a*out the .rahman or the Supreme !ntity *ut says that the #orld is real Mimamsa stri"tly is of the opinion that #hatever #e do in our life are not dreams or illusion *ut are real =aimini a""epts t#o types of kno#ledge, namely, Pratyaksha 3immediate kno#ledge4 and Paroksha 3mediate kno#ledge4 Paroksha =nana is of five kinds, namely +numana 3inferen"e4, Upamana 3"omparison4, Sha*da 3ver*al testimony4, +rthapatti 3postulation4 and +nupala*dhi 3non'per"eption4 =aimini a""epts the plurality of souls 0e says that the souls are eternal *ut they definitely undergo transmigration as a""ording to the a"tions performed *y the *odies >i*eration is "onsidered the highest good for humanity >i*eration puts an end to the transmigration of the soul Performan"e of the daily duties *rings a*out li*eration 5n the other hand the non' performan"e of a"tions or daily duties "auses disruption in the path of li*eration 5ne of the most important o*servations made *y the Purva Mimamsa system of philosophy is that there is no need for the existen"e of )od to "reate the #orld This is *e"ause of the fa"t that all the material needed for the formation and the "reation of the #orld are availa*le eternally 0en"e Mimamsa does not speak a*out the existen"e of )od Performan"e of daily duties or the Nitya 7armas is the ultimate goal of man Uttara Mimamsa The philosophi"al system of Uttara Mimamsa does not have a spe"ifi" founder sin"e it is a "onglomeration of three different s"hools of thought, namely +dvaita, Visishtadvaita and %vaita The philosophi"al system of Utttara Mimamsa is other#ise "alled Vedanta +ll the three s"hools

of Vedanta have different tea"hers +di Sankara is the head of the +dvaita system of Vedanta philosophy 9amanu6a is the ar"hite"t of the Visishtadvaita system of Vedanta and Madhva is the head of the %vaita system of Vedanta philosophy +di Sankara is the first philosopher #ho identified the philosophi"al truths expounded in the Upanishads atta"hed to the Vedas =aimini gave importan"e to the 7arma 7anda portion of the Veda #hereas Sankara sa# the Supreme Truth that lay firm in the message of the Upanishads Sankara "alled the #orld illusory as a result of Maya or delusion Maya "auses the illusion akin to the "ognition of serpent on the rope + person gripped *y ignoran"e fails to see the su*stratum of the universe .rahman is the su*stratum of the universe It is not seen due to delusion or Maya Sankara "alls the universe an illusion and the .rahman or the Supreme !ntity as Truth !verything around us is adventitious of the .rahman Into .rahman all "reation goes %eluge is the ultimate "ondition during #hi"h the .rahman #ithdra#s all its "reation unto itself 9amanu6a advo"ated the Visishtadvaita s"hool of Vedanti" thought It is a 1ualified version of monism and hen"e is "alled 1ualified monism 9amanu6a differs from Sankara only a little in the sense that he "onsiders the 6iva or the individual soul as the entity different from the *ody and is infinite in num*er and "annot *e one #ith the Supreme as long as it is "onfined in a *ody Madhva the founder of the %vaita s"hool of Vedanti" thought says that the 6ivas or the souls "an attain li*eration through *hakti and the gra"e of )od It is important to note that all the three tea"hers a""epted Vedas as a valid means of kno#ledge