Hindu

Philosophy
Lavanya Kakkar
A7406922044
B.A. 4
 Hinduism
Historians of Indian philosophy typically understand the term
“Hindu philosophy” as standing for the collection of philosophical
views that share a textual connection to certain core Hindu religious
texts . Hindu philosophy, thus understood, not only includes the
philosophical doctrines present in Hindu texts of primary and
secondary religious importance, but also the systematic
philosophies of the Hindu schools: Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṅkhya, Yoga,
Pūrvamīmāṃsā and Vedānta. In total, Hindu philosophy has made a
sizable contribution to the history of Indian philosophy.
 • Karma- The term literally means “action,” but in this context it denotes the
moral, psychological spiritual and physical causal consequences of morally
significant past choices.

Salient • Polytheism- Polytheism or the worship of many deities, is often identified as

a distinctive feature of Hinduism.
• Puruṣārthas - Hinduism might be identified with a core set of values,

Features of
commonly known in Hindu literature as the puruṣārthas , or ends of persons.
The puruṣārthas are a set of four values: dharma, artha, kāmaand mokṣa.
“Dharma” in the Puruṣārtha scheme and throughout much of Hindu
literature stands for the ethical or moral (in action, or in character, hence it is

Hinduism
often translated as “duty”), “artha” for economic wealth, “kāma” for
pleasure, and “mokṣa” for soteriological liberation from rebirth and
imperfection.
• Varna (Caste)- Finally, one might attempt to identify Hinduism with the
institution of a caste system that carves society into a specified set of classes
whose natures dispose them and obligate them to certain occupations in
life. More specifically, one might argue that Hinduism is any belief system
wedded to the idea that any well ordered society is composed of four castes:
Brahmins (priestly or scholarly caste), Kṣatriya (marshal or royal
caste), Vaiśyas (merchant caste) and Sūdras (labor caste).
 The Darsanas
The term “darśana” in Sanskrit translates as “vision” and is
conventionally regarded as designating what we are inclined to look
upon as systematic philosophical views. The history of Indian philosophy
is replete with darśanas. Hindu philosophy as being comprised
of six (āstika, or Veda recognizing) darśanas. The six darśanas are:
• Nyāya by Sage Gautama
• Vaiśeṣika by Sage Kanada Kashyapa
• Sāṅkhya by Sage Kapil
• Yoga by Sage Patanjali
• Pūrvamīmāṃsā by Rishi Jaimini
• Vedānta by Shankrachariya
 According to the Sāṅkhya system, the cosmos is the result of the mutual
contact of two distinct metaphysical categories: Prakṛti (Nature),
and Puruṣa (person).
Prakṛti, or Nature, is the material principle of the cosmos and is
comprised of three guṇas, or “qualities.” These are sattva, rajas,
and tamas. Sattva is illuminating, buoyant and a source of
pleasure; rajas is actuating, propelling and a source of pain; tamas is still,
enveloping and a source of indifference

Sankhya Puruṣa, in contrast, has the quality of consciousness. It is the entity that
the personal pronoun “I” actually refers to. It is eternally distinct from
Nature, but it enters into complex configurations of Nature (biological
bodies) in order to experience and to have knowledge. It lacks the ability
to be an agent. Thus, on the Sāṅkhya account, when it seems as though
we as persons are making decisions, we are mistaken it is actually our
natural constitution comprised by the guṇas that make the decision.
The contact of Prakṛti and Puruṣa, on the Sāṅkhya account, is not a
chance occurrence. Rather, the two principles make contact so
that Puruṣa can come to have knowledge of its own nature and become
liberated and then is no longer bound by its body’s constitution.
 Vedanta
• Vedanta, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. The term Vedant
a means in Sanskrit the “conclusion” (anta) of the Vedas, the earliest sacred literature
of India. It applies to the Upanishads, which were elaborations of the Vedas, and to
the school that arose out of the study (mimamsa) of the Upanishads. Thus, Vedanta is
also referred to as Vedanta Mimamsa (“Reflection on Vedanta”), Uttara Mimamsa
(“Reflection on the Latter Part of the Vedas”), and Brahma Mimamsa (“Reflection on
Brahman”).
• The three fundamental Vedanta texts are: the Upanishads (the most favoured being
the longer and older ones such as the Brihadaranyaka, the Chandogya, the Taittiriya,
and the Katha); the Brahma-sutras (also called Vedanta-sutras), which are very brief,
even one-word interpretations of the doctrine of the Upanishads; and the
Bhagavadgita (“Song of the Lord”), which, because of its immense popularity, was
drawn upon for support of the doctrines found in the Upanishads.
 1. Brahman: Brahman is the ultimate reality, the ground of all existence, and
the essence of the universe. It is beyond all attributes and distinctions,

Key
transcending time, space, and causation. Brahman is often described as Sat-
Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).
2. Atman: Atman refers to the individual self or soul. According to Vedanta, the
Atman is not separate from Brahman but is essentially identical to it.
Realizing this identity, known as Atman-Brahman, is the goal of human life.

concepts
3. Maya: Maya is the cosmic illusion or power of illusion that veils the true
nature of reality, causing individuals to perceive the world as separate from
Brahman. Maya creates the sense of individuality and plurality, leading to
attachment, desire, and suffering.
4. Jiva: Jiva refers to the individual soul, which experiences the cycle of birth,

of
death, and rebirth (samsara) due to ignorance (avidya) of its true nature.
Liberation (moksha) is achieved when the Jiva realizes its identity with
Brahman and transcends the cycle of samsara.
5. Vedantic practices: Vedanta advocates various paths (margas) to realize the
ultimate truth, including Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge), Bhakti Yoga

Vedanta
(the path of devotion), Karma Yoga (the path of selfless action), and Raja
Yoga (the path of meditation).
6. Prasthanatrayi: Vedanta is based on three canonical texts known as the
Prasthanatrayi, which consist of the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras (or
Vedanta Sutras), and the Bhagavad Gita. These texts provide the
philosophical foundation, systematic exposition, and practical guidance for
understanding and practicing Vedanta.
 Purvamimansa
• The Pūrvamīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy gains its name from the portion of the Vedas
that it is primarily concerned with the earlier (pūrva) inquiry (Mīmāṃsā), or the karma
khaṇḍa. In the context of Hinduism, the Pūrvamīmāṃsā school is one of the most orthodox
of the Hindu philosophical schools because of its concern to elaborate and defend the
contents of the early, ritually oriented part of the Vedas. Like many other schools of Indian
philosophy, Pūrvamīmāṃsā takes dharma (“duty” or “ethics”) as its primary focus
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra. Unlike all other schools of Hindu philosophy, Pūrvamīmāṃsā did not
take mokṣa, or liberation, as something to extol or elaborate upon. The very topic of
liberation is nowhere discussed in the foundational text of this tradition and is recognized for
the first time by the medieval Pūrvamīmāṃsā author Kumārila (7th cent. C.E.) as a real
objective worth pursuing in conjunction with dharma.
• Purva Mimansa appears to be much more about faith than about inquiry. An abiding faith in
the Vedas and an equally strong commitment to discharging the duties commanded by the
Vedas is the core of Purva Mimansa. Heaven was the goal, although, the
later Mimamsakas seem to have nodded in favor of liberation from the cycle of births and
deaths.
 • Yoga, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Its influence
has been widespread among many other schools of Indian thought. Its basic
text is the Yoga-sutras by Patanjali (c. 2nd century BCE or 5th century CE).
• The practical aspects of Yoga play a more important part than does its
intellectualcontent, which is largely based on the philosophy of Samkhya, with
the exception that Yoga assumes the existence of God, who is the model for the
aspirant who seeks spiritual release. Yoga holds with Samkhya that the

Yoga
achievement of spiritual liberation (moksha) occurs when the spirit (purusha)
is freed from the bondage of matter (prakriti) that has resulted from ignorance
and illusion. The Samkhya view of the evolution of the world through
identifiable stages leads Yoga to attempt to reverse this order, as it were, so
that a person can increasingly dephenomenalize the self until it reenters its
original state of purity and consciousness. An aspirant who has learned to
control and suppress the obscuring activities of the mind and has succeeded in
ending attachment to material objects will be able to enter samadhi—i.e., a
state of deep concentration that results in a blissful ecstatic union with the
ultimate reality.
8 Steps of Yoga
yama – abstention from evil-doing,
which specifically consists of
abstention from harming others niyamas – various observances,
(Ahiṃsā), abstention from telling which include the cultivation of prāṇāyāma – control of
āsana – posture
falsehoods (asatya), abstention from purity (sauca), contentment breath
acquisitiveness (asteya), abstention (santos)) and austerities (tapas)
from greed/envy (aparigraha); and
sexual restraint (brahmacarya)

pratyāhāra – withdrawal of the samādhi – absorption

mind from sense objects dhāranā– concentration dhyāna – meditation
 Vaisheshika, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, significant for
its naturalism, a feature that is not characteristic of most Indian thought.
The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kashyapa (2nd–3rd century CE?) expounded its theories and
is credited with founding the school. Important later commentaries were written by
Prashastapada, Udayanacharya, and Shridhara.
After a period of independence, the Vaisheshika school fused entirely with the Nyaya school,
a process that was completed in the 11th century. Thereafter the combined school was
referred to as Nyaya-Vaisheshika.

Vaisheshika The Vaisheshika school attempts to identify, inventory, and classify the entities and their
relations that present themselves to human perceptions. It lists six categories of being
(padarthas), to which was later added a seventh. These are:
• Dravya, or substance, the substratum that exists independently of all other categories,
and the material cause of all compound things produced from it. Dravyas are nine in
number: earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, space, spirit, and mind.
• Guna, or quality, which in turn is subdivided into 24 species.
• Karma, or action. Both guna and karma inhere within dravya and cannot exist
independently of it.
• Samanya, or genus, which denotes characteristic similarities that allow two or more
objects to be classed together.
• Vishesha, or specific difference, which singles out an individual of that class.
• Samavaya, or inherence, which indicates things inseparably connected.
• Abhava, nonexistence or absence.
 Nayaya
• Nyaya is both philosophical and religious. Its ultimate concern is to bring an end to
human suffering, which results from ignorance of reality. Liberation is brought about
through right knowledge. Nyaya is thus concerned with the means of right knowledge.
• In its metaphysics, Nyaya is allied to the Vaisheshika system, and the two schools were
often combined from about the 10th century. Its principal text is the Nyaya-sutras,
ascribed to Gautama.
• The Nyaya school holds that there are four valid means of knowledge: perception
(pratyaksha), inference (anumana), comparison (upamana), and sound, or testimony
(shabda). Invalid knowledge involves memory, doubt, error, and hypothetical argument.
• The Nyaya theory of causation defines a cause as an unconditional and
invariable antecedent of an effect. In its emphasis on sequence—an effect does not
preexist in its cause—the Nyaya theory is at variance with the Samkhya-Yoga
and Vedantist views, but it is not unlike modern Western inductive logic in this respect.
• Three kinds of causes are distinguished: inherent or material cause (the substance out of
which an effect is produced), non-inherent cause (which helps in the production of a
cause), and efficient cause (the power that helps the material cause produce the effect).
God is not the material cause of the universe, since atoms and souls are also eternal, but
is rather the efficient cause.
 References:-

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Thank You