Six System of Indian Philosophy

Nearly two years ago I picked up a book titled Seven Systems of Indian Philosophy by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute and disciple of Swami Rama. Till then I had always associated Vedanta with Indian philosophy and was pleasantly surprised to know that in India we had other schools of thought too. I found the book super and a good basis for further study. It explains difficult concepts in a simple and easy to understand language. The content is verbatim from the book. In order to make it comprehensive I have taken excerpts from the book in a way that you get an understanding of the subject. Courtesy and Copyright Himalayan Publishers. The Sanskrit word for philosophy is darsana, which means direct vision. The words symbolize the difference between modern Western philosophy, which mainly relies on intellectual pursuit and Indian philosophy that relies on direct vision of truths and pure Buddhi (reasoning). Darsana is divided into two categories namely Astika (believer in the Vedas) and Nastika (non-believer in the Vedas). Astika are Nyaya, Vaisheshik, Sakhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Nastika are Carvaka, Jainism and Buddhism. Others are a mixture of the ideas of these systems. Although each school of philosophy is unique, all of them have certain common characteristics. These are direct experience, acceptance of authority, harmony amongst schools, parallel growth and coexistence of a number of schools, open mindedness, support of logic and reasoning, belief of eternity, law of karma, moral and ethical teachings, acknowledgement of suffering, thoroughness and practicality. Friends after I finished this piece, asked myself a simple question. Why is it that Indians of those times were so creative? I mean nine schools of philosophy followed by many gurus thereafter. Each Guru analyzed scriptures in a unique way, in a manner that there was something new to learn. Let me attempt an answer. One of the ways to foster creativity is open mindedness and sharing. We were always open to new ideas and thoughts, believed there was always a better way of thinking – doing things. When we believe that direct experience is the key to realization, we do not accept anything till we have understood it. In such cases we are compelled to use our intellect. The emphasis then was on gaining knowledge to remove ignorance and sharing thereafter. Exams were more in the nature of question and answer sessions, not for getting a job. There was extensive interaction between the Guru and pupil as well as amongst pupils. All this promoted creativity and helped human thought blossom. My first boss Dicky S said ‘the day you believe you know all is when your career graph starts moving southwards. Life is a continuing learning process’. Sounds like a modern management mantra. It is something the Vedic Rishis imbibed and practiced thousands of years ago. Today we have classrooms packed with anywhere between 35 to 50 children. It is a one-way street where the teacher comes and vomits out what she has to say for the day. Interaction, cross-questioning is rare. Children are encouraged to follow the beaten track -agree to what is being taught – not encouraged to think, let their imaginations run wild - no rebels wanted is the motto. Teaching is standardized something like mass production. The object of studying is doing well in the exams, acquisition of material objects, period. To some this style might inculcate a sense of discipline but for others it amounts to stifling creativity. If India is to enhance its impact in the Knowledge World we have to encourage children to ask questions, arouse their curiosity, allow them to experiment, come closer to nature and think wildly. Never say this is not possible to a child but let him understand / possibly discover why it is so. Therefore, this piece is dedicated to the Children of India in whose hands the future of Bharat lies. Before we get into an in-depth r