The six Darshanas - 1

Nyaya,Vaisesika, Sankya and Yoga

Darshana is the name given to ancient systems of Indian philosophy as they were the visions of Self acquired by Indian mystics searching within rather than outside. The six Darshanas, grouped as ‘Shaddarshanas’ are those that belong to the orthodox group that accept the authority of Vedas and are also called  Asthika systems. They are; Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa.  Each Darshana was codified by a great Vedic sage -- Nyaya by Gautama, Vaiseshika by Kanada, Sankhya by Kapila, Yoga by Patanjali, Purva Mimamsa by Jaimini and Uttara Mimamsa by Vyasa. They all deal with Brahman or God, Jiva or individual soul, Jagat or world and Moksha or liberation, All the systems believe in the law of karma and consider this world as one created for providing us with a platform for performing our roles conforming to Vedic code of Dharma, thereby gradually improving our spiritual fibre to reach the final goal of liberation. Let us see each one of them briefly.

Nyaya – The Nyaya school of philosophy is based on texts known as the Nyaya Sutras, which were written by Sage Gautama. Nyaya Darshana is the basis of all Sanskrit philosophical studies. The followers of Nyaya Darshana believed that obtaining valid knowledge was the only way to obtain release from suffering. They therefore took great pains to identify valid sources of knowledge and to distinguish these from mere false opinions. The Nyaya Darshana accepts four Pramanas (means of knowledge) viz. Pratyaksha, Anumana, Upamana and Sabda. The Nyāya system accepts Isvara or God as the srshti, sthithi, laya karanam for the world. However, God does not create the world out of nothing or out of Himself, but out of the paramanus,-the smallest particles of earth, water, fire and air, and substances- space, time, ether, minds and souls.  God is thus the efficient cause only and not the material cause for its creation. According to Nyāya Darsana, the jivas or individual souls are infinite in number. They are eternal and indestructible. The primary aim of life, according to the Nyāya school is the attainment of mokṣa, liberation from the cycle of birth and death. He can get this liberation only by acquiring tattvajnana or true knowledge of his soul as distinct from the body and the mind as also the senses. For this he should undergo the threefold sadhana of sravaṇa, manana and nididhyasana to destroy all mithya jnana and acquire tattvajnana. This system has provided a firm basis for the development of vast polemic literature by the later writers of many schools, especially of Vedanta.

Vaiseshika - The basic text is the Vaiseṣika Sūtras of Sage Kaṇāda. Vaisheshika system is closely associated with the Nyaya system. It states that the universe has two aspects, one eternal and one non-eternal. The eternal constituents of the universe are Paramanus, the four kinds of atoms - earth, water, fire, and air; and the five substances – space, time, direction, mind and souls. These are not subject to change and cannot be created or destroyed. Another part of the universe is non-eternal, subject to creation and destruction in a particular time and space. They accept the existence of God called Ishwara or Maheshwara which is the Supreme Intelligent Being under whose will and guidance this world is created, sustained and dissolved. He is the karmaphaladhata in respect of all living beings, The Vaiseshika concepts of God, liberation of soul, and of the path to liberation are all basically the same as the Nyaya concepts that have been discussed  earlier. Over the centuries, the school merged with the Nyaya system of Indian philosophy to form the combined school of Nyaya-Vaisesika because of their closely related metaphysical theories.

Sankhya - Sankhya  philosophy  is regarded as the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems and its basic text is Sankhya Sutras of Sage Kapila. The Sānkhya accepts only three Pramāṇas; Pratyakṣa, Anumāna and Sabda.  Its philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two eternal realities: Purusha (souls) and Prakrti (matter). The Purushas are many, conscious and devoid of all qualities. They are the silent spectators of Prakrti which is composed of three gunas: satva, rajas and tamas. When the equilibrium of the gunas is disturbed, the world order evolves. This disturbance is due to the samyoga or effective contact between the Purusha and Prakrti.  The totality of the karmas of the Puruṣas disturbs the balance of the guṇas in Prakṛti and sets in motion the process of evolution.  The main cause of bondage of the Purusha and his consequent suffering in the world is aviveka or ignorance of his own identity as pure consciousness leading to continuous cycle of birth and death. Kaivalya or liberation can come only from vivekakhyati or right knowledge. The Sānkhya Darsana accepts both Jivanmukti and Videhamukti. However, since Chaitanya or consciousness is his essence, he will ever remain in his own state. The Samkhya system has been closely associated with the Yoga school of philosophy. 

Yoga –  Though there are many schools of Yoga, the one that is counted as part of Shad-darshanas is the one systematized by Sage Patanjali, on the basis of his work, Yoga Sutras.  This Yoga system, also known as ashtanga-yoga (the yoga of eight parts), is closely allied to Sankhya system.  Indeed, ashtanga-yoga is the practical application of Sankhya philosophy for the attainment of liberation. While the Sankhya system accepts only Purusha, the individual soul and Prakrti, the nature or matter as the fundamental realities and does not accept Ishwara or God, the Yoga Darshana accepts all the principles of the Samkhya and also Ishwara or God, in addition. Also the Yoga system deals primarily with sadhanas or spiritual disciplines while the Sankhya system gives primary importance to tattvajnana or enquiry into the nature of truth. By following these sadhanas (eight steps of yoga) one realises his essential nature and is instantly freed from samsara, the cycle of transmigration, and attains kaivalya. Realization of this goal of Yoga is known as moksha, nirvana and samadhi. This realization of the Atma is nothing other than attaining the infinite Brahman. This system discusses the nature of mind, its modifications, impediments to growth, afflictions and the method for attaining the highest goal of life, Kaivalya and is highly practical. 

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The six Pramanas

Pramana means “means of knowledge”.  In respect of any knowledge three things are present. They are called Prameya, Pramata and Pramana respectively. Prameya is the object of knowledge, Pramata is the knower and Pramana is the means of knowledge. When Pramata in the right state of mind employs right Pramana in respect of a Prameya, right knowledge, Prama, arises; otherwise there is only delusion or wrong knowledge, Brama. As per Advaita Vedanta philosophy there are six Pramanas which we employ consciously or unconsciously to gain the knowledge of various things we come across.  They are Pratyaksha, Anumana, Upamana, Arthapathi, Anupalabdhi, and Sabda. Let us see each one of them in a little more detail.

Pratyaksha (Perception) - This stands for direct, immediate cognition. This can be external and internal.  The external perception implies cognition of sense objects through our sense organs. The internal perception means the direct & immediate cognition of emotions like pain, pleasure etc., and knowledge or ignorance of various objects etc. in our minds. External perception arises from the interaction of five senses with worldly objects. Each of our five sense organs has a unique and exclusive field of application: In the visual field, eyes have the unique capability to give information and knowledge of colours and forms and of all things visual. Similarly, ears have the sole and exclusive right in the field of sound, nose in the field of smell and fingers in the field of touch. All the five sense organs work as a single team and provide complementary information/knowledge of objects that we encounter, and they do not work at cross-purposes. In direct perception the knowledge is extremely clear but its scope is very limited. What we can directly see not only constitutes an extremely small iota of the wide spectrum of things existing in this universe, but many a times that which is directly cognized is far from truth. But this is the most important and common tool at individual level to obtain knowledge in an unfamiliar field.

Anumana (inference) –  Anumana literally means ‘knowing after’.  It means the method by which knowledge is derived from another knowledge. So the knowledge thus gained is not direct, immediate and is gained from the prior knowledge of invariable relationship between two things.  On the basis of the earlier direct knowledge the present knowledge is deduced.  For example we have the direct knowledge from kitchen that smoke arises from fire and that where there is smoke invariably fire is also there as its cause.  So when we see smoke coming from a distant hill we deduce that there must be fire in the hill causing the smoke.  This is inferential knowledge or the logical deduction. In this case Vyapthi, the universal statement of invariable concomitance, is; ‘Where there is fire there is smoke.’  On this basis we make the Anumana that there must be a fire in the distant hill when smoke is Prathyaksha in the distant hill.  Thus Anumana is made on the basis of Pratyaksha based on Vyapthi

Upamana (Comparison) – Upamana means comparison and analogy.  Upamana is the process by which the knowledge of B is gained from the perception of B’s similarity to A, which has been noted elsewhere.  The subject of comparison is formally called upameyam, the object of comparison is called upamanam, while the attribute(s) are identified as samanya. For example when a person going to Australia is told that Dingo is a wild dog found in Australian outback, and he goes to an outback area and finds a creature similar to dog in the wild, he by comparison has the knowledge of that as Dingo.  Upamana is a distinct means of knowledge, and is not clubbed under Anumana.

Arthapathi (Postulation) - Arthapathi means postulation, supposition or presumption of a fact.  It is knowledge arrived at by circumstantial implication. The classic example of this method of knowledge is: a fat person says that he never eats in the day, then we can easily postulate that he eats in the night, for the simple reason that without this assumption his fatness & also his getting fatter cannot be explained. Arthapathi can either be from what is seen or from what is heard.

Anupalabdhi (Non-apprehension) - Anupalabdhi literally means ‘non-perception’. Non-existence of a thing is apprehended by its non-perception. By not seeing a jar on a table one knows that it is not there. We use this method of knowledge also very often, and this is evident from statements like : ‘There is no teacher in the class-room’, There is no sound here’, ‘This flower has no fragrance’ etc.  It is different from Anumana as there is no concomitant relationship between non-perception and non-existence, as in the case of non-perception in the dark. However, it is to be noted that if a thing would have been perceived under given circumstances, but not perceived, then only it is Anupalabdhi.

Sabda (Verbal testimony) – Sabda Pramana is verbal testimony which is also called ‘apta-vakya’ (statement of a trust-worthy person’), and agama (authentic word). Hiriyanna explains Sabda Pramana as a concept which means reliable expert testimony.  A verbal statement conveying valid knowledge must have an authentic source which must be free from defects. Only a competent person possessed of knowledge can impart accurate knowledge. Such a knowledge needs no verification, unless of course there is doubt about its reliability. It is man’s most potent instrument for transmitting and gaining knowledge.  Books, magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, phones etc. all use or depend on words

Advaita Vedanta accepts all the above six as valid Pramanas while Visishtadvaita and Dvaita subsets of Vedanta school accept only Pratyaksha, Anumana and Sabda as valid Pramanas. Vaiseshika school considers only Pratyaksha and Anumana as valid Pramanas, while Nyaya school accepts four Pramanas viz. Pratyaksha, Anumana, Upamana and Sabda as valid.  Sankhya and Yoga schools rely on the same three Pramanas as Dvaita and Visishtadvaita.

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