School of philosphy

Art and Culture

The Four Aims of Human Life

Across the six systems, a unified consensus holds that human life seeks fulfillment through the four puruṣārthas:

Dharma – ethical duty and a life lived with integrity and balance.
Artha – material prosperity and social stability.
Kāma – enjoyment of relationships, beauty, art, and pleasure.
Mokṣa – liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

In classical thought, these four are seen as a well‑balanced life, with mokṣa as the ultimate aim.

Why Six Schools?

Classical India systematized its philosophical tradition into six āstika darśanas: Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Pūrva‑Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta (Uttara‑Mīmāṃsā). All accept the authority of the Vedas and are considered part of what was originally called Sanātana Dharma, or in modern terms, Hinduism.

Each system presents a distinct but interconnected path toward understanding reality and achieving mokṣa.

The Six Orthodox (Āstika) Schools

Sāṃkhya (Kapila Muni)

Often dated to the early centuries BCE, this is traditionally considered the oldest school. It teaches a rigorous dualism:

Puruṣa – pure, passive consciousness (plural and innumerable), and
Prakṛti – creative nature (matter, energy, mind) composed of 25 tattvas.

Cosmic evolution begins when the equilibrium of the three guṇas—sattva (clarity), rajas (activity), tamas (inertia)—is disturbed by the mere presence of Puruṣa, sparking manifest reality. Liberation comes when one discriminates the real (Puruṣa) from the unreal (Prakṛti). Knowledge arises from pratyakṣa (perception), śabda (reliable word), and anumāna (inference), and karma and rebirth are accepted.

Yoga (Patañjali)

Essentially a practical offshoot of Sāṃkhya, Yoga preserves the same ontology but adds spiritual practices to attain pratyakṣa‑jñāna (direct realization):

The Yoga‑Sūtras outline Eight Limbs (Aṣṭaṅga Yoga):

Yama – ethical restraints (non‑violence, honesty)
Niyama – personal observances (cleanliness, contentment)
Pratyāhāra – withdrawal of senses
Āsana – posture
Prāṇāyāma – breath control
Dharana – focused concentration
Dhyāna – sustained meditation
Samādhi – meditative absorption

Yoga accepts a notion of Īśvara, a special Puruṣa untouched by karmic flux, but not a creator god, and centers symbolic use of “Oṃ”. The goal is disidentification from prakṛti and union with pure consciousness.

Nyāya (Gauṭama)

This is the classical school of logic and rigorous epistemology. According to Nyāya‑Sūtras, valid cognition is gained through four pramāṇas:

Pratyakṣa (direct perception)
Anumāna (inference)
Upamāna (comparison/analogy)
Śabda (verbal testimony from reliable sources)

Four “invalid” forms also exist: smṛti (memory mistaken for knowledge), saṃśaya (doubt), viparyaya (error), and tarka (hypothetical sophistry). Nyāya posits a real ātman (self) that is eternal and separate. Liberation comes through mokṣa‑jñāna—correct reasoning, discernment of illusion, and right agency.

Vaiśeṣika (Kaṇāda Kasyapa)

This is a metaphysical and naturalist school that classifies reality into six ontological categories (padārthas):

Dravya (substance – 9 types)
Guṇa (qualities – e.g., color, taste)
Karma (action/motion)
Sāmānya (generality)
Viśeṣa (particularity)
Samavāya (inherence)

(With a later-added seventh: abhāva, non‑existence.) The smallest unit is the paramāṇu, an indestructible atom; material phenomena are atomic aggregates. This school accepts only pratyakṣa and anumāna as valid knowledge. Souls and atoms coexist and are eternally real; karma is a binding force requiring knowledge of these categories to break free. Eventually, Vaiśeṣika melded with Nyāya in classical synthesis.

Pūrva‑Mīmāṃsā (Jaimini)

Focused entirely on the ritualistic portion of the Vedas (karma‑kāṇḍa), this school brings sharp hermeneutics to sacred language and rites:

Vedas are considered apauruṣeya (authorless), eternal, infallible, and self‑validating.
Dharma is defined as that which the Vedas command (vidhi)—rituals sustain cosmic order, grant merit and (at least) higher rebirth.
It defends ritual efficacy using the doctrine of apurva, an unseen force generated by precise acts of yajña.

The epistemology extends to five or six pramāṇas, with śabda (Vedic testimony) as supreme since dharma cannot be grasped through perception alone. Mimāṃsā is fundamentally anti‑ascetic and highly orthoprax; karma—not arcane rituals but their correct execution—is central. Though initially not concerned with mokṣa, Mīmāṃsā later accommodated renunciation for those seeking liberation.

Vedānta (Badarayana)

Also called Uttara‑Mīmāṃsā, it shifts focus to the Upaniṣads, Brahma‑Sūtra, and later the Bhagavad‑Gītā. This is the school of knowledge (jñāna):

Brahman is the sole ultimate reality—pure consciousness beyond dualities.
Ātman is revealed to be Brahman; unreal distinction is due to avidyā (ignorance).
Mokṣa arises through direct realization of the identity of Ātman and Brahman, often aided by devotional practices (bhakti).

It branches into six major subsystems, each proposing a different interpretation of Brahman–Ātman relation:

Advaita (Adi Śaṅkara): non‑dual identity.
Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja): qualified non‑dualism in Vishnu.
Dvaita (Mādhva): dualism; God (Vishnu) and soul are eternally distinct.
Dvaitādvaita (Nimbārka): simultaneous unity and differentiation.
Śuddhādvaita (Vallabha): complete identity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and self.
Acintyabhedābheda (Chaitanya): inconceivable simultaneous difference and non‑difference.

Nāstika (Heterodox) Traditions: Key Alternatives

These systems reject Vedic authority and bring contrary perspectives:

Ajivika (Makkhali Gosāla)

This śramaṇa‑movement school upheld niyati (strict determinism). Everything—including births, suffering, and eventual liberation—is predetermined; no free will, no efficacy of karmic action. Souls exist and cycle through rebirth, but ethical conduct and ritual are irrelevant to outcome. Fortune telling, ascetic discipline, or any striving are futile against cosmic fate. While harshly criticized by Buddhists and Jains, they persisted in parts of India until the 14th century.

Cārvāka / Lokāyata

Indian materialists par excellence, they denied the existence of ātman, karma, and afterlife. They accepted only pratyakṣa (perception) as a valid pramāṇa and promoted hedonism—eat, drink, enjoy—rejecting Vedas and metaphysics. Death is final; no rebirth, no soul, and no divinity.

Other names like Ucchedavāda, Akṛttavāda, and Ajñāna are within the broad jāti of heterodox thought, each denying afterlife, karma, or knowledge itself.

School	Founder	Reality Model	Valid Knowledge	Path to Liberation or Goal
Sāṃkhya	Kapila	Puruṣa & Prakṛti (dualism)	Pratyakṣa, Śabda, Anumāna	Discrimination of puruṣa vs prakṛti
Yoga	Patañjali	Same as Sāṃkhya	Same	8-fold practice to experiential liberation
Nyāya	Gauṭama	Real self + external world	Perception, Inference, Comparison, Testimony	Logical insight into self
Vaiśeṣika	Kaṇāda	Atomism & Realism	Perception & Inference	Knowledge of categories, cosmic order
Pūrva‑Mīmāṃsā	Jaimini	Ritual cosmos	Sabda (Vedic word supreme)	Diligent performance of dharmic rituals
Vedānta (6 subschools)	Bādarāyaṇa	Brahman is all	Aspramāṇa used in logic & testimony	Realization or devotion to Brahman
Ajivika (heterodox)	Makkhali G.	Cosmic determinism	Observations confirm fate	None—Events unfolded predetermined
Cārvāka / Lokāyata (heter.)	—	Only the material is real	Sensory perception only	No liberation; life only here

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