[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Main schools of thought
Mick <apache@nic.cerf.net> wrote:
>In my studies I have repeatedly come across refferences to the 'six
>schools' of thought from india. I've seen refferences to Sankhya,
>Pantanjali Yoga, Vedanta, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Are these correct and
>can someone tell me the name of the sixth school.
>
>Peace,
>
>Mick
The 'six schools' are supposed to be orthodox schools, termed within Indian
sources as Astika darSanas. The six are nyAya, vaiSeshika, yoga, sAmkhya,
mImAmsA and vedAnta. They are usually further grouped into three pairs -
nyAya-vaiSeshika, yoga-sAmkhya, and mImAmsA-vedAnta, based on certain
affinities within the systems. These six are orthodox, because they admit the
validity of scripture i.e. the vedas, as a source of knowledge. However, except
the mImAmsA and vedAnta schools, the others do not really utilize the knowledge
of the vedas to any significant extent.
Strictly speaking, Buddhism is a 'heterodox' or a nAstika school, because it
does not admit the authority of the vedas. Moreover, Buddhism is not a single
school of thought - its schools of philosophy vary from the materialistic
realism to an idealism. There are quite a few other schools of Indian
philosophy that are not covered in the preceding list. These include the
schools of Jaina thought, Carvaka materialist thought, and the schools of
various Vaishnava, Saiva and Sakta religions that are based on their respective
Agamas and Tantras.
You will get a broader idea of the various schools of Indian philosophy from
the following URL,
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~vidya/advaita/ind-phil.html
which also has links to Encyclopedia Brittanica articles on Indian schools of
philosophy.
S. Vidyasankar
