Indian Philosophy

I

Introduction

Indian Philosophy, along with Chinese philosophy, one of the foremost Eastern traditions of abstract inquiry. Indian philosophy, expressed in the Indo-European language of Sanskrit (see Sanskrit Language), comprises many diverse schools of thought and perspectives and includes a substantial body of intellectual debate and argumentation among the various views.

Among the main classical schools of Indian thought are (1) the so-called orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, which include Exegesis (Mimamsa), Vedanta and its numerous subschools, Atomism (Vaisheshika), Logic (Nyaya), Analysis (Samkhya), and Yoga; and (2) the Buddhist (so-called nonorthodox) schools of Madhyamika, Buddhist Idealism (Yogacara), and Abhidharma (which includes numerous subschools). Indian philosophy also comprises the materialist (see Materialism) and skeptical (see Skepticism) philosophies of Carvaka and the religious schools of Jainism.

Classical Indian philosophy extends from approximately 100 bc to ad 1800, which marks the beginning of the modern period. Ancient Indian thought, which is also philosophic in a broader sense, originated as early as 1500 bc and appears in scriptures called Veda. Ancient Indian philosophy also includes the mystical treatises known as Upanishads (700 bc to 400 bc), early Buddhist writings (300 bc to ad 500), and the Sanskrit poem Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord, 200 BC to 200 AD). Classical Indian philosophy is less concerned with spirituality than ancient thought; rather, it concentrates on questions of how people can know and communicate about everyday affairs.

Indian philosophy of the later classical and modern periods (1200 to present) may be distinguished from most Indian religious and spiritual thought. Among the exceptions are philosophies represented by famous advocates of ancient Indian spiritual views, such as mystic philosopher Sri Aurobindo Ghose—a nationalist revolutionary who opposed British rule of India in the early 20th century—and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was president of India from 1962 to 1967, within the period immediately following the country's struggle for independence.

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Indian philosophy is extensive, rich, and complex. Scholars analyze not only its significance and its insights, but also its classical teachings about knowledge and language. Meanwhile, the majority of Western students of Indian thought have been drawn to its religious and mystical teachings.

II

Relationship with Western Philosophy

Indian and Western civilizations have maintained some form of contact for at least 2500 years. In the 4th century bc, for example, the Greek emperor Alexander took troops across the Indus River, which borders the western edge of the Indian subcontinent. Even so, while trade contacts seem to have been ongoing, political contact between India and the West was largely insignificant until the 16th century. Western philosophical and religious views were carried by political emissaries and traders during voyages in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some scholars have argued that Platonism (the philosophy of ancient Greek thinker Plato) and neo-Platonism (a 3rd-century movement based on Platonism) were greatly influenced by Indian thought. Nevertheless, the traditions of Indian and Western philosophy developed largely in ignorance of one another, and, until modern times, showed few signs of influencing one another.

Despite this, it is possible to discern common interests and intellectual positions between Western and Indian philosophy, such as positions concerning logic and epistemology (the study of knowledge). Furthermore, when Indian philosophers ask the question “What is real?” (the subject of metaphysics) and respond by directing their attention to everyday experience and discourse, other interesting parallels to Western traditions become evident.

On the other hand, contrasts between Western and Indian thought dominate the arenas of religion and religious philosophy. For example, there is a certain type of Indian theism that shares similarities with the monotheism of the West. But the nirvana (enlightenment) goal of Buddhism, the mystical monism of Advaita Vedanta (the idea that all reality is a single spiritual being), and the theorizing that forms the foundation of polytheism (belief in the existence of multiple deities) in Hinduism are instances of Indian philosophy that have no, or at best minor and incomplete, parallels in Western philosophy.

Most ethical teachings in Indian philosophy are found in Indian literature but are influenced by religious association. Western types of ethical propositions (“one should behave in a certain manner because of [argument X]”) do occur in Indian philosophy—for instance, the famous Jaina argument that since animals are capable of pain, humans have an obligation not to harm them—but there is little wrestling with the question of the criteria of ethical norms (standards), unlike in the West. Indian classical philosophers often think about ethics in connection with Indian views about actions, or habits (karma), and rebirth (the belief in reincarnation; see Transmigration). Nevertheless, Indian philosophy is characterized by a highly refined ethical sensibility (common among Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism), along with standards of character and conduct that are common to many other cultures.

III

Influence of Religion

In ancient Indian philosophy (before 100 bc), philosophy and religion cannot be meaningfully separated, primarily because of the cultural integration of religious practices and mystical pursuits. For example, ceremonies celebrating birth, marriage, and death, performed with recitations of Vedic verses (mantras), were important for bonding within ancient Indian societies. Later in classical Indian philosophy, different social practices developed. Thus, the orthodox classical schools of thought are distinguished from nonorthodox classical schools by their allegiance to established forms of social practice rather than to the doctrines of the Veda. Buddhism, for example, constitutes much more of a break with Vedic practices than with the ideas developed in Vedic traditions of thought. In fact, the Upanishads, mystical treatises continuous with the Vedas, foretell many Buddhist teachings. In ancient India, religion did not entail dogma, but rather a way of life that permitted a wide range of philosophic positions and inquiry.

Mysticism, the claim that ultimate truth is only obtainable through spiritual experience, dominates much ancient Indian philosophy. Such experiences are thought to reveal a supreme and transmundane (beyond ordinary experience) reality and to provide the meaning of life. Mysticism shapes much classical and modern Indian thought as well. Through meditation and the meditative techniques of yoga, it is believed that one discovers one's true self (atman), or God (Brahman), or enlightenment (nirvana). The presumed indications of mystical experiences, such as atman or God, were especially debated in the ancient period and influenced much subsequent Indian philosophy, including the reflections of professional philosophers of late classical times.

In some schools of classical Indian philosophy, such as Nyaya (Logic), neither religion nor mysticism is central. Rather, the questions of how human beings know what they know—and how they can mean what they say—are given priority.

IV

History

The oldest literature of Indian thought is the Veda, a collection of poems and hymns composed over several generations beginning as early as 1500 bc. The Veda was composed in Sanskrit, the intellectual language of both ancient and classical Indian civilizations. Four collections were made, so it is said that there are four Vedas. The four as a group came to be viewed as sacred in Hinduism.

Most of the poems of the Veda are religious and tend to be about the activities of various gods. Yet some Vedic hymns and poems address philosophic themes that became important in later periods, such as the henotheism that is key to much Hindu theology. Henotheism is the idea that one God takes many different forms, and that although individuals may worship several different gods and goddesses, they really revere but one Supreme Being.

Indian philosophy was more decisively established with the Upanishads (secret doctrines), the first of which may have been written in the 7th century bc. Early Upanishads, which dominate the late ancient period (475 bc to 100 bc) of thought, were key to the emergence of several classical philosophies. In the Upanishads, views about Brahman (the Absolute, or God) and atman (one's true self) were proposed.

Buddhism, now a major world religion, also appeared in the ancient period of Indian philosophy. The Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, lived during the 6th century bc. He preached a goal of a supreme personal good—enlightenment (nirvana)—that may be compared to the later mystical so-called Brahman-knowledge of Upanishadic philosophy. In the reign of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka (3rd century bc), an enormous canon of literature, sometimes called the Southern Buddhist Canon, or the Pali Canon, was compiled. Other scriptures, eventually key to a Northern or Mahayana tradition, were composed later.

Most of the great classical schools of Indian philosophy, seven or eight in number, were first articulated in texts dating from as early as 100 bc. The founders of these schools are largely unknown except by traditional names—such as Gautama, with the Logic (Nyaya) school, and Badarayana, with Vedanta. Early classical Indian philosophy is expressed in aphoristic (sutra) texts complete with elaborate commentaries. The Sanskrit word sutra means thread and, by extension, an “aphorism” that captures a philosophic tenet in a succinct statement. The sutra texts, usually accompanied with commentaries made by a second great thinker of a tradition, express world views, or philosophies, organized around reasons and arguments.

The most outstanding individuals in subsequent classical Indian philosophical writing include Buddhist Idealist Dharmakirti, who lived in the 7th century; Advaita Vedantin Samkara, of the 8th century; and Logic philosopher Gangesa, of the 14th century. The writings of these thinkers represented a steady advance in persuasiveness over previous arguments. As a whole, Indian philosophic reasoning and reflection advanced—both in overall sophistication of argument and in the volume and scope of new texts—by the gradual effort of numerous authors.

V

Indian Thought

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