A country's philosophy is the pinnacle of its culture and civilization. A country's philosophy helps us in tapping into the soul of its people. It not only explores the various thoughts of its best intellectual minds but also tells us about the way people lead their lives owing to their religious beliefs.
Introduction
According to a traditional principle of classification, followed by orthodox Hindu thinkers, the schools or systems of Indian philosophy can be divided into two major categories, orthodox and heterodox.
The orthodox category comprises six chief philosophical systems because they accept the authority of the Vedas, they are Mimamsa, Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, and Vaisesika. Schools that do not believe in the authority of Vedas are categorized as Heterodox systems such as the schools of materialists - the Carvakas, Bauddhas, and Jainas.
Key Characteristics of Indian Philosophy
1. The most striking and fascinating point of agreement is that all schools see philosophy as a practical necessity that must be developed in order to understand the best way of leading life. Philosophical wisdom is to provide not only academic joy but also an illuminated life characterized by far-sight, foresight, and insight.
Its scope is as wide as any philosophy based only on theoretical considerations. Several aspects of Indian philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, and logic, may easily offer a prominent alternative to the western system of philosophy.
2. Pessimism has often been a key criticism of Indian philosophy. Indian philosophy is pessimistic in the sense that it functions from a place of dissatisfaction with the current order of things.
It reveals and affirms that life, as it is currently lived, is nothing more than a game of blind impulses and unquenchable desires, which ultimately leads to and prolongs sorrow. However, no Indian institution comes to an end with this depiction of life as a tragedy.
The essence of Buddha's enlightenment- the four noble truths- sums up and expresses the true position of every Indian school in this regard, namely, that there is suffering and that there is a way to overcome it. In Indian philosophy, pessimism is merely the beginning, not the end.
3. With the exception of the Carvaka materialists, the belief in an eternal moral order has dominated Indian philosophy throughout its history. All of these systems, Vedic and Non-Vedic, theistic and atheistic, follow the same belief and faith.
This belief further develops into the Mimamsa conception of Apurva, the law that ensures future enjoyment of the fruits of rituals, as well as the Nyaya-Vaisesika theory of Adrsta, the principle that brings together objects and events in accordance with the moral principles. Another general conception that is accepted by all Indian schools is the law of Karma.
Despite the lack of a belief in God, Indian schools are brought to the position of religion because of their belief in conservation ideas. This belief in an eternal moral order generates optimism and empowers man to govern his own destiny. Hence, there is room for personal effort and free choice.
4. According to the inviolable law of Karma, an individual's body, perceptions, and motor organs, as well as the surroundings in which he finds himself, are endowments of nature or God. This natural impulse to see the universe as the moral stage where all living beings get the role that benefits them and are too well to deserve better in the future is intimately related to the outlook revolving around the law of Karma.
5. A widely held belief among Indian thinkers is that ignorance of truth is the source of our enslavement and miseries and that freedom from these can only be attained via knowledge of reality i.e., the true nature of the universe and the self.
The term “enslavement” here emphasizes the perpetual cycle of birth and “freedom" relates to the end of that cycle. Some Indian thinkers, such as the Jainas, Bauddhas, Sankhyas, and Advaita-Vedanta, believe that this condition of freedom or liberation can be achieved in real life.
It’s worth noting that Indian philosophers believed that theoretical knowledge alone wasn’t enough to overcome ignorance. Continued meditation on the accepted truths and practical life of self-control are regarded as two types of discipline that can help in understanding and overcoming ignorance.
6. Owing to the necessity of concentration and meditation, an extensive technique was developed, which is commonly discussed in the Yoga system. Buddhism, Jainism, the Sankhya, Vedanta, and even the Nyaya-Vaisesika schools all contain it in one format or the other. Followers of this belief claimed that wrong ideas had formed and shaped our habits of thought, speech, and action, which were then reinforced by our habits.
In order to get rid of such wrong ideas, we must go through a long process of meditation and deep thinking to correct the thoughts in our minds. We must note that at no point in time has this belief been investigated for distinguishing the wrong form correct ideas.
It is based on the assumption that we in our own best interests have come to acknowledge the wrong and right ideals or core beliefs that shape our understanding of self and our surroundings.
7. Self-control is required for the mind to focus on these principles. Because of contradictory impulses profoundly found in our character as a result of prior errors about things and their values, our speech and action cannot always reflect our logical ideas.
Different Indian thinkers explain these impulses differently, but they all agree that the primary impulses are “likes and dislikes – love and hatred”. Self-control implies the bringing of the lower self under the control of the higher. The cessation of undesirable behaviors was accompanied by the performance of positive behaviors.
8. Ultimately, all Indian systems recognize the concept of liberation as the highest goal of life, with the exception of the Carvaka. Negatively, everyone agreed that the state of liberation is the end of the sufferings that life in this world brings.
A few went a step further, claiming that liberation, or the state of perfection, is a state of positive happiness as well as a condition of negative sorrow. This group includes the Mimamsa, Vedanta, and Jaina thinkers, as well as the Budhhas.
Conclusion
The common characteristics of Indian philosophy highlight the core strength as well as some vital criticisms that are faced by any major branch of philosophy. The classification of various Indian schools helps in distinguishing the many purposes of these ideologies.
They pave the way for understanding Indian philosophy as a contemporary alternative to the much sought-after western philosophy.
Written by: Janshi
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