The different schools of Hindu philosophy

Introduction

Hinduism is a religion, but it’s also a way of life. It’s one of the oldest religions in the world and has been practised for thousands of years. Hinduism has no single founder or central authority; instead, it consists of many different schools of thought that developed over time. In this article, we will talk about different schools of Hindu philosophy.
The word “Hindu” comes from “Sindhu,” which was an ancient name for the Indus River (now called the Sindh). The word Hinduism was first used by Muslims who invaded India in 712 CE; they referred to people living east of Sindh as Hindus because they were not Muslim or Christian (the two other major religions at that time).
The term “Hinduism” itself means “religion/way of life practised by those living east of Sindh.”

The Nyaya School of Hindu Philosophy

The Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy is one of the six orthodox schools, which are also referred to as Astika or “orthodox” schools because they accept the authority of the Vedas. The name Nyaya comes from nyaya, which means “logic.”
Nyaya is one of two main philosophical systems that developed in ancient India (Buddhism being the other). It was founded by Gautama (also known as Gotama) who lived between sixth century BCE and fourth century BCE. He wrote four books on logic and reasoning: Nyayasutras, Varttikas, Bhasya and Tarka-Sangraha.

The Vaisheshika School of Hindu Philosophy

The Vaisheshika School of Hindu Philosophy was founded by Kanada, who lived in the 8th century BCE. The school’s name comes from the Sanskrit word “vaisheshika,” which means “belonging to VaiShi.” VaiShi was an ancient sage who wrote down his teachings on philosophy and logic in a book called Sutra-VaiShi (or “Canon of Reason”).
The main purpose of this school is to understand what exists in reality and how we can know it. It uses reason as its primary tool for investigating nature, rather than relying on faith or revelation as other schools do. According to Vaisheshika, there are six categories that make up all material objects: substance (tanmatra), quality (guna), action (karma), universal (jati), particularity/individuality (visesha) and inherence/inseparability (samavaya).

The Samkhya School of Hindu Philosophy

The Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy is one of the oldest and most influential schools. It is also known as the “theory of separation” because it teaches that there are two eternal realities: purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (matter). The former is pure consciousness, while the latter consists of three qualities: sattva (illumination), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia).
The method used by Samkhya philosophers to study reality was called anumana–reasoning from cause to effect. They believed that everything in this world has a cause, so if you want to understand something fully, you must first know its causes. This approach led them to conclude that everything we see around us has been created by God at some point in time; therefore nothing can exist without Him!

The Yoga School of Hindu Philosophy

The Yoga school of Hindu philosophy is one of the six classical schools. It is also referred to as Raja Yoga, which means “royal union.” This school was founded by Patanjali around 200 BCE and is based on his teachings.
The word yoga comes from a Sanskrit word that means “union.” In this context, it refers to the union between body, mind and spirit–or between our individual consciousness with universal consciousness (Brahman). This process can be achieved through meditation practices such as those outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The goal of these practices is to still all thoughts so that you can experience absolute blissful awareness or Self-realization (atman).

The Purva Mimamsa School of Hindu Philosophy

The Purva Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy is considered to be the oldest of all schools, with its origins dating back to the Vedic period. The word “Purva” means “earlier” and “Mimamsa” means “investigation.” Thus, this school is also known as the earlier investigation or inquiry into Brahman (the Absolute).
The Nature of Reality: The Purva Mimamsa school believes that Brahman alone exists; everything else is an illusion (Maya). It holds that Brahman has no qualities or attributes; therefore, it cannot be described in terms such as good or bad because these are human concepts that do not apply to God/Brahman. For example, if someone asks you what colour your car is painted and you answer blue because it looks blue from far away but closer up it’s really greenish-greyish–you would be mistaken! Similarly, when we say something about God being loving even though He never shows His love through action then again we’re making mistakes because such statements are based on our limited understanding of reality rather than absolute truth which only comes after reaching enlightenment through meditation practice.”

The Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta) School of Hindu Philosophy

The Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta) School of Hindu Philosophy is a school of Vedanta, or the end of the Vedas. It focuses on understanding Brahman and its relationship with Atman (soul). It also discusses how we can attain liberation from our worldly desires through knowledge and meditation.
The school was founded by Badarayana who wrote Brahma Sutras in 800 CE. His main contribution was explaining the nature of reality through his theory called “pramana” which means “means,” referring to how we can know things as they really are. His ideas were influenced by earlier schools such as Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika but he disagreed with them on certain points such as whether God exists or not; whether there is an afterlife or not; etcetera

The Charvaka School of Hindu Philosophy

The Charvaka School of Hindu philosophy is a materialist school that believes in the natural world and rejects any supernatural or spiritual elements. It holds that reality is comprised only of matter and energy and that there are no gods or souls that exist outside this realm. The Charvakas believed that all things in nature are governed by cause-and-effect relationships; therefore, if you want something to happen, you must do something about it yourself–you can’t just wait around for divine intervention!
The Charvaka approach was very similar to modern science: they looked at the world around them using reason rather than faith or tradition. They were also very practical people who valued happiness over knowledge itself (which seems kind of silly now).

Conclusion

Hindu philosophy is a rich and complex tradition that has influenced many other schools of thought. In this guide, we’ve explored the different schools of Hindu philosophy and their main differences.
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Here are some references for further reading on the different schools of Hindu philosophy:

1. “Hindu philosophy” by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-india/
2. “Introduction to Hinduism: Schools of Thought” by BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/history_1.shtml
3. “Six Schools of Indian Philosophy” by ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/six-schools-of-indian-philosophy-1770467
4. “Different Schools of Indian Philosophy” by Jagran Josh: https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/different-schools-of-indian-philosophy-1474358974-1

These sources provide a comprehensive overview of the different schools of Hindu philosophy and their core beliefs, as well as their historical development and significance in the broader context of Indian philosophy.