The Six Schools of Hindu Philosophy. There are six major schools of Hindu philosophy. They can be classified into two categories: Astika Darshana and Nastika Darshana.

The Sanskrit word “Darshana” means philosophy or vision, and refers to the earned inquiry into the nature of reality. Astika Darshana accepts the authority of the Vedas, whereas Nastika Darshana doesn’t — though it is still influenced by them.

The Two Classifications

Each Darshana has a Sutra-work which forms its basic text, created by a great sage. These sages have founded and systematised the doctrines of the schools.

Vedanta Philosophy

The Vedanta school of philosophy contains many sub-traditions, ranging from dualism to non-dualism, but all of them have a common textual connection in the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.

The most recognised and important one is Advaita Vedanta. Generally speaking, Vedanta philosophy does not discuss a concept of God, so it is non-dualistic.

The aim is liberation by overcoming illusion.

The principle concepts of Vedanta include:

• the nature of reality,
• the status of Brahman and nature,
• the cause of creation,
• the relationship between Brahman and Atman,
• and the means of liberation.

Atman is the soul or “individual self”, and its direct Sanskrit translation also means breath.

Vedanta says that Man is Brahman.
Brahman is the creative principle which lies realised in the whole world. The nature of Brahman is Satya (truth), Ananda (contentment), Jnana (wisdom), and Ananta (infinity). It therefore means that the soul of a human is the same as the higher spirit, and by walking the four paths of Yoga, one can purify oneself. It is like a pot with air in a room full of air — the air inside and outside the pot is the same, but can only be connected by breaking the pot.

Liberation (Moksha) is attained when a person overcomes the illusion of duality and division.

Samkhya Philosophy

The Samkhya philosophy is one of the most prominent and oldest of Indian philosophies and was propounded by the sage Kapila.

It is understood as the philosophy of perfect/right knowledge or numbers. Samkhya is termed as an uncompromising dualism, atheistic realism, and spiritual pluralism. It is called dualistic because it is based on two ultimate realities or principles: Purusha and Prakriti.

Purusha is the principle of matter. Samkhya is called atheistic realism because both matter and spirit (Purusha and Prakriti) are equally real — and there is no discussion about God. It is pluralistic because of its teaching that Purusha is not one but many. It is innumerable, all-pervading and eternal.

Samkhya believes in the creation of the universe as a result of the union between Prakriti and Purusha.

The Three Gunas

Prakriti comprises of three Gunas: Satva, Rajas and Tamas.
It is the material cause of the universe. Therefore, all objects in the universe — living and non-living, physical and mental — are made of Prakriti.

The Gunas are attributes or qualities:

• Satva symbolises the cosmic intellect and stability. Its qualities are balanced. It stands for purity, holiness or empathy.
• Rajas represents movement and activity. It symbolises drive, restlessness and passion.
• Tamas is the quality of inertia, darkness and resistance to change.

The concept of Triguna has been utilised to explain the development of personality and consciousness.

The Path of Knowledge

Knowledge (Jnana) of the distinction between Prakriti and Purusha is at the heart of Samkhya.

It is a practice of acquiring knowledge by discerning the difference between the manifest, the unmanifest, and the seer of both. This knowledge, however, is not intellectual but intuitive and meditative, cultivated through deep practice.

Duality exists in Dharana and Dhyana (the Eight Limbs of Yoga) when there is an object to meditate on and a person who meditates. Real knowledge is gained when the “image” of this object dissolves, leading to a thoughtless state, called Samyama. The goal of human life in Samkhya philosophy is liberation (Moksha) — total freedom from all suffering.

Suffering (Dukham), or physical and mental pain, drives us to seek happiness. Samkhya grounds its teaching on suffering — and teaches that only with the right knowledge can we distinguish our real self from the unreal (Prakriti).

Therefore, Samkhya follows Jnana Yoga.

Samkhya philosophy and Yoga philosophy are deeply linked:

Samkhya is considered the theoretical Yoga, and Yoga the practical Samkhya.

Yoga Philosophy

Yoga Darshana is based on Maharshi Patanjali, who wrote the Yoga Sutras, considered the foundational text of Yoga. In these Sutras, the Eight-Limbed Path or Ashtanga Yoga is described.

The practical aspects of Yoga play a more important part than its intellectual content, which is largely based on Samkhya philosophy — with the exception that Yoga accepts the existence of God (Ishvara).

Therefore, Yoga is also a dualistic philosophy, since the seeker finds spiritual release by reuniting with the higher self through ending separation. It is a process of dephenomenalising the self until it re-enters its original state of consciousness — union.

The concept of Prakriti and Purusha is also adopted here.

Ignorance is the cause of suffering, and only the removal of ignorance — through concentration leading to Samadhi — is the goal of Ashtanga Yoga. Patanjali’s Yoga mainly deals with mind management to achieve concentration and inner stillness.

Ashtanga literally means eight limbs.