Indian Philosophy

HINDU PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE Dear Ms. Sumita,

Day before yesterday we were chatting on Radha-Krishna and their Leela and I thought it would be nice if we can exchange some philosophical notes just to enlighten our souls. And I have started it today-¦but I feel a bit nervous, as my knowledge in these subject is quite meager. I will request you to give your inputs on my discourses, so that I may broaden my spectrum of knowledge. Let me start with the Hindu Philosophy of Life. I must tell you here that Hinduism is not a religion like Islam, Christianity or Buddism. You probably know that the world of religion is always backed by theological concepts, but in the case of Hinduism you will not find any specific theology. Hinduism is, in fact, a socio-cultural practice comprising Puranas (myths) and Darsana (philosophy). The root of the word Darshan is Drish (to see) and Darshana means -˜looking at things’. In Hinduism, the myths and philosophies are always mingled. Some of the Myths induced philosophy and at the same time Philosophical Doctrines influenced the creation of new myths (at an early stage of development of the Sanatan Cult/Hinduism). There exist six individual philosophical doctrines in Hinduism. These are, 1. Nyaya, 2. Vaiseshika, 3. Yoga, 4. Sankhya, 5. Purba Mimansha and 6. Uttar Mimansha. There was another philosophical doctrine in Hinduism introduced by the Charvakas (sweet-tongued), who had no faith in Dharma (divine duty) and Moksha (salvation) and they were always in favor of Artha (wealth) and Kama (pleasure). They were totally materialistic and thus were not in the mainstream Hindu Philosophy. Now let me provide you with a short brief on all the six philosophical doctrines of Hinduism. The Nyaya Doctrine was developed by Rishi Goutama and he wrote a book called -˜Nyayasutras’ . It is believed that Nyayasutras existed much before Gautama, but he was the first philosopher who compiled and edited the Sutras in his works. The first critical analysis of the Nyayasutras were given by Vatasyayana in the fourth century. The Vaiseshika Sutras were given by Rishi Kanada and his sutras were first analyzed by Prasastapada in Bhasya (language) in the 5th century, The authoritative works of Vaiseshika are Kiranvali of Udayana and Kandali of Sridhara. It is often considered that both Nyaya and Vaiseshika belong to the same doctrine, as both dealt with reality of various objective knowledge. The philosophers of these doctrines explained the whole universe but there was no mention of God itself. They, however, identified Atman or God in Self. The philosophers of Nyaya and Vaiseshika believe that the ultimate goal of life is Mukti, which can be compared with Samadhi, Nirvana and Fana Billah of Hindu, Buddist and Islamic Sufi doctrines respectively. Sumita, now let me go for Sankhya philosophy. The Sankhya, an important and influential doctrine of Hindu philosophy, recognizes the authority of the Vedas and the Upanishads. It was developed by Rishi Kapila. The thoughts of Kapila were recorded in Sankhya Sutras and in Ishwar Krishna’s Sankhya Karika (5th century). According to Sankhya doctrine, the universe is a duo of Paurasha and Prakriti, where the Paurasha is soul and Prakriti is nature with all of its active and dynamic forms. The Paurasha exists without any sense or feeling of pain, pleasure or desire, whereas Prakriti along with its space, time, activities and results, is always dynamic and fertile. The Gunas (qualities) of Prakriti are Sattva (refinement), Tamas (grossness) and Rajas (activity). According to the philosophers of this doctrine, human beings are made up of 1. Paurasha, 2. Antasharira (a subtle body) and 3. Lingasharira (gross body). The Lingasharira or gross body is conditioned by the Karma (duty/work) and the Karma is attached with Paurasha. The Sankhya philosophy believes in transmigration of the soul and says that the nature and type oftransmigration of the soul is dependent on the Karma of Lingasharira. The devotees of Sankhya doctrine believe that human Lingasharir is full of sorrows and the liberation of the soul from the bondage of Prakriti can be achieved through positive Karma. The philosophy of Nirvana, as incorporated in Buddhism, is influenced by Sankhya Darshan. It is also believed that the Christian and Islamic philosophies contain some elements of Sankhya doctrine. The Yoga philosophy is linked with Muni Patanjali and can be found in his work Yoga Sutra (5th century). Rishi Vyasa of the 6th century was the critic and commentator of Yoga Sutra along with Vachaspati and Vijnan Bhikshu. The Yoga philosophy teaches the methods and procedures of body training by which one can sidetrack the cycle of life and death. The body training methods include Ashana (posture), Pranayam (breath control), Pratyhara (Withdrawal of senses), Dharma (devine duties), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (union with God).The methods and procedures of Yoga philosophy can be found in Islamic philosophy, specially in Sufi doctrine, where the different stages of body training are described as Ubdiat (state of human being), Ishk (state of love), Juhad (state of sacrificing worldly things and pleasure), Marefat (state of divine knowledge), Wajod (state of divine glory), Hakikat (state of absolute truth) and Wasol (state with Allah). In Sufism, the trainings are imparted to control the Naffs (the senses) like pleasure of eating, living, wealth, sex etc.. The Baka Billah and Fana Billah (complete union with God) is achieved through Mout-ul-Abiaz (white death-”when one forgets the pleasure of eating), Mout-ul-Akhzar (green death-”when one forgets the pleasure of good clothes and living) and Mout-ul-Asswad (black death-”when one forgets all worldly pleasure and remains only with Allah). The Purva Mimansha philosophy is dedicated to finding out the truths about Brahmanas, which precedes the Upanishad (the 101 philosophical sections of the Vedas). The original works of this doctrine is Mimansha Sutras written by Jaimini in the 3rd century. The philosophers of this doctrine believe that revelation can be proven by logic and thus they put more emphasis on Dharma as a social and religious activity. The Purva Mimansha lost its importance at a latter stage. The Uttar Mimansha is totally based on the Upanishads and often called as Vedanta philosophy. Badrayana’s work Vedanta Sutras details the Uttar Mimansha philosophy. Muni Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and Purana, compiled the Vedas. Shankaracharya of the 10th century, was a celebrated commentator of Vedanta and he also advocated for Advaita or absolute monism. Advaita philosophy says-”-˜nothing exists other than God and Nirguna Brahma (God) is the Supreme Being’. All the objects other than Brahma is only Maya (illusion), which are created by ignorance. (Sumita, you may recall here the philosophical utterance of the great Sufi philosopher Mansur Hallaz, who used to say-”-˜Anal Haque (I am God)’ and he used to find God in every thing). The Vedanta philosophy recognized the importance of knowledge to touch the sphere of God and suggested that one could possess the divine light by detaching oneself from pleasure oriented world affairs and by adopting Vedanta ways of life. At a latter stage, Ramanuja gave a new interpretation of the Vedas as Vishistha Advaita and commented-”-˜there are three realities, God, Soul and Matter’. You may here recollect the philosophy of Decartes, who advocated for God, Soul and Mind triangle and said -˜cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)’ and -˜dubito ergo sum (I doubt, therefore I am)’. You may also recall here your memory of Bhagabat Gita, which contained 700 verses from the Mahabharata. The Gita explains the human moral concepts, the questions of life and death and the benefits of having knowledge. The Gita also teaches us the doctrine of Bhakti (devotion), it gives us the spirit of universal tolerance and it provides us with the methods of seeking salvation. In fact, the Bhagabat Gita gives us all the methods and procedures of building a good soul in this living and cruel world. Well, that’s all for today. My next discourse will be on Paurush and Prakriti. But I am afraid, ami ki mamar kache mama-barir goppo korchi?-¦Talking Chakraborty-tatta with a Chakraborty? Please be a critic of mine and write to me with all the corrections. Best wishes for you. Yours sincerely, Mayeen Chowdhury

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