THE PERIODS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
ANIL MITRA PHD, COPYRIGHT © 1997 EDITED September 2003
Document status: September 18, 2003
Maintained as reference… do not retain this copy
May be used as an outline of Indian Philosophy – for
inclusion in another work or for a work on Indian Philosophy if needed
INTRODUCTION
This
brief overview is not academic. It is important to me because it is in Indian
Philosophy that I find two significant ideas. The first is the Vedantic principle of the identity of the personal with the
universal. The second is the principle of the Gitâ that
I take to be that of action in the face of doubt and ignorance.
Action
and thought interact to produce meaning…which may be expressed in words.
Of
course, the Gitâ is more than that - and I am
interested other messages and other expressions of Indian Philosophy as further
expression of the principles mentioned, other ideas of interest - such as Yoga,
the expressions of the “Indian” mind, Buddhism…and as a sub-conscious
and ongoing source of my ideas and identity.
Radhakrishnan divides the history of Indian
Philosophy, as is conventional, into four periods:
The Vedic Period: 2500 - 600 BC
The Epic Period: 600 BC - 200 AD
The Sutra Period: from 200 AD
The Scholastic Period: till the 17th
century AD
A
fifth period is added:
The Modern Period: after the decline of Indian
Philosophy in the 17th century due to the influence of Muslim and
British cultures and the resulting “Anglophile” orientation among
educated Indians.
Much
work has gone into the reinterpretation of Indian Philosophy, both by Western
and Indian scholars. The modern rendering is necessarily marked by
interpretation…this is all that there can be, of course - except that we
can also breath new life into old work, adapt it to our times. The outline that
follows draws from Radhakrishnan.
COMMENTS
ON THE SPIRIT OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Recent
reviews have tendended to contradict the following
characterization due to Radhakrishnan:
Concentration on the spiritual
Intimate relation between philosophy and life
Introspective attitude toward reality…and
therefore, idealistic
Intuition the only way to knowledge of the ultimate..reason used
Acceptance of authority…militates against any attitue contradicting the basic characteristics of
spirituality, inwardness, intuition, strong belief that truth is to be lived
and not merely known
Overall synthetic tradition…in contrast with
the analytic tradition of Western Philosophy
1
The Vedic Period: 2500 - 600 BC
The
Vedic Period is characterized, successively, by religion, superstition and
philosophy.
Sruti is the word for revealed,
authoritative texts. There are four Veda: Rg,
Yajur, Sâma, and Atharva.
Rg: 1017
hymns in ten books. Philosophically, the most important.
Yajur: sacrificial
formulas
Sâma: melodies
Atharva: has a large number of magical formulas, spells and
incantations for healing, long life…perhaps the beginnings of “Indian”
medicine.
Each
Veda has four parts:
Mantra or Samhitâ
- hymns - by “poets” - that move from polytheism to monotheism to
suggestions, in the later mantras of the Rg, of
monism.
Brâhmana - religious
documents - by priests - ritual and sacrificial
Âryanka - meditations
for the forest dweller who, in the classic stages of
life, has progressed beyond the ritual of the householder - by philosophers - transitional
between the Brâhmana and the Upanisad
Upanisad - philosophical,
abstract - by philosophers - spiritual monism… The real which is at the
heart of the universe is reflected in the infinite depths of the self. Brahman -
the ultimate as discovered objectively - is Âtman - the
ultimate as discovered by introspection.
The
traditional number of Upanisad is 108 but there are
more than 200. The fourteen principle Upanisads are Isâ, Katha, Prasna,
Mundaka, Mândukya, Taittriya, Aitareya, Chândogya, Brhadâranyaka, Svetâsvatra, Kausitaki, Mahânârâyana, Maitra.
The
authors are not known. The doctrines are associated with the sages Aruni, Yajnavalkya, Bâlâki, Svetaketu, Sândilya.
2
The Epic Period: 600 BC - 200 AD
Smrti is the name for the traditional
texts of this period. Doctrines are presented, often in mythic form, in non-systematic
and non-technical literature. There are four classes of text and tradition.
2.1
The Epics
Râmâyana tells of
the conflict between the Aryans and the Dravidians.
Mahâbhârata is of the
dynastic struggle among the descendendants of Bharâta - the Pandavas and the Kurus. Bhagavad Gitâ is a part of Mahâbhârata.
Regarded[1] as one of
three most authoritative texts of Indian Philosophy.
The
epics are the occasions for cosmology and ethics.
A
theme is that of Brahmanism adjusting to the needs of different communities,
being taken into the Aryan fold. In addition to the great work of synthesis,
the Bhagavad Gitâ, there
also resulted the Prâsupata, Bhâgavata,
Tantra systems of thought and practice.
2.2
The Heterodox Systems
Buddhism
Jainism
Saivism
Vaishnavism
2.3
Origin of Doctrines and Philosophies
Skepticism, naturalism, materialism
Orthodox systems
Heterodox systems: Cârvâka,
Buddhism, Jainism…
2.4
Dharmasâstras - treatises on ethical and
social philosophy
Code of Manu
Artha-sâstra of Kautilya
3
The Sutra Period: from 200 AD
A period of orderly, systematic, aphoristic, extremely
brief and enigmatic texts.
The
systems of this period are:
Nyâya - logical
realism - Gautama: Nyâyasutra,
300 AD
Vaisesika - realistic
pluralism - Kanâda: Vaisesikasutra
Sâmkhya - evolutionary
dualism - Sâmkhya: Sâmkhya-pravacanasutra,
300 AD. Also attributed to the legendary Kapila.
Yoga
Purva Mimânsâ - early investigations of dharma, duty as stated in
the Veda. Jaimini: mimânsâsutra
Vedânta. Also Uttara Mimânsâ,
Vedânta sutra, Brahmasutra -
since it deals with the doctrine of Brahman and Sârirakasutra
since it deals with the embodiment of the unconditioned self. Attributed to Bâdârayana but not usually
called Bâdârayanasutra. There are 555 sutras
of two or three words each…the attempt is to systematize the teaching of
the Upanisad - especially its spiritual monism. Since
the sutras are so terse, the commentaries are important. Three significant
commentaries are Samkara's non-dualism - Samkara is regarded as a thinker of the first rank; Râmânuja's qualified non-dualism; and Madhva's
dualism. These commentaries are regarded more highly than the original sutras
of Bâdârayana.
4
The Scholastic Period: till the 17th century AD
This
is the period of commentaries upon the sutras. Much
commentary upon commentary, “logic-chopping”, noisy controversy.
But, the best work is of very high quality - the work of some of the greatest
of Indian Philosophers: Samkara, Kumârila,
Sridhara, Râmânuja, Madhva, Udayana, Bhâskara, Jayanta, Vijnâbhiksu, Raghunâtha…see
the discussion of the commentaries under Vedânta,
above.
5
Modern and Contemporary
After
the decline of Indian Philosophy under Muslim and British influence and the
Anglophile tendencies:
19th century reform - philosophical and
religious renaissance of the Brâhmo Samâj and Ârya Samâj.
Since establishment of
Contemporary
Period [2]
Sri Aurobindo - Aravinda Ghose, 1872 - 1950. “The greatest mystic philosopher of present day
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 1888 - 1975. Author of An Idealist View of Life, The Philosophy of
the Upanisads…