THE PERIODS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
ANIL MITRA PHD, COPYRIGHT © 1997 EDITED July 2004
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Document status:
Maintained as reference
May be used as an outline of Indian Philosophy – for inclusion in another work or for a work on Indian Philosophy if needed
THE PERIODS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Comments on the Spirit of Indian Philosophy
1 The Vedic Period: 2500 - 600 BC
2 The Epic Period: 600 BC - 200 AD
2.3 Origin of Doctrines and Philosophies
3 The Sutra Period: from 200 AD
4 The Scholastic Period: till the 17th century AD
5 Modern and Contemporary Indian Philosophy
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 tended 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 is the only way to knowledge of the ultimate though reason may be used
Acceptance of authority…militates against any attitude 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
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 Upanishads
Upanishads - 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 Upanishads is 108 but there are more than 200. The fourteen principle Upanishads are Isâ, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mândukya, Taittriya, Aitareya, Chândogya, Brhadâranyaka, Svetâsvatra, Kausitaki, Mahânârâyana, and Maitra
The authors are not known. The doctrines are associated with the sages Aruni, Yajnavalkya, Bâlâki, Svetaketu, and Sândilya
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
Râmâyana tells of the conflict between the Aryans and the Dravidians
Mahâbhârata is of the dynastic struggle among the descendants 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
Buddhism
Jainism
Saivism
Vaishnavism
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
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 Upanishads - 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
This is the period of commentaries upon the sutras. The writing of this period is characterized by 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
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 Upanishads…
There is a list of modern Indian philosophers in Design for a Journey in Being
[1] The two other authoritative texts are the Upanishads and Samkara's commentary on the Vedânta
[2] Radhakrishan
is writing in the 1950's. Recent developments have been discussed and
characterized in a number of works. One tendency is to reject
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