The Sanskrit term darsana (pronounced “dar-sha-na”) refers to a philosophical view or school. Hinduism recognizes six (shad-) “official” schools of philosophical thought. These six darsanas are recognized as orthodox because they purport to interpret the teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads.
The first two schools of thought are Nyaya and Vaisheshika. Nyaya was a school of logic. It developed the formal rules of logic and inference most other schools adopted, whereas Nyaya dealt with how to think, Vaisheshika emphasized theories of what exists. It developed an atomic theory and tried to itemize categories of all things one experiences. The two schools generally accepted each others ideas with slight modifications.
Finding the Spirit - Sankhya and Yoga
The next two darsanas are Sankhya and Yoga. Sankhya means “enumeration,” a term referring to its orderly array of categories.
Fundamental to the thought of Sankhya is the division of all things into spirit (purusha) and matter (prakriti).The spirit is similar to the soul of a person. It is uncreated, unending, eternally unchanging. The spirit is consciousness itself: it is silent witness to the lives it lives. It is the spirit that is reborn into different bodies life after life.
Matter, on the other hand, is always changing. Not only is the nonliving world one perceives the world of matter, but the body itself is matter. In Sankhya, matter is nonliving: it is only the spirit that is truly alive.
Closely allied with Sankhya philosophy is the classical practice of yoga. Yoga means “union,” it also means “discipline” or “effort.” The aim of yoga is the “cessation of thought” according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
The idea is that ordinarily the mind turns on its perceptions of external reality. The various postures (asana) and meditation (dhyana) thus serve to reduce the distractions of the outside world and help the practitioner turn inward. When the mind finds stillness through yoga, the spirit shines forth from within. One reaches liberation in this way.
Two Views of the Veda - Mimamsa and Vedanta
The final two darsanas are Mimamsa and Vedanta. In one sense, they are paired together as methods of exegetical interpretation of the Vedas. But Mimamsa and Vedanta were diametrically opposed in their views on the real meaning of the Vedas. Whereas Mimamsa focused on the nature of the Vedic rites, Vedanta emphasized the importance of seeking liberation through mysticism.
Mimamsa (“measurement, investigation”) as a school studied the ethical and ritual obligations of the Vedas. At the core of Mimamsa was the belief that the Vedic sacrifice represented the highest form of religious practice. Through the sacrifice the gods performed their duties and so maintained the world. Coupled with this was the study of ethical norms (dharma) which society must follow.
Mimamsa based itself on the Vedas and ritual commentaries, while Vedanta taught that the highest truths were to be found in the Upanishads. The name “Vedanta” means “end of the Vedas,” referring specifically to the Upanishads. The various sub-schools of Vedanta believed that the highest duty was to find the Self (atman).
The Self is also Brahman, the divine essence uniting all things. This equation meant that everyone has God within them. Vedanta thus taught that one must leave society on a personal quest to seek liberation (moksha).
Sources:
- Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. (Cambridge University Press, 1996).
- Patanjali. Yoga: Discipline of Freedom. Translated by Barbara Miller. (Bantam, 1998).
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