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PieterWeltevredesartdepictsaVedicsagerepresentingthefoundersoftheseminalschoolsofphilosophy.Heisseatedonthecosmic
cobrawithsixheads,eachrepresentingadistinctschoolofthought.FromtheaUpaniadsPramadamantra,representedbyaninfinite
seaofknowledgeandbeing,arisesixpowerfulriversofknowledge,eachsharingthesamesourcebutflowingoffindifferentdirections.
EDUCATIONALINSIGHT
SixStreamsOfHinduPhilosophy
adarana,CelebratingDiversityintheQuestforSupremeKnowledge
ByMahamahopadhyayaSwamiBhadreshdas
(DiscipleofGuruPramukhSwamiMaharaj)
hisarticleisacelebrationoffearlessdiversity.
TheworldhasneverfailedtobefascinatedbythevastnessanddepthoftheIndianexperiencewhetheritbeitsendearingand
timelessculture,vibrantandexpressivefestivals,ornateritualperformances,articulatelanguages,orevenitslusciouscuisines.
MarkTwain,inacelebratedpassage,attemptstogiveusatasteofitsmagnetism.HedescribesIndiaasThelandthatallmen
desiretoseeandhavingseenonce,evenbyaglimpse,wouldnotgivethatglimpsefortheshowsoftherestoftheglobecombined.
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RomainRolland,aFrenchscholar,echoes,IfthereisoneplaceonthefaceofEarthwhereallthedreamsoflivingmenhavefoundahome,
fromtheveryearliestdayswhenmanbegantodreamofexistence,itisIndia.Itisalandwheretheheartfindssolaceanddreamsfind
realization.
WhatmakestheIndianexperiencesoenchantingisitscapacitytoembracediversity.Ithasalwaysencouragedthefreedomtothink,to
dreamandtoexpressallvaluesthataresoughtbymodernscholarship.Surprisingly,theseaspirationsarenottobeenvisionedasdreams
ofthefuture,butrathertoberecalledfrompasthistories.Eversinceantiquity,thecelebrationofdiversethoughthasfoundhomeinIndia,a
landthatexemplifiedwhatitmeanstobetrulydiverse.Thesettingthatpromotedthisincessantcontemplation,andthesubsequentdialogue
thatproceededit,gavebirthtooneofthemostpricelesscontributionsofIndia:theVedicadaranathesixschoolsofphilosophybased
ontheVedas.
Daranaistheartofseeing.Toseeisordinary.Everyonesees,butwhenarishisees,itmakesadifference.Hereflectsonwhatisseen,
questionsit,examinesitandisalsocompassionatetoobserveitfromdifferentperspectives.Hehasthepowertochallengefaithwith
reasoningandtoestablishtheneedforfaithinreason.Inthisway,byseeing,arishiknocksatthedoorsoftruth.Indeed,theadaranas
aremiraclesofremarkablesight.
SHUTTERSTOCK
AMOUNTAINTOPPERSPECTIVE
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ThetermdaranastemsfromtheSanskritverbalrootdmeaningtoview.InSanskrit,termsthatareusedtoexpresstheactofseeing
arealsousedinamorecognitivesenseofattainingknowledge.Assuch,daranameanstheattainmentofknowledge,experience
(anubhti)orsystemofbelief.WithintheIndianparadigm,numerousschoolsofthoughtarosethatoffereddifferentperspectivesfor
understandingtheworld.Itwasbytheirgiftsofknowledgeandexperiencethatthesevariousschoolsofthoughteventuallybecamereferred
toasdarana.
TheDaranicLens:TheformationofthedaranastransformedtheIndianexperience.Theideastheypresentedencouragedoneto
viewthefamiliarandtheordinarythroughabroader,moreencompassing,philosophicalandtheologicalparadigm.Sincetheteachingsof
thedaranaswereultimatelyoutgrowthsofVedicthought,theircreation,althoughcharacterizedbydistinctprinciples,resultedinadiverse,
yetstructuredunderstandingofVedicinjunctionandrevelation.Insoarising,theyprovidedperspectivesthatbothenlightenedandinspired.
Theeffectwasuniversal.Thedaranaspresentedphilosophicalideasthathadsignificantbearingononesexperienceofthe
phenomenologicalworldtheytaughtonehowandtowhatsignificancetoviewtheworldwelivein.Theytaughtwhatitmeanstolivea
meaningfullifeandhowtomakelifemoremeaningful.Assuch,theircreationmoldedtheIndianexperiencethroughadaraniclens.
TheDaranicWayofLife:AstudyoftheVedicadaranahasthepowertochangethewayweviewandlivelife.Theyemergedfrom
honestinvestigationsofeveryday,commonconcernsandstrivedtoprovideeverlastingsolutionsforthem.Attainingenduringblissand
freedomfrommiseryareuniversalaspirationstheyaredesiresindependentofage,nationality,raceandevenreligiouspreference.The
adaranapresentedthoughtsthatbroughtasenseofmaturitytointellectualendeavor,andultimatelymeaningtolife.Theydemonstrated
howitwasnotonlypossible,butalsoinstructive,toliveamongdiversity.Theytaughtdiscernmentwhenjoiningthevisiblewiththeinvisible,
anddeclaredthattherewasalifebeforeandwillbealifeafterthepresent.Byexploringtheseprinciples,thedaranaswoveconceptual
metaphysicsandepistemologyintoeverydayliving.
SixStreamsofWisdom:Thesixdaranaswewillbecomefamiliarwithinthisworkare:Skhya,Yoga,Nyya,Vaieika,Mmsand
1(ch023.html#en01)
Vednta.
Theyarecollectivelycalledtheadarana.Thesesixdaranasoftenappearaspairs:SkhyaispairedwithYoga,
NyyawithVaieika,andMmswithVednta.Althougheachdaranaisdistinctfromtheothers,theyaregroupedinthiswaybecause
thepairssharemanysimilarbeliefs.
SimilarYetDistinct:Alloftheadaranasshareseveralsimilarconcerns.Eachacknowledgesfourendeavorsoflife:theattainmentof
righteousness(dharma),materialattainment(artha),thefulfillmentofdesire(kma),andtheattainmentofliberation(moka).Amongthese
endeavors,allsixdaranasplacegreatsignificanceonliberation(moka)andexpressageneraldissatisfactionwiththemerefulfillmentof
materialdesireorcorporalgratification.Thiscomesasnosurprise,astheyallbelieveintheexistenceoftheself(tman)asdistinctfromthe
bodyandinitscontinuedexistenceafterdeath.
Regardingknowledge,eachdaranapresentsasystematicepistemologicalframeworkforitsacquisitionbeitfaithinsacredtextsor
divineinstruction,continuedreflectionontherelationshipbetweentheself,theworld,and(whereapplicable)varaorParamtman.The
adaranasalsoconcedethatignoranceisthecauseofbondage,miseryandsuffering,andthatendeavor(sdhan)isnecessaryfor
attainingliberation.
Inadditiontothisemphasisonreflection,acloserelationshipbetweenritualperformanceandphilosophicalortheologicalthoughtanda
beliefinbothspiritualandworldlyconsequencesofactionarefoundintheschools.
Despitethesesimilarities,eachdaranahasadistinctepistemic,philosophicalandtheologicalunderstanding.Thisworkoffersabrief
overviewofeachdaranascontributionsbypresentingitscharacteristicfundamentalprinciples,epistemologyandnotionandmeansfor
attainingliberation.Wewillalsoexploreeachdaranasprinciplecontributorsandtextualworks.Bydoingso,thisworkseekstoprovide
insightintothefundamentalsofdaranicthoughtandexperience.
1(ch023.html#en1)TheMmsDaranaisalsoknownasPrvamms,whereastheVedntaDaranaisalsocalledUttaramms.
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ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
SwamiBhadreshdasisarenownedSanskritscholar.HeisanordainedsadhuoftheBochasanwasiAksharPurushottam
SwaminarayanSanstha(BAPS)andwasinitiatedbyPramukhSwamiMaharaj.UponcompletingmultiplemastersontheVedicadarana,
hecomposedin2007afivevolumeclassicalSanskritcommentaryonthePrasthanatrayi.TitledtheSwaminarayanBhashyam,thistext
illuminatestheVedicrootsoftheAksharPurushottamaphilosophyasitwasrevealedbyBhagavanSwaminarayanandlaterby
BrahmaswarupShastrijiMaharaj.HisnotablerecognitionsincludetheDarsanakesari,VedantamartandaandMahamahopadhyayaawards.
SwamiwasalsobestowedaD.Litt.forhisoutstandingcontributionsinSanskritliterature.HeistheheadofBAPSSwaminarayanResearch
Institute,Akshardham,Delhi,andtravelsasaninternationallecturerontheSwaminarayanDarshana.
PIETERWELTEVREDE
SageKapilasitsontheearth,withwater,fire,airandetheroneitherside.Eighteenraysrepresenttheothertattvas,orentitiesofprakti.He
introducedthegunas,thethreequalitiesofsattva,rajasandtamas,shownhereastheyellow,redandbluetriangularhalos.Hisrighthandis
inchinmudra,theinsigniaofknowledge.
SKHYADARANA:THESCHOOLOFCOMPLETEKNOWLEDGE
khyaisoneoftheoldestoftheadarana.OriginsofsomeofitsbeliefsareoftentracedtotheVedas.Ithasalsobeen
discussedinphilosophicaltextssuchastheBhagavadgtandpuratextsliketheBhgavata.Kapilamuniisthefounderofthis
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school.HisteachingsarecompiledinanaphoristictextnamedtheSkhyastras,alsocalledtheSkhyapravachanastra (ch02
2
th
3.html#fn1),whichconsistsofsixchapters (ch023.html#fn2).TheSkhyastrasarereferencedinVijnabhikus16 centurytext
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Skhyapravachanabhya (ch023.html#fn3).However,insteadofKapilasSkhyastras,chryashavehistoricallypreferredtocitethe
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Skhyakrik,a72versetextwrittenbyvaraka. (ch023.html#fn4)Itisconsideredtheearliestauthoritativetextonclassical
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Skhya. (ch023.html#fn5)Severalcommentarieshavebeenwrittenonit,includingtheMtharavtti,GauapdasGauavdabhya,
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andVchaspatiMirasSkhyatattvakaumud, (ch023.html#fn6)allsuggestingthetextssignificance.
ADaranaofCompleteKnowledge:ThenameSkhyaisderivedintwoways:Byjoiningsam(
),meaningcompletewithkhy
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( )meaningknowledge,thewordSkhyaisformedtomeancompleteknowledge. (ch023.html#fn7)Skhyaviewstheworldas
dividedintotwodistinctentities:thesentient(purua)andinsentient(prakti).ForSkhya,completeknowledgeconsistsofunderstanding
thedifference(vivekajna)betweenpuruaandprakti.Thetitleofthedaranaoriginatesfromthisemphasisonattainingthiscomplete
knowledge.Alternatively,theMahbhrataandtheMatsyapuraofferthatthetermSkhyaoriginatesfromthewordsakhy,meaning
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number. (ch023.html#fn8)SincetheSkhyaDaranapresentsapreciseenumerationoftheentitiesthatmakeuptheworld, (ch02
3.html#fn9)itisalsoidentifiedastheschoolofenumeration.
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Prakti,theMaterialCauseofCreation:Praktimeansthatwhichexceedinglydoes. (ch023.html#fn10)Assuch,itisusedtoreferto
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thematerialcause(updnakraa (ch023.html#fn11))ofcreation.Itisreal,insentient,eternalandimperceptible.Itisacceptedasbeing
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constitutedofthreequalities:sattva,rajasandtamas. (ch023.html#fn12)Satvaislightandbright,rajasisexcitingandmobile,andtamas
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isheavyandenveloping. (ch023.html#fn13)Theymutuallysuppress,support,produceandexist,butdonotappearalone. (ch02
3.html#fn14)InSanskrit,guaexpressestwomeanings:forothersorsecondary,andstrands.Sattva,rajasandtamasareidentifiedas
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guabecausetheybenefitothersbytheirroleinproducingvarietyincreation (ch023.html#fn15)theirsignificanceisonlysecondarytoa
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puruasand,likearope, (ch023.html#fn16)theybindthepuruatothecircleofbirthanddeath(sasra).
TheSeparatePurua:Puruaistheself(tman).Itissentient,eternal,immutableandneitheracauseoreffectofanything.Puruais
understoodasbeingwithoutpartsandallpervasive.Itdoesnotperformanyaction.ItcanbeanalogizedwiththeMoon,whosereflectionin
turbulentwatermakesitseemasifitismoving,wheninfactitisnot.Skhyaclaimsthattherearemanysuchpuruas.Itreasonsthatsince
beingsarebornanddieatdifferenttimesandlocations,engageindifferentactionsthroughouttheirlife,andexperiencepleasureand
miserydifferently,therecannotbejustonepurua,butmustbemany.
CreationfromtheSentientandInsentient:AccordingtoSkhya,praktiiswithactionbutinsentientwhereaspuruaissentientbut
withoutaction.Asaresult,neithercancausecreationalone.Skhya,therefore,explainsthattheworldiscreatedbytheunionofprakti
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andpurua.Thismutualdependenceisexplainedusingtheanalogyofacrippledmanleadingablindone. (ch023.html#fn17)Oneneeds
eyestoseewhereastheotherneedslegstomoveforward.
Atthetimeofdissolution,praktiisinastateofequilibrium(smyvasth),withthethreeguasequallybalanced.However,inthe
presenceofpurua,thisequilibriumbecomesdisruptedandresultsincreation.
Satkryavda,PreexistenceofCreation:Withinitscreationnarrative,theSkhyaDaranaalsoacceptstheprincipleofsatkryavda
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thepreexistenceofcreation.Itbelievesthatthecreatedresidesinanunmanifestforminitsmaterialcause. (ch023.html#fn18)For
Skhya,aneffectismerelyamanifestationofwhatalreadyexistedinitscause.Itbelievesthatnonewsubstanceevercomesinto
existence.Rather,thatwhichalreadyexistedbecomesmanifest.Forinstance,inthecaseofaclaypot,itisbelievedtohaveexistedinan
unmanifestformintheclayfromwhichitwasmade.Creationanddissolutionareunderstoodasmerelyappearance(virbhva)and
disappearance(tirobhva)ofthatwhichalreadyexisted.
vara:TherehasbeengreatdebateregardingtheroleofvarainSkhya.varakasSkhyakrikremainssilentonthematter.
Becauseofthis,somebelievethatSkhyadoesnotadvocatetheexistenceofvara.Others,however,arguethatsilencedoesnot
demonstraterefusalanddonotagreewiththeaboveinference.Despitethis,however,inhisSkhyapravachanabhya,Vijnabhiku,
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whowroteextensivelyontheVednta,SkhyaandYogadaranas,stronglyestablishesthatSkhyaadvocatestheexistenceofvara.
(ch023.html#fn19)DescriptionsofSkhyaassevara(withvara)frompuratextsliketheBhgavata,historicaltextslikethe
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Mahbhrata,philosophicaltextsliketheBhagavadgt, (ch023.html#fn20)andBhagavnSvminryaasdescriptionofSkhyaasa
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meansforunderstandingParamtman (ch023.html#fn21)alsojustifythepositionthatthedaranaissevara.
Epistemology:Thestudyofknowledgecanberoughlydividedintoinvestigationsofthefollowingfourelements:thesubjectofknowledge
(prameya),theknower(pramt),themeansofknowledge(prama)andknowledgeitself(pram).Amongthese,daranicepistemology
greatlyfocusesoninvestigationsofprama.
Withregardstoprama,theSkhyaDaranaacceptsthreemeansofknowledge:pratyakaprama,anumnapramaandabda
prama.Pratyakapramautilizesthesensesasameansforacquiringknowledge.Anumnapramautilizeslogicalinference.The
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final,abdaprama,identifiesthespeechorwordsofonewhoisauthoritativeandtruthful(ptavakt)asameanstoknowledge. (ch02
3.html#fn22)
Liberation:Skhyabelievesthatliberationisthepermanenteliminationofmisery(dukha).Onthissubject,varakaclearlystates
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thatbondageandliberationarenotstatesofthepuruabutofprakti. (ch023.html#fn23)Despitethis,thebondageofpraktithatis
believedaspuruasiscausedbyalackofdiscernment,orvivekajna:anunderstandingofthenatureandformofpuruaandpraktias
distinct.
Whenapuruaisliberated,Skhyadescribespraktiasbecomingsilent.varakaexplainsthisusingananalogy:justasaperformer
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becomesquietafterdisplayingherformonstage,praktibecomesdormanthavingrevealeditstruenaturetothepurua. (ch02
3.html#fn24)
LiberationBeforeandAfterDeath:TheSkhyaDaranadescribestwotypesofliberation:jvanamuktiandvidehamukti.Inthestateof
jvanamukti,oneexperiencesliberationwhilestillbeingalive.Inthisstate,oneisnotboundbykarmaevenwhenperformingaction.To
explainthecontinuedlifeoftheliberated,theanalogyofapotterswheelthatcontinuestomoveforsometime,despitetheabsenceofthe
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pottersappliedforce,isoftenoffered. (ch023.html#fn25)Theattainmentofeverlastingliberationafterdeathisknownasvidehamukti.
Uponattainingliberation,bondageneverreoccurs.
WecanthussummarizethattheSkhyaDaranaisaschoolofdualism,pluralismandrealism.
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Banerji,SuresChandra.ACompaniontoSanskritLiterature.Delhi:MotilalBanarsidass,1989.Print.
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Footnotes
1
(ch023.html#fn01)(varaka5)
(ch023.html#fn02)(Banerji315)(Hiriyanna269)
(ch023.html#fn03)(Radhakrishnan256)
(ch023.html#fn04)(Hiriyanna269)(ChatterjeeandDatta2912)(Ishwarkrishna226)
(ch023.html#fn05)(Hiriyanna269)(ChatterjeeandDatta2912)
(ch023.html#fn06)(Larson147)(King64)
(ch023.html#fn07)(Bhacrya1269)
(ch023.html#fn08)(varaka4)(Brahmadarnadsa4)
(Taponiha51)
(Mahbhrata.12.294.4142)
(Matsyapura.329)
9
(ch023.html#fn09)(Sharma4)
10
(ch023.html#fn010)