The Advaitist

Astika (आस्तिक) and nAstika (नास्तिक) are technical terms in relation to Hindu philosophy indicating whether the philosophical schools accept the Vedas as the supreme authority or not, respectively. The six Astika schools (also known as sad darshana) are: nyAya Vaisheshika Samkhya Yoga Mimamsa Vedanta The common theme of all the schools of Hindu Philosophy is the same - to understand the Ultimate Reality - the difference lies in the depth and level of interpretation of the Ultimate Reality. Each of these schools focus on a particular aspect of the whole and answers specific questions. nyAya answers the question "What are the means by which I may gain knowledge about the Ultimate Reality?" vaisheShika (वैशॆषिक) answers the question "What are the various things to be known about the Ultimate Reality?" sAMkhya (सांख्य) is a metaphysical doctrine and tries to answer about the fundamental nature of Existence yoga (योग) links this metaphysical doctrine to t...

Introduction Hindu Philosophical thoughts have their origin in antiquity - for example, as early as the 10th book of Rk Veda,  in the Nasadiya Sukta (RV 10.129), we find the Seer contemplating on the Origin of Universe. However, by the Upanishadic age, dvelopment of various philosophical schools were in full swing. Differences in Philosophy Development Style in East and West Development of philosophical ideas in India, were quite distinct from the way it happened in the Western World. In Greece for example, a philosopher propounded his views. He himself or someone else, documented the ideas and others debated on it. The next philosopher entered the scene and did the same thing and so on. Thus a clear chronology of philosophical ideas is available to the student of history and philosophy. In India, things were different. First of all, there were different schools of philosophy as opposed to a single person, and the inter-school rivalry was intense. Secondly, the entire phil...