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Indian Philosophy by Sue Hamilton
Indian Philosophy
(A Very Short Introduction)
by Sue Hamilton
Preamble
Dr. Sue Hamilton is a reader in Buddhism at Kings College, London. She has
published a number of works on Buddhism and early Indian Philosophy and this
compact volume has a number of excellent reviews.
Having said that; Sue Hamilton’s book does concentrate on Buddhism and the
philosophies that may be considered to be precursors of Buddhism. Other important
Indian traditions, such as Jainism for example, have been completely ignored in this
volume. Also ignored has been the Cấrvấka tradition which systemised a materialistic
school of thought.
Most books in the “A Very Short Introduction” series seem to have excellent indexes.
I found the index in Dr. Hamilton’s book less than satisfactory considering the large
number of Indian philosophical terms that were new to me.
There is reference to an ancient book called the Rig Veda. Dr. Hamilton’s book
states that a good translation from the original Sanskrit is that by Wendy Doniger. It
is interesting to note that this lady, a highly respected academic in the West, is
currently at the centre of a major religious and political controversy which has
resulted in her book “The Hindus: An Alternative History”, published by Penguin,
being withdrawn from sale in India. All remaining copies in India were recalled and
pulped. She has been completely vilified by some sections of the Indian press. You
may just be interested in getting your hands on a copy to see what all the fuss is
about. Indian Hindu Nationalism seems to be a potent political force.
To my mind Indian Philosophy is difficult to organise and classify and seems more
suited to the random abstract thinker than the concrete sequentialist.
It is
interesting that the early Europeans who made first contact with Hindus thought of
the religion as a primitive, polytheistic, religion with many strange practices that
were contrary to Christian traditions. However, those early western scholars who
lived within the Hindu community and studied Sanskrit and the ancient writings had
a greater understanding and respect for their philosophies.
I must confess that where I have found Dr Hamilton to be particularly obtuse and
difficult to follow I have added some of my own thoughts based on information and
experience gained in India.
Chapter 1
Reason and Belief
India has a long, rich and diverse tradition of philosophical thought. In ancient
Greece there was a flowering of philosophical thought before the time of Christ. In a
similar way it seems that there was also an early flowering of Indian Philosophy.
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Religion and philosophical thought have close associations in India. In India
philosophical thought, that is an attempt to understand the nature of whatever one is
philosophising about, is believed to be directly linked to one’s own, personal, destiny.
Philosophy is not seen simply as an intellectual pursuit, divorced from the reality of
day to day living, but as an attempt to understand the true nature of reality in terms
of an inner, or spiritual, quest.
One might say that what Westerners call religion and philosophy are not distinctly
separate disciplines in India. In India there is a merging of boundaries between the
two in an attempt to understand the real meaning and structure of life, in its
broadest sense.
Consider the terms “thinking” and “believing”.
In the West, Immanuel Kant
separated our “knowledge” of God from what we could know about nature by
thought and reasoning. Since that time, in the West, there has been a clear
distinction between what is believed through a “leap of faith” and what can be clearly
proved through logical thought.
This distinction is not usually made in India. A key point for believers is that they
also believe that practising their religion is directly linked with their destiny. The
details of this relationship vary. Some believe that their lives here and now are
affected by their religious beliefs and practices, and others believe that only their
lives after death are affected. Yet others believe that some super human entity or
“other”, which they believe in, will affect their destiny.
This is why religions are referred to as soteriologies, or systems of salvation. In
Indian Philosophy it would seem that statements of belief are accepted as truths. In
Western Philosophy, after Kant, only what can be known to be true as a result of
rational argument can be taken to be true. That is anything a Western philosopher
concerns himself with must be logically watertight, no leaps of faith are permitted.
Philosophy is simply not soteriological; in Western philosophy this is what
distinguishes it from religion. Consider the following points:
1. Both philosophy and religion share a number of common interests and ask a
number of similar “big” questions. Both are ultimately concerned with the
nature of reality.
2. In the past the difference between religion and philosophy was not always
clear cut. (For example René Descartes did not question the existence of a
benevolent and omnipotent God and carried this belief into his philosophy.)
Immanuel Kant, who first separated religion from “modern” Western
Philosophy was, himself, a devout Christian.
3. In Indian Philosophy the testimony of witnesses is considered as evidence.
Many humans who have not experienced childbirth accept the testimony of
those who have that it is painful. In a similar way the witness evidence of
those who have had “supernatural” experiences may also be accepted in
Indian Philosophy.
4. The distinction between religion and philosophy would simply not have been
understood in India until very recent times.
5. It is a mistake to think of Indian philosophy as “mystical” or “magical” and
Western philosophy as “logical”. Indian philosophy can be very logical and
perceptive.
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Insight of the Truth
Darśana (or Darshana)
Darśana literally means “view” in the sense that one is able to see something. It
also means that one has a cognitive understanding of that something. What is
implied in the word is that one has viewed or sighted some truth about reality.
The original teachers were referred to as ŗşis (or rishis) which means “seers”. The
testimony of these seers is taken as having absolute validity.
Reorienting one’s cognitive facilities so that such insight is possible is the rationale
underlying the practice of yoga, and the resulting insight is called “yogic perception”.
This is one of the profound differences between the worldview in which Indian
thought operates and the worldview of the West.
From the perspective of the Indian worldview the possibility of changing one’s
cognitive perception is something to be regarded as systematically possible by
means of regular, disciplinary, exercises. In India this skill is seen as similar to the
skills needed to play a musical instrument. With continued practise and dedication
one gains the required skills. There is nothing magical or mystical about either
playing a musical instrument or applying yogic perception in order to obtain a clearer
understanding of our human condition. Both are regarded as skills.
Karma and Rebirth
Karma and Rebirth are other characteristics of the Indian worldview. The word
karma simply means “action”.
Implicit in this term is that actions have
consequences. The precise relationship between actions and their resulting
consequences varies according to the particular religious tradition we are
considering. The ritual actions involved were originally linked to the Brahmanical
sacrificial tradition. What made the action right, or good, was its correctness. The
values associated with such an understanding of karma are not moral ones. It was
believed that by performing the “correct” actions at a sacrifice the correct, optimum,
functioning of the cosmos would be maintained.
Around the 5th century BC, alongside this “traditional” understanding of “karma” it
was also being taught by teachers that the “acting out” of duties, including, but not
limited to, the sacrificial rituals, would have beneficial consequences for the
individuals themselves, (and not just the cosmos in general). At this stage karma
became to be associated with the idea of rebirth. It was believed that the
consequences, positive or negative, of how one had performed one’s duties in this
life might be experienced in any one of many future lives. The performing of one’s
duties is a matter of correctness and not of morality.
There are other interpretations of the mechanics of karma. The Buddhists and the
Jains, for example would have different interpretations of the meaning of “karma”
but all were derived from the original Brahmanical tradition.
The idea of karma as a kind of “actions have consequences mechanics” is a
fundamental part of the Indian world view. Admittedly different religious groups
have a different interpretation of the idea but it is fundamental to Indian Philosophy.
The action-consequences mechanism acts as a fuel for the continuity of rebirth. The
specific conditions of rebirth are linked to the specifics of earlier actions.
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Most Indian systems of thought emphasise the importance of obtaining release, or
liberation, from karmic continuity. (For example release to Nirvana in Buddhism.)
This is the main aim of philosophising and why philosophy is so closely related to
religion. This also explains why each school of thought considered it so important to
establish the coherence, validity and efficacy of its teachings.
Note that the word “karma” must not be confused with the similar word “kama”
which means “sensual or sexual pleasure” as in the Kama Sutra, or Kamasutra.
Complexity and Variety; Choosing the Content
In the intellectual environment that evolved over time many competing world views
were debated by the scholars of the day. In a slim volume like one of the “Very
Short Introduction to….” series Dr. Hamilton considers it not possible to include all
schools of thought. Instead she concentrates on what she considers to be the most
influential schools of thought.
Dr. Hamilton also found it impossible to consider the step by step development of
these major schools of philosophy in such a slim volume. Some schools of thought
were based on the exegesis of texts called the Upanişads, (or Upanishads). As there
was such a great deal of textual material there arose a great number of different
approaches and emphasis which produced different, overall, interpretations. It is
only really possible to describe the key features of the major branches of Indian
Philosophy.
Dr. Hamilton is of the opinion that the label “Hindu” is anachronistic and one that she
refuses to use. The word “Hindu” originally referred to the people who lived south of
the river Indus, in what at one time was called “Hindustan”, the land of the Hindus.
This label was used by westerners as a label that applied to a whole group of
religions and philosophies that had been developed from the early Vedic sacrificial
tradition.
Six classical darśanas, or views, are discussed in Dr. Hamilton’s book.
called Nyấya, Vaiśeşika, Yoga, Sấmkhya, Mỉmấmsấ and Vedấnta.
These are
Chapter 2
The Brahmanical Beginnings
Many works discussing Indian philosophical though start at about 500BC. At this
time the Brahmanical tradition was well established in northern India by Brahmin
priests. It is believed that an oral tradition predates this period by about 1000 years
but the earliest records written in Sanskrit date from around this time. Also it is
known that a number of different traditions originate from about this time of about
500BC.
The Brahmins of this time were descendents of people called Aryans, who came from
central Eurasia and settled in north-west India many centuries earlier, bringing their
practices and ideas with them. For a very long time they had a sacrificial, ritualbased religion, the sacred details of which were carefully memorised and preserved
in ritual “manuals”. As writing was as yet unknown to them, different lineages of
Brahmin priests, each of which contributed to the rituals, had responsibility for the
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oral preservation of the material relating to their particular ritual duties. They took
this responsibility extremely seriously because the effectiveness of the sacrifice
depended on the accuracy of the actions, chants and rituals involved. Memorisation
techniques were highly developed and it is thought that a high degree of accuracy
was achieved as details of the rituals were passed from father to son over many
generations. These “ritual manuals” were called “Vedas”. The word “veda” means
“knowledge”. It refers to the belief, well established by 500BC that the Brahmin
priests “saw”, or “knew” the truth the Vedas contain. The manuals were at first
passed on orally from father to son were later written in Sanskrit which ensured that
the Vedas could not change and that the rituals could be performed accurately and
the details could be maintained for posterity. The correct performance of each act
was part of cosmic duty.
Although we would now consider this a religious activity the performance of Vedic
sacrificial rituals was for this-worldly ends. The primary purpose of the sacrifice was
to maintain the cosmos at is optimum level of status quo. The sacrifices were
addressed to aspects of this natural order such as sun, rain, lightning, wind and so
on as well as to abstract principles such as “contract” and “vow”.
Collectively the addressees of these sacrifices were referred to as devas. If the
Sacrifice was performed well then the devas would reciprocate by performing their
cosmic function. The cosmic order, later to be called dharma, would thus be
maintained. In modern Hinduism dharma is translated as truth, law, duty or
obligation. It is the correct way one person should be to another.
[In practice, the sacrifice involved burning a handful of cereal such as rice in the sacred
fire with the appropriate rituals and chants. The sacred fire is quite small and on a low
hearth. The rituals have changed little over several thousands of years. Hindu temples are
smaller than expected as they are for individual devotions rather than communal worship.
The devotee prays as the priest performs the sacrifice for him or her. It is a fascinating
process to watch and hear. JRM]
Cosmic Speculation
The ancient speculation about how the world/universe began is remarkable in its
sophistication.
This translation of the Creation Hymn from Wendy Doniger’s
translation of the original Sanskrit gives a flavour of the thinking in India. This hymn
possibly dates from 1500BC or even earlier!
There was neither non-existence nor existence then: there was neither the realm of
space nor the sky which is beyond. What stirred? Where? In whose protection?
Was there water, bottomlessly deep?
There was neither death nor immortality then. There was no distinguishing sign of
night nor day. That one breathed, windless, by its own impulse. Other than that
there was nothing beyond.
Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning; with no distinguishing sign, all this
was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that one arose through
the power of heat…..
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Who really knows? Who will proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is the
creation? The devas came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then
knows whence it has arisen?
Whence this creation has arisen – perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not – the
one who knows looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows – or perhaps he
does not know.
(The Creation Hymn, Rig Veda 10.129 )
This ancient speculation is remarkable in its speculation and profundity and suggests
a considerable degree of analytical thinking on the part of the ritualists about the
nature of what they were doing. Although the rituals were precisely codified it is
possible that ongoing questioning contributed to ideas and religious practice being
embraced by the Brahmanical tradition. The Vedic texts record that some began to
go on retreats to contemplate the nature of the sacrifice in more depth. Eventually
some came to believe that the practice could be “internalised” and practiced by
means of concentration and visualisation techniques. The development of this trend
is recorded in books of the Vedic corpus of material known as Brahmanas and
Aranyakas but it is in the Upanishads that teachings are found that may be
considered to represent the culmination of these trends.
As I understand it; the Canon of Vedic writing developed more or less as follows:
The
original
Vedic Sacrificial Rituals
oral tradition;
Circa 2000 to
1500BC
The
original Rig Veda
Sama Veda
Yajur Veda
Atharva
tradition
Veda
develops into
four strands
Written
in
Brahmanas
Aranyakas
Sanskrit
and
some
ideas
(Ritual branch)
(Gnostic branch)
developed;
Circa 800 –
500BC
The
Kausitaki
Chandogya
Tattiriya
Mundaka
appendices
Kena
Brhadaranyaka Prasna
called
the
Katha
Upanishads
Isa
are
later
Svetasvatara
added.
Circa
500BC
For an individual Hindu the most important thing to aspire to is gaining insight into
the nature of one’s “essential self” or soul. This is called ấtman in Sanskrit. The
Upanishads teach that self and cosmos are one; repeatedly stating that one’s ấtman
is inseparable from all that there is. Gaining experiential insight into this identity is
to be aspired to because such knowledge effects one’s release, (mokşa in Sanskrit),
from continued rebirth. This teaching introduces the idea of salvation into the
Brahmanical tradition for the first time. While sacrificial rituals are continued to the
present day, the experience of mokşa was quickly established as the supreme goal of
human existence. It was seen in the positive sense that this knowledge enabled one
to escape from the treadmill of continued rebirth and experience immortality.
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Oneness
The teaching that the self and the cosmos are identical is common speculation about
the nature of the cosmos that appears in writings. In early writings the universe is
referred to by the name Brahman. This is equivalent to an impersonal absolute that
might be called Oneness or Being.
An important passage in which a father is instructing his son, states:
In the beginning, this world was just Being – one only, without a second. It is true
some people say, “In the beginning this world was just non-existence – one only,
without a second; and from that non-existence Being emerged.” But how could that
possibly be the case? How could Being come from non-existence? On the contrary, in
the beginning, this world was just Being – one only, without a second.
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1-2)
This is a doctrine of monism. A belief that there is just one thing and that there is
nothing that is not that thing. The focus on the identity of the inner self and cosmos
suggests that the teachings contained in the Upanishads might be seen as a
culmination of the internalisation of the sacrifice. The Upanishads also uphold the
tradition of the sacrificial ritual and suggest that at no point should the rituals be
abandoned.
Both the original sacrificial tradition and the teachings of the
Upanishads continued side by side within the Brahmanical tradition.
There was a possible conflict, or potential for divisiveness, between the two
positions. The original tradition focused in the this-worldly concerns while the later
teachings of the Upanishads tend to focus on the nature and destiny of the person.
It also seems from the later teaching that the obtaining of esoteric knowledge is
considered to be superior to the significance and purpose of performing ritual
actions. Finally it would appear that each of the two emphases depends on a
different view of the nature of reality. The original Vedic tradition assumes the reality
of the plural world while the Upanishads suggest that it is knowledge of the greater
reality of the underlying oneness of the world that leads to the greater goal of
immortality.
There is really no diversity here. He goes from death to death who perceives diversity
here. One must see it as just one……..by knowing that very one, a wise Brahmin can
obtain insight for himself.
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.19)
In the early decades of the 5th century BC these two approaches seemed to live side
by side, neither approach vying for supremacy but new developments were to cause
changes. Other teachers sought to reconcile the two traditions.
Chapter 3
Renouncing the Household - The Buddha’s Middle Way
Renouncer v. Householder
The lifetime of the Buddha was from about 485BC to 405BC.
As one might imagine, not everyone was happy that both religious power and social
organisation was guarded by the elitist Brahmins with an unchanging rigidity. Some
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found that living within these fixed structures oppressive and looked for change.
These people, collectively, were known as renouncers. They rejected everything to
do with the authority and prescriptive norms of the Brahmin priests. This is the polar
opposite of the “householder” status as prescribed by the traditional Brahmanical
tradition.
Householders had a duty not just to sacrifice but also to be economically productive
and sexually reproductive, within group lineages which excluded those not of the
same status of ritual purity. (i.e. one should not marry outside one’s own caste.)
Renouncers tended to be peripatetic, poor and celibate. Many also practiced severe
austerities and subjected themselves to extremes of temperature, hunger and thirst,
painful body distortions and various other kinds of self-denial in an attempt to obtain
greater spiritual insight by focusing the mind in non-normative ways. Many were
mainly concerned about the nature of self.
The Nature of Self
Many renouncers were believed to have considered the nature of self. The plethora
of questions on selfhood is summarised in an early Buddhist text as follows:
Did I exist in the past? Did I not exist in the past? What was I in the past? How
was I in the past? Having been what, what did I become in the past? Shall I exist in
the future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what, what shall I become in
the future? How am I now? Am I not, now? What am I? How am I? Where is this
being come from? Where will this being go? I have self. I have no self. I perceive
myself by means of myself. I perceive no self by means of my self. I perceive myself
by means of no self. This self of mine which speaks and feels, that experiences the
consequences of good and bad actions now here and now there, this self is permanents,
stable, eternal, unchanging, the same always.
(Majjhima Nikaya I 8)
There was so much speculation about both the self and the world that all possibilities
came to be subsumed in a formula in Buddhist texts.
Is the world eternal or not? Is the world finite or not? Is the self different from
the body or not? On achieving liberation from rebirth, does one exist or not exist,
exist and not exist, neither exist nor not exist?
(Samyutta Nikaya II 223)
Personally, I am not sure how much sense this statement makes but, apparently,
Buddhists believe it to be very important.
Gotama – the Buddha
Some




key facts:
Born around 485BC
Named Siddartha Gotama (There are various spellings in English)
Born in Kapilavatthu in what is now Nepal
The word “Buddha” literally means awake. The name alludes to the fact that
his followers believe that he was the first to have insight, (or rather three
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




insights), the nature of which was significant. His enlightenment was
considered analogous to waking up after being asleep.
His family were well-to-do.
He left home in his early thirties in order to seek an answer to questions
concerning the existential nature of the human condition.
He sought out others and listened to their views. He spent years listening to
others and testing their theories by following their examples in various kinds
of practices.
Eventually he developed his own techniques to gain the deeper insight he
sought. These involved a penetrative sort of meditation.
He was later to teach the meditation techniques he developed and pass on
the nature of knowledge he had gained by insight to his disciples.
Buddha claimed he had three insights, which together gave him understanding of
how and why human existence is as it is. He also claimed that through these
insights he had obtained release from bondage to continuity. (i.e. Nirvana)
First he was able to see his previous lives and the way in which each had influenced
the quality and conditions of subsequent lives; that is he could see his own rebirth
history.
Second he saw the way other beings were born and reborn, again according to the
conditioning effects of actions in previous lives. The Buddha’s acceptance and
teaching of rebirth and karma were thus not based on his adoption of features of a
prevailing worldview; rather they were based on his own experience.
The third insight was how to uproot from his psycho-conceptual framework those
factors which he could see most deeply bound him to world continuity; appetitive
desires. These included the desire for continued existence, ignorance of the true
nature of reality and the holding of opinionated “views”.
One important aspect of the Buddha’s teaching is “The Four Noble Truths”.
The Four Noble Truths
1. Human existence is intrinsically characterised by dukkha.
2. Dukkha arises because of appetitive cravings and desires. (negative and
positive)
3. There can be a cessation of dukkha, known as nirvana.
4. Nirvava is achieved by following the Noble Eightfold Path.
Nirvana means “blowing out”, and refers to the cessation of the fuel of continuity.
Dependent Origination
Dependent origination is, according to Dr Hamilton, a profoundly radical
metaphysical teaching. It is not stating that nothing exists, but that the manner in
which all things occur is different from either existence, which implies independence,
or non-existence, which implies denial of occurrence. The point of the Buddha’s
teaching is that it takes the “middle way” between existence and non-existence,
existence-and-non-existence and neither-existence-nor-non-existence.
This logic
defying formula is designed to include and reject all possible permutations of
metaphysical positions taken by others.
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What I teach is dependent origination, that all knowable things are dependently
originated; this is the way things are, the regularity of things.
(Samyutta Nikaya II 25)
When this is, that is;
This occurring, that occurs;
When this is not, that is not;
This ceasing, that ceases
(Majjhima Nikaya III 63)
The formulaic structure of these teachings probably reflects the fact that they were
not written down until about 40BC and were preserved in an oral, mnemonic, form
until that time.
The Buddha’s Middle Way
The Buddha said that what he taught was “The Middle Way”. This had the following
characteristics.
1. The Buddhist monastic community functioned in a manner between two
extremes of fully upholding the normal social structure and rejecting it.
Members lived apart from society, but were interdependent with the laity.
2. The daily regime of a Buddhist monk is between that of the sensory
indulgence associated with family life and the severe self-inflicted austerity
endured by the renouncers. Monks were celibate but all other needs were
met in order to maintain a healthy well-being.
3. The metaphysics of dependent origination took a middle way between all
possible permutations of the ontological theories offered by others.
From the Nature of Being to the Nature of Experience
The Buddha was well aware that we experience our surroundings indirectly. We can
not be sure that what we see, hear, touch, taste or smell is truly reality. What we
perceive as reality may be very different from what reality actually is. The Buddha
included a “sixth sense” relating to non-sensory mental activity. This is recognised
in Buddhism and other Indian schools of thought.
Chapter 4
Issues and Justifications
Language, grammar, and polemics
At this point I feel sure that many readers of Dr Hamilton’s book will be losing the
will to live. However I shall attempt to continue as succinctly as possible.
The Threat to the Brahmins
In a nutshell; the Brahmin priests had been top dogs in Indian society for many
hundreds of years. A cynic might say that they used their religion to help to
maintain a stable structured society with themselves at the pinnacle of that society.
This was a society in which it was almost impossible for an individual born into a
lower caste to improve their lot. This order was accepted as natural. The nature of
their religion is such that for hundreds of years no criticism was made, and if it was it
was not taken seriously. When the renouncers come along with radically new ideas,
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and significant proportions of the population were persuaded by new these new ideas
then the old order was threatened. The teachings of the Buddha were particularly
effective in undermining the order forged by the Brahmins.
The Lines of Defence
For the Brahmin priests the defence of the status quo took two lines:
1. They reinforced and protected the existing social hierarchy based on the
ritual purity of its participants. Ritual purity was essential for the future of
the Veda. Evidence for this social reinforcement is seen in some of the
written treatises of the time. These detailed, in minute detail, for each
member of society in terms of their place in society their roles, duties, rights,
aims, potential and so on. Thus was fixed the social structure and the rigid
caste system.
2. The second line of defence was to preserve, and defend to the full extent, the
material relating to the performance of the ritual.
Specialisms were
developed known as vedangas, (the limbs of the Veda), of which there were
six. For example phonetics was concerned with the correct pronunciation of
the sounds uttered in the ritual. Metrics was the classification of the metres
of the various hymns or formulas of the sacrifice. Grammar was the
establishing of the relations between component parts of sentences, etc.
Astronomy established the most auspicious day and time for performing
rituals.
The counter-attack made by the Brahmins must have been very effective in the long
term. Buddhism, which originated in India, is now very much a minority religion in
that country. Hinduism, in all its various guises, is by far the most popular faith
claiming to be the belief of some 74% of the population. Although India claims to be
a secular state, Hinduism is supported by extremely powerful vested interests in both
the political and economic spheres. In practice it is almost impossible to criticise
effectively Hindu philosophy or theology. India has a constitution that safeguards
human rights, in law and in theory, but it appears to adhere rigidly to the caste
system in practice.
Language and reality
What we think, and therefore what we believe to be true, depends on language.
Words are the vehicles of our thoughts. Some great grammarians studied the use of
language and proposed rules to make language clearer.
A clear and precise
language leads to clear and precise thinking. In the 4th Century BC the grammarian
Panini wrote a book of eight chapters containing 4,000 rules which is still highly
respected to this day. The effects of such scholars have resulted in the fact that, as
a language, Sanskrit is effectively closed. It has not continued to evolve as have
more modern languages. It has become fossilised like ancient, classical, Greek.
Dr Hamilton then continues to describe how other famous Hindu scholars of this era
continued to formalise the ritual and social structures.
Chapter 5
Categories and Method
Vaisesika and Nyaya
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Vaisesika Thought: the Categories of the Cosmos
One of the first systems of thought to emerge from the early milieu of deciding “what
to look at” was that of Kanada, as recorded in his Vaisesika Sutra written during the
second century BC. He was mainly concerned with understanding dharma; the
correct functioning of the cosmos. To Kanada dharma was supreme.
We shall now consider the nature of dharma.
It is from dharma that the highest and supreme good is achieved.
The Veda has its authority because of its concern with dharma.
(Vaisesika Sutra 1 – 3 )
The Vaisesika Sutra represents a system of pluralistic realism; the independent
reality of each of the objects of the world about us and separate from ourselves and
the classification of these objects, or entities. This system is closely related to the
Nyaya system of thought, a system proposed by a man called Gotoma in about the
3rd century AD. Combined together they have made a major contribution to Indian
thought.
Substance and Quality
There follows a description of how Brahmin scholars of ancient times perceived the
nature of matter. Some of the similarities to Aristotle’s four elements of earth, air,
fire and water are quite striking. It would seem that the Indian scholars of that time
had given such issues very serious thought.
They were of the opinion that
knowledge gained in this way would help the ultimate destiny of believers by
contributing to the liberation from rebirth. These scholars also believed that they
could prove that the atman, one’s essential self or soul, really existed.
Chapter 6
Things and no-things
Developments in Buddhist thought
Just as the original Vedic sacrificial tradition spawned a variety of related
interpretations so also did Buddhist thought evolve into different “schools”.
Texts refer to some 18 schools, or so, that existed during the 800 years since the
Buddha’s death. Many of these have long since faded, due to a variety of reasons. A
short summary of schools and texts in Buddhism is given below.


Theravada Buddhism is the only early school of Buddhism to survive to the
present day. There were at least four other major schools two of which were
the Savastivada and Sautrantikas Schools.
Canonical texts in Buddhism are of three kinds:
Suttas or Sutras
Vibaya
Abhidharma

These are doctrinal treatises
These are monastic disciplinary codes
Scholastic interpretations of teachings.
The
Abhidharmas known relate to the Theravada and
Savastivada schools.
Those of the Sautrantikas school specifically adhere only to sutra texts and
reject the scholastic approach of other schools.
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Indian Philosophy by Sue Hamilton

The Abhidharma tradition was concerned with dharma and had two main
approaches. Firstly they were concerned with the understanding and definitive
interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings which could be cryptic or ambiguous.
Secondly they investigated the nature of reality in terms of “dharmas”.
Buddhism declined in India, its country of origin for several reasons. At about 300BC
it was the official state religion of India and its monastic communities were heavily
endowed. Buddhist thought played a major role in the social and political life of
India at that time. Many of these ideas were conveyed to other countries where
Buddhism still thrives. It is not known for certain why Buddhism died out in India
but the decline was certainly accelerated by the invasion of the Muslims from the 8 th
century AD onwards.
Chapter 7
The Witness and the Watched:
Yoga and Samkhya
Yoga Harmony and Control
From the very early stages of the Indian tradition (of philosophy), people were
practising various kinds of mental exercises, or meditative disciplines, often known
by the generic name of “yoga”. There is no doubt that these practices were
developed and refined over time. The word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit
verbal root “yuj” meaning “to yoke” in the sense of binding one thing to another.
The point for many lay in binding, merging or joining together either the self/soul
(atman) with the universal essence, or in theistic systems of the soul and God. The
darsana of classical Yoga is presented in texts known as the Yoga Sutras.
The Purpose of Classical Yoga
The Yoga Sutras open by stating their aim:
Now the explanation of yoga; yoga is the cessation of the activities of mind.
(Yoga Sutra 1.1-2)
What this means is that the activities of the mind are many and various but mainly
self centred. Yoga claims that we should focus our mind, single pointedly, practising
outward-lookingness. We should not be selfish but should instead concentrate on
benevolence towards others, right breathing and mental steadiness. By becoming
less aware of “self” we become more aware of others and “the cosmos”. This aspect
of Yoga is termed as “discrimination”. If we are not distracted by self we are able to
“discriminate” aspects of the world around us.
As health has both physical and mental aspects it follows that adherents of Classical
Yoga claim both physical and mental benefits.
Isvara (Iswar) – The “Lord” – in Classical Yoga
In the Yoga Sutra we are told that the goal of discrimination can also be obtained by
“devotion to the Lord (Isvara)”. Isvara is said to be all knowing, and the teacher of
ancient sages. Exactly what is meant in the ancient texts has been discussed many
times by many experts but some scholars maintain that classical Yoga has a theistic
aspect.
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Indian Philosophy by Sue Hamilton
Chapter 8
The Word and the Book
Bhartrhari, Mimamsa and Vedanta
From the 4th century BC onwards orthodox Brahmanical thinkers continued the
traditions of the Vedic corpus of material. It was not until the 5 th century AD that a
significantly new and grammatical approach was put forward. It was still later that
the important traditions of Mimamsa and Vedanta were established.
In the 5th century AD the grammarian Bhartrhari put forward the radical idea that the
understanding of the relationship between the classical language of Sanskrit and
reality is not just a way of defending the validity of the Veda, and the world it
represented, but was also a way of gaining liberating insight. The analysis of the
grammar in a sentence gave a truer understanding of the knowledge it contained
and hence a truer knowledge of the nature of reality.
Mimamsa – The Philosophy of the Ritual
For Mimamsa thinkers the main point of their enterprise was the proper
understanding of the nature of the ritual, in particular the injunctions of the sacrifice.
In essence the ritual was a means of maintaining Dharma – how things should be.
This was the fundamental rationale of the sacrificial injunctions. The injunctions
themselves, being contained in texts representing eternal Truth, were seen to be self
validating.
Later studies tend to clarify traditional thinking firstly on the nature of what there is.
The Mimamsakas developed a detailed epistemological theory that was effective in
answering unanswered questions about the reality and nature of the world. They
also discussed the apparent disparity between the perceived plurality of the world
and the type of monism proclaimed by the Vedic texts.
Postscript
From Classical Thought to the Modern Day
Hinduism's tolerance to variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it
difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions. I have
been told that it is possible to be both a Hindu and an atheist. I have also been told
that it is possible to be both a Hindu and a Christian.
Buddhism is a nontheistic religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs
and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama (or
Gotama), who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one".
In modern times there has been a clear dichotomy between philosophy and religion
in the West. Because of this we tend to look at Indian Philosophy through modern,
Western, eyes.
In Indian philosophy this dichotomy is either absent or less
important, but, this does not mean that Indian Philosophy is inferior to that of the
West. On the contrary, Indian philosophers have left a legacy from which the West
may have much to learn. A greater understanding of Indian philosophy may well
lead to a greater understanding of Western philosophy.
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