Philosophical Systems of India

Main article: Religion in India

Upanishads

630 BC: "Teaching Uddalaka" tat tvam asi in "Chandogya Upanishad" to son Shwetaket as the nucleus of vedanta or... materialistic philosophy. First mention of reincarnation

Main article: Uddalaka Aruni

Uddalaki and his student Yajnavalkya are among the most frequently mentioned Upanishad teachers. Their activities date back to 640-610 BC. ^[1]

The story of Shvetaketu in the "Chandogya Upanishad" is the first time that reincarnation is mentioned in the Vedas and possibly all known writings in human history. In the story, Shwetaketu returns home from his studies, and his childhood friends ask him what he learned about the afterlife, to which he replies that it was not part of his curriculum. They ask Father Shvetaketa, and he also does not know, so they ask the king, who claims that he knew the concept of reincarnation all the time and explained it. It is a common belief among the Kshatriyas (warrior caste), he adds, and from this belief they draw their bravery from the battle.

Schools of classical philosophy: Astics and Nastika

Since ancient times, Indian philosophy has been subdivided into the philosophical schools of Astika and Nastika.

The concept of Astika and Nastika in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain scriptures defines Astika as those sampradai who believe in the existence of Atman (Self) and those who recognize the superiority of the Vedas, and Nastika are those who deny the presence of any Self in human beings or do not consider the Vedas superior.

In the modern context, Astika is also defined as theists and Nastika as an atheist.

The philosophical schools of Astica are:

• Sankhya is a strictly dualistic theoretical exposition of consciousness and matter.
• Yoga is a monotheistic school that arose from Sankhya and emphasizes the practical use of Sankhya theory: meditation, contemplation and liberation.
• Nyaya or logic is a school of epistemology that explores sources of knowledge.
• Vaisheshika is an empirical school of atomism.
• Mimamsa is an anti-ascetic and anti-mystical school of orthopraxia. This school deals with the correct interpretation of verses from the Vedas.
• Vedanta is the last knowledge section in the Vedas, or Gyanakanda (knowledge section). Vedanta is also called Uttara-Mimamsa. Vedanta became the dominant current of Hinduism in the post-medieval period.

Nastika or heterodox sampradai, who do not recognize the authority of the Vedas, are the philosophies of nastika, of which four unorthodox schools are known:

• Ajivika, a school of materialism that denied the existence of free will.
• Charvaka, a school of materialism that recognized the existence of free will.
• Buddhism, a philosophy that denies the existence of atman (soul, self) and is based on the teachings and enlightenment of Gautama Buddha.
• Jainism, a philosophy that recognizes the existence of atman (soul, self) and is based on the teaching and enlightenment of twenty-four teachers known as tirthankaras, with Rishabha as the former and Mahavira as the twenty-fourth.

See also

• Ascetics in India

Notes