Philosophy
The six classical schools and the great traditions of Vedanta.
- The Six Schools of Hindu PhilosophyAn overview of the six classical schools (darshanas) of Hindu philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and how they differ.
- Advaita Vedanta: Non-dualismThe teaching of Advaita Vedanta, that the self and Brahman are one: its key ideas, its great teacher Adi Shankara, its path of knowledge and its modern influence.
- Vishishtadvaita: Qualified Non-dualismThe Vishishtadvaita philosophy of Ramanuja: God as Vishnu, souls and the world as God's body, the path of devotion and surrender, and the Sri Vaishnava tradition.
- Dvaita: the Dualism of MadhvaThe Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya: the eternal difference between God, souls and matter, the five differences, Vishnu as the independent reality, and the tradition centred on Udupi.
- Samkhya: Consciousness and MatterThe Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy: the dualism of purusha and prakriti, the three gunas, the 25 principles of reality and Samkhya's influence on yoga and the Bhagavad Gita.
- Yoga PhilosophyYoga as one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy: its view of the mind and its fluctuations, the role of God, the stages of meditation and the goal of liberation.
- Nyaya and Vaisheshika: Logic and AtomsThe Nyaya school of logic and the Vaisheshika school of atomism: their theories of knowledge, the five-step syllogism, the categories of reality and their arguments for God.
- Mimamsa: Interpreting the VedasThe Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy: its focus on Vedic ritual and dharma, its rules of interpretation, its theories of language and knowledge, and its influence on Hindu law and Vedanta.