Indian Philosophies. Philosophy of Ancient India: main philosophical ideas and schools

Indian philosophy is a fundamental teaching, which, of course, is very different from the philosophy of other states. India has existed since ancient times and therefore its own system of postulates of great thinkers has already developed on the territory of this country. It is worth noting that the very concept of philosophy arose 500 years before our era.

In contrast to the European and Eastern philosophy of India, the following main features are inherent:

Lack of continuity and connection between philosophical schools;
Lack of orientation towards the natural sciences;
Orientation to national traditions;
A clear focus of philosophical searches on the knowledge of oneself and one's inner peace.

Indian philosophy developed over three main periods, which are distinguished in the history of this wonderful country like: Vedic, classical and period philosophical treatises. In general, the development of Indian philosophy began with the writing of ancient texts called the Vedas. They consisted of four main parts. But the greatest contribution to the development of the philosophy and culture of India was made by the Rig Veda. This scripture helped the Indians to achieve knowledge of cosmic phenomena and other mysteries of being. The transmigration of souls, reward for past deeds, the search for a place in the spiritual hierarchy, asceticism, retribution after death - all these are the main dogmas of Indian philosophy, which are inherent in all periods of its development.

Buddhism and Vedantism are the main philosophical directions of this state. As already mentioned, the postulates of the second direction are fixed in the so-called "Vedas". These are original collections of mythical tales, the ideas of which have survived to this day. Some modern Indians still accept the philosophical teachings that are written in the Vedas. In fact, they were considered scripture that should have matched. Representatives of the highest caste, the Brahmins, were the main preachers of the Vedic teaching, which for a long time was the main philosophical direction of this mysterious country.

The true causes of existence are known only to the Brahman, as the highest being. For a long time, the names of the Brahmin were considered a real deity who knows all the secrets of the universe. Vedanta is the main school Indian philosophy, which has always preached the concept of Brahman as the main spiritual component of being. It is worth noting that each person must transform his inner essence into a special state in order to get closer to this deity. This approach has existed in Indian philosophy for a long time. People wanted to see themselves as Brahmins, completely cleansed of mental and bodily torments. According to the Indians, this is the only way to free your soul.

Another important philosophical and religious direction should be considered Buddhism. This is the greatest teaching of all time, which has brought more to the life of India than other postulates. The formation of this philosophical doctrine was a turning point for all Indians. Completely new trends in Buddhism were fundamentally different from the Vedic direction. This new doctrine denies not only the immortality of the soul, but also the fact of its very existence. According to the great Buddhists, the soul and body cannot form a single whole, since the body is in constant change and interaction with the surrounding reality. But sometimes a person does not realize this report. The philosophy of Buddhism is much simpler than the same Vedic teachings. The material and spiritual state of a person is considered baseless. The meaning of Buddhism is that it implies the presence of some higher goods and spiritual matters. The human world is an intricate maze, and its consciousness is another illusion that has nothing to do with reality. Buddha (the highest creator) cannot discuss the foundations of the universe with mere mortals. The Buddha's teaching is built on the existence of basic truths about suffering. According to these truths, it is suffering that is a universal property of human life, which has its own causes and can be stopped even in real life. The dogma of Buddhist philosophical teaching is the path of salvation from any suffering, which every person can and must overcome on the path to truth.

Faith, determination, correct speech and behavior, the right direction of thought and concentration on it - these are the main ways to save humanity from suffering. The eightfold path of the Buddha is the integrity of life itself, of all being, during which a person strives for the knowledge of the highest truth. It is best to study the philosophy of India briefly, as a full study will take too much time.

It should be emphasized that Indian philosophy has always relied on previous traditions. It is also distinguished by the non-personalized nature of various philosophical texts. The fact is that the biographies of the authors are overgrown with numerous myths and legends. Now it is very difficult to understand the essence of the matter. The philosophy of India briefly tells how one can achieve the highest bliss during life and after death. But, unfortunately, such an original philosophy is still too little studied.

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Philosophy is a force that significantly influences the progress of mankind. It is always a participant in the formation of certain social ideals and ideas about the integrity of the world. The very concept of philosophy and the first philosophical systems arose about five hundred years before our era. Philosophical concepts were formed in different places, connecting both philosophy of India as well as religion.

Philosophy of ancient India

It has three periods. The first period is from the fifteenth to the fifth century BC. The second is from the fifth century B.C. to the tenth century A.D. and the third period is from the tenth century A.D. The first period is called "Vedic", the second - "classical", the third - "Hindu". The continuous development of Indian philosophy began with the oldest texts called the Vedas. They were written as far back as fifteen centuries BC. The name itself comes from the word "know" - to know. The Vedas consist of four parts: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The most ancient Samhitas are a collection of four books of old "hymns". Of these: Rigveda is the most ancient and revered Veda for comprehending the secrets of being, Samaveda is Vedic tunes, Yajurveda is Veda for sacrifices, Atharvaveda is Vedic spells. The remaining three texts are interpretations of the Samhita. Following the Vedic beliefs, God sees and knows everything and placed in the Vedas. Knowledge is of two types: sacred and profane. Each book of the Samhita has its corresponding Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and Upanishads complement either the Samhitas or the Brahmanas. Such a philosophy seems complicated. And in order to understand her, one must remember the time in which she was born. The formation of the class society of that time, the existence of slavery, the increase in inequality in society led to the formation of castes. The caste of brahmins (priests) - of the highest order, lived at the expense of other people. The kshatriyas were warriors and constantly fought with the brahmins for power. Vaishyas and Shudras are hard-working people who paid tribute. And finally, slaves who did not belong to any of the castes. All this heterogeneous society had to coexist. And religion, as a social philosophy, was supposed to create the rules for coexistence in a single state of India.

The oldest of the Vedas, the Rigveda, helped the ancient Indians to comprehend the secrets of being. The main way of comprehension is the created myth. Cosmic phenomena underlie the comprehension of the world. The planets play the role of a deity in myths. The cyclicity of nature is displayed in ritual cyclicity. There is no main god in the Veda. A person turns to one of the gods who can help in this particular situation. The Upanishads were composed in different years, and are a secret teaching that is not accessible to everyone. The concept of "brahman" and "atman" in the Veda is the basis of being, the beginning of all things. Another interesting aspect of the Veda is the law of karma. He coordinates the process of reincarnation according to the good and evil deeds of man. The Vedas state that the future incarnation is not the result of the desire of God, but the result of the life of the person himself (reward or punishment). Another key concept The Vedas are moksha. This is the highest goal of man, which consists in avoiding the wheel of reincarnations.

India is a very colorful country, largely due to the rich flora, more:.

Schools of ancient philosophy of India

The task of the philosophical schools of India is the process of cognition, that is, entry into the world of ritual magic. For the knowledge of the divine principle, "turii" was used. These are mystical initiations carried out in schools. Among the philosophical schools in India there were those that took the teachings of Vedism as a basis, and those that denied Vedism. Let's get acquainted with some of them.

Sankhya

It translates as "number". Founded seven centuries BC. It is based on the disciple of the Vedas. Views the world as a living being. Genesis represents Purusha, the never-ending cosmic "I", which does not change and testifies to everything. Purusha is not a body, nor a soul, nor consciousness. The object of multiple knowledge. In addition to the unknown, there is a material beginning in the teaching. This is Prakriti - the primordial matter, it is in eternity and constant activity. This is the cause of earthly phenomena, a consequence of the way of life. Actions of Prakriti of those gunas: appearance, activity and inertia. These are not physical actions, but their consequences. In practice, the Huns are the strength of man.

The main school of India. The basis is the Upanishads. It was the origin of the Hindu religion. Created in the Middle Ages. The main idea of the school is the concept of Brahman as a multiple spiritual component. back side Brahman - space in conjunction with time. Through them he comes into the world. Brahman at the beginning of the universe and at its end. The universe is just an illusion through ignorance of Brahman. The highest spirit is considered to be Brahman, manifested in a person through the atman. When a person transforms his inner essence into the state of Brahman-atman, he will receive pure consciousness - this is the main idea. Renunciation of things, control over sensuality and mind, with a strong desire to be free, will lead to a state of nirvana. Will the learning process continue until you fully realize yourself as Brahman? which will lead to the liberation of the soul.

Read more about Indian beliefs in the article:.

The doctrine was founded by Prince Siddhartha half a century before our era. Then they began to call him Buddha, which means enlightenment. This is one of the religions spread all over the world, it does not have the concept of "God" and an immortal soul. According to the teachings of the Buddha, the world is a stream of oscillating particles from being. They are called dharmas. They are the energy life flow of any manifestation of human feelings. The world is just an infinite number of dharmas. Our existence is only moments. But every moment creates the next. The world is based on such a law. The Buddha discarded questions about the processes of beginning and end and spoke only of dharma. The Teaching indicates the cause of suffering in not seeing the moment called "now". The doctrine does not recognize an immortal soul. The foundation of the doctrine is the four truths. The teachings have identified eight steps on the path to nirvana. The state of nirvana combines absolute wisdom, goodness and equanimity.

Lokayata

He founded the doctrine - Brihanspati. The name translates as "to go from the world." Founded 500 years before our era. He does not accept Vedism and Brahmanism. Life on earth was valued. They did not recognize the supernatural. The Teaching accepts only the material world. Things have their own nature and arise on its basis. At the heart of the world are four elements: fire, air, water and earth, of which everything consists. Consider the world as a random collection of elements. They do not recognize consciousness and personality outside the body. The soul is considered material. After death, there is no person, so there is nothing to suffer. The doctrine is a complete denial of immortality. A person should be guided by two senses - kama (enjoy) and artha (benefit). The meaning of life is seen in obtaining pleasure and avoiding suffering.

Vaisesika-nyaya

The school originated five centuries before our era. Her teaching combined the concepts of singularity and logic. He recognizes the four earthly elements, the space-time component and the ether, as the subtle matter of the soul and mind. The doctrine believes that the whole world is a combination of these elements. For the first time, small internal elements “annu” (atoms) stood out as the material carriers of everything. Since the particles of annu are not able to control themselves, the higher spirit Brahman exists for this. The doctrine recognizes the law of karma. Over the centuries, this teaching was reborn into ancient philosophy.

Philosophy of India, video:

Since the topic of our article is the philosophy of Ancient India briefly, we will consider only the main points of this topic. However, you can get a general idea of the philosophy that was formed in the East and in particular in India.

The thinkers of ancient India treated truth as a multi-faceted knowledge that cannot be expressed in full, fixing their gaze only on certain aspects. That is why they believed that there are many ways to improve, choosing one of which, you can develop your personality and grow spiritually.

Any philosophical system of the East recognized the ultimate goal of man as his development and self-improvement. It is through one's own self-development that one could improve the world itself.

Indian philosophy is conventionally divided into 3 main periods:

Vedic (XV-V centuries BC);
Classical (V century BC-X century AD);
Hindu (since the 10th century AD).

The peculiarity of Indian philosophy is its continuous and smooth development, without sharp leaps in the views of thinkers and without abrupt changes in ideas.

The most ancient texts related to the philosophy of ancient India are contained in the Vedas, which were written before the 15th century. BC e. The Vedas are “knowledge”, “knowledge”.

It was this knowledge that served as the beginning of ancient Indian philosophy, while further literature was essentially a commentary or a kind of interpretation of the Vedic texts.

Vedic literature is divided into 4 groups in historical sequence:

Samhitas.
Brahmins.
Aranyaki.
Upanishads.

Considering that the Samhitas are the most ancient texts, they are usually called the Vedas, and the Upanishads are free additions to the original source, but in a broad sense, all 4 groups are called the Vedas.

Samhitas are 4 collections of hymns:

Rigveda (the oldest of the Vedas, all subsequent ones rely on it);
Samave-da (Veda of tunes);
Yajurveda (Veda of sacrifice);
At-harvaveda (Veda of Spells).

The Vedas were presented as a revelation given to man by deities. The gods had the gift of omniscience and they passed on their knowledge (Vedas) to rishi poets. Rishis are not specific people, but the authors of hymns, peculiar characters.

In ancient Indian philosophy, there were two traditions (methods of knowledge):

Shruti (what is described above - the transfer of knowledge from the gods to the rishis);
Smriti ("remembering" literally).

Thus, the Vedas included two separate kinds of knowledge - sacred and the second - profane.

According to most scholars, the Vedas were formed during the formation of a class society. Ancient India was not characterized by a slave system, but class inequality was present.

It was this that led to the formation of four groups (varnas):

brahmins (priests);
kshatriyas (warriors representing the highest social stratum);
vaishyas (artisans, merchants, farmers);
Shudras (lowest social class).

All varnas differed both in rights, and in their social position, and in duties. It is this social organization that is reflected in the Vedas.

The earliest Veda is called the Rig Veda. It was divided into 10 mandalas (books). The hymns of the Rigveda are verses of praise to the gods, who were the forces of nature; and ritual verses, in which there were prayers and requests of people to the gods.

The hymns of the Rigveda are not just poetry, but the sacred attempt of the ancient Indians to know the truth of being. Space is everything and everything. Space and time are the unity of diachrony and synchrony. The law of the rotation of the Universe is Rita. The Universe develops synchronistically, and then a period of diachrony sets in, when Chaos replaces Cosmos.

From the Rigveda, we learn about such gods as Surya (the god of the sun), Savitr (the god of motivation), Mitra (the god of friendship), Pushan (the god of solar energy), Ushas (the goddess of dawn), Agni (the god of fire). This is a far from complete list of the gods and divine beings described in the Rig Veda. It is worth noting that none of them is dominant; all of them, to one degree or another, moved forward when there was a need for it. Thus, each divine being was represented as part of the universal spirit.

We examined what the philosophy of ancient India is briefly. It is the Vedas, and especially the first verses, that can make it possible to understand the history, religion (in particular), the psychology and aesthetics of the social life of India.

Indian civilization is one of the oldest in the world. It originated on the Hindustan Peninsula almost 6 thousand years ago. In an attempt to comprehend themselves, the world around them and their place in it, the ancient Indian philosophers began to take the first steps in the development of worldview teachings. This is how the philosophy of ancient India was born, which had a significant impact on the entire world culture.

general characteristics

Indian philosophy originates in the middle of the first millennium BC. e. Depending on the various sources of philosophical thought, ancient Indian philosophy is usually divided into three main stages:

Vedic - the period of orthodox philosophy of Hinduism (XV-VI centuries BC).
Epic - the period of creation of the famous epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", which considered the global problems of the philosophy of that time, entering the arena of Buddhism and Jainism (VI-II centuries BC).
Age of Sutras - a period of short philosophical treatises that describe individual problems (II century BC-VII century AD).

Since ancient times, Indian philosophy has developed continuously and naturally, without cardinal changes in ideas and points of view. All the main provisions are described in the Vedas dating back to the 15th century. BC e. Almost all the literature that followed the Vedas is associated with their interpretation. The Vedas were written in Sanskrit and included four parts: Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.

Rice. 1. Vedas.

The main principles of the philosophy of ancient India include:

improvement of the inner world of a person;
the desire to warn against mistakes that may cause suffering in the future;
sincere faith in the immutable moral structure of the universe;
perception of the Universe as a fertile field for moral deeds;
ignorance is the source of all human suffering, while knowledge is an indispensable condition for the salvation of everyone;
comprehension of knowledge through prolonged conscious immersion;
the subordination of weaknesses and passions to reason, which is the only way to salvation.

Philosophical schools of ancient India

In ancient India, philosophical schools were divided into two large groups: orthodox - those that developed on the basis of the teachings of the Vedas, and unorthodox.

Orthodox schools include:

Law of World Justice

One of the postulates of ancient Indian philosophy is the law of karma. Karma is a causal relationship of past and future rebirths of the earthly state of each person. In order to achieve nirvana - a harmonious fusion of the human soul and the Cosmos, one must go through a chain of earthly reincarnations, each time rising to a higher level of development of spirit and morality. But it is karma that is responsible for each subsequent earthly incarnation and how it corresponds to a person's behavior in a past life.

Philosophical Indian schools are divided into two large groups: orthodox (developing only on the basis of the teachings of the Vedas) and unorthodox.

Nya- the first of the orthodox schools believed that the world is material and cognizable by man with the help of his senses. But what cannot be known by the senses does not exist, that is, in many respects the world is illusory.

There are only four sources of knowledge of the world: inference, the word of God, comparative analysis and perception.

Vaisheshika- another orthodox school believed that there are two real worlds: sensual and super sensual. The whole world consists of microscopic particles - atoms, and the space between them is filled with ether. The life force of the whole world is given by the giant Brahman, who appeared in this world at the behest of the Gods in order to create both the world and all those living in it.

This philosophical school preaches the eternal cycle of life (samsara - the wheels of eternal reincarnation), which consists of a chain of transformations and the transition from one earthly shell to another. The soul under the influence of reincarnation is always moving and always looking for harmony in an attempt to achieve the ideal.

Perhaps that is why in Indian philosophy there is no fear of death, as the cessation of a physical state, because life is eternal only in its various incarnations.

Yoga teaching is a practical philosophy of knowing the world and affirming oneself in this world as a harmonious person, able to control his physical body with the help of the power of the spirit. Yoga recognized the power of the Absolute and considered progress as an eternal movement towards a given goal. The basis of the teaching was the ability to subordinate the body to the brain.

Since yoga is primarily a practical philosophy, it is based on physical training, helping to find the ideal balance of mind and body, such exercises include:

breathing exercises,
Possession of the full concentration of the spirit,
Isolation of feelings from all kinds of external influences,
Ability to focus on what matters most
Destruction of harmful emotions that distract from the main thing,
Concentration of thought and achievement of harmony of body and spirit.

At the heart of the teachings of non-orthodox schools is materialism. They consider the physical body as the basis of existence and recognize only one feeling - the feelings of the body, rejecting the ephemeral soul.

It teaches that the entire material world is made up of atoms, eternally moving indivisible particles of different weights. Moreover, the bodies of a person, and animals, and insects, and even all things consist of the same atoms, therefore there is no higher and lower form of life, everyone is equal in the face of nature and the Universe. The main dogma of Jainism was not to harm anything living.

It was extremely difficult to reach the apogee in the teachings of Jainism: for this it was necessary to refuse any bodily food and learn to feed on solar energy, be able to resist evil with non-violence and try not to cause any, even the slightest harm, to anything living.

But the main goal of existence for all the philosophical schools of Hindustan was to achieve nirvana – states of harmonious merging with the Universe, lack of a sense of one's own "I" as a separate person, dissolution in the Absolute, loss of all sensations.

In addition to the eternal journey from body to body, trying to achieve moral perfection, meditation helps to achieve nirvana - complete concentration on one's own inner "I", complete detachment from both all external urges and internal needs. This leaves the meditator with a clear awareness existing world and complete indifference.

If a person has reached nirvana, he achieves the desired harmony with the Cosmos, breaks all physical ties with the world and stops the chain of rebirths. He reaches the Absolute - the eternal incorporeal existence.

India today is open to tourists and people interested in its unique spiritual culture, but, despite all its friendliness and friendliness, the inner spiritual world of this country remains incomprehensible and unknowable for people of a different faith, closed to other cultures, although tolerant of all beliefs. existing on our planet.