Page 34 - Hinduism
P. 34
and their interrelation. It also treats of another question which is intimately connected with the relation between soul and God, namely, the life after death, the condition of the soul after its separation from the material body, i.e., the nature of Mukti. If the soul travels from this world to another the path taken by it also comes under its purview. This leads to the question of rebirth or transmigration and its cause, karma. All these and some related topics come under discussion in philosophy and these problems have been solved differently by different seers. In this way different schools of philosophy have arisen in our country, the chief of which are six, called darśanas.
The chief authority for the acceptance of the existence of God is the Veda, because He cannot be realised by the senses, nor can His existence be inferred from any known facts. There are some schools of philosophy which do not accept the authority of the Veda and mainly depend upon perception and inference. As they do not recognize the Veda, there can be no place for God in their philosophies. They are the atheistic schools of Cārvākas, Bauddhas and Jainas. They are called Nāstikas. We need not consider them here.
Ancient systems
The six āstikadarśanas are: 1. Sāṅkhya, 2. Yoga, 3. Vaiśeṣika, 4. Nyāya, 5. Pūrvamīmāṁsa and 6. Uttaramīmāṁsa or Vedānta.
34
