PHILOSOPHY is an integral part of the Indian tradition, and reflects vividly one of the main features of that tradition: unity underlying diversity. When Prince Siddhartha, the historical founder of Buddhism, renounced his palace in search of wisdom in the sixth century BC, he learnt that there were forty-eight philosophical schools, from naturalism and realism at one end to realism and mysticism at the order. The San skrit term for philosophy is darsbana, literally "viewing" or "seeing". Truth is one, but it i's multi'-faceted and can be "seen" from different perspectives. Diverse darshanas or philosophical schools complement rather than contradict each other. This implies intellectual tolerance.

One of the unifying factors underly ing divergent schools is the conviction that philosophical knowledge is not as endin itself but a means to inner transformation leading to liberation (muketi or Nirvana). Even those who created highly specialized and technical philosophical systems accepted the common goal of liberation. It was assumed that philosophical insight is only one aspect of the highest wisdom which includes the moral purity of the sage and the sensitivity of the poet and the artist. A further point of agreement among philosophers (except materialists) is the view that liberation, the goal of wisdom, cannot come through an external force, such as "Destiny", but through our own deeds and thoughts (karmas) spread over a succession of lifetimes.
The Jaina philosophical school accepts the existence of many types of substances (dravya), the main distinction being that between inanimate substances (pudgala) and living substances (jiva) All living beings are souls, ranging from the lowest forms of life to the highest, the perfected beings (tirthankaras) who transcend finite attributes and attain absolute knowledge (kaivalya). The tirthankaras represent the highest reality, and there is no place for God in Jaina philosophy.
Buddhist thought, in its early phase, was mainly ethical, since the Buddha had avoided metaphysical issues, devoting his attention to the problem of Suffering. However, the Buddha's emphasis on the universality of the law of causation and the impermanence of all phenomenal things opened the way for metaphysics, particularly after the emergence of the Mahayana school. Nagarjuna (c.150-250 AD), the greatest among Buddhist philosophers, founded Shunyavada (The Doctrine of Emptiness). If Reality is to be grasped in its essential nature, all finite concepts and attributes must be "emptied out".
Turning to the Hindu tradition, in the earliest Vedic hymns (c. 1500-1200 BC) we already find the nomistic trend that has subsequently dominated Indian thought. There must be, behind all multiplicity, a single reality which is called by different names. In the Upanishads, sacred texts composed many centuries later, the vision is turned inward and the one Universal Spirit dwelling in each individual (the Atman) is declared to be the same as the Supreme Reality (Brahman) at the root of the universe. Still later, in the Bhagavadgita ("Song of the Lord", c.200 BC) an attempt was made to synthesize different philosophical and religious perspectives into the "Six Doctrines".
These six systems of Hindu philosophy are traditionally grouped in three pairs: Samkhya and Yoga; Nyaya and Vaisheshika; Mimansa and Vedanta. There are fundamental differences between them, though formally they all accept the authority of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita.
Samkhya is dualistic. It accepts two independent realities: Purusba (Spirit) and Prakriti (Nature). The former is pure Consciousness, the latter is the principle of energy. They do not meet, but the very nearness of Purusha stirs Prakriti. The balance between the three main ingredients of Prakriti is disturbed, and the universe evolves. Yoga accepts the philosophical foundation of Samkhya and applies it to the practical side of Selfrealization. The aim of Yoga is to undo the distorsions caused by the mind, so that the true nature of Spirit may be realized. This can be achieved through meditation, for which one has to equip oneself through bodily and mental control.
The Nyaya ("Analysis") school deals with logical propositions and fallacies, and examines the sources of human knowledge. Vaisheshika discusses different categories of substances. It asserts that all substances are composed of four types of atoms which are eternal and indivisible.
The Mimansa ("Enquiry") school deals with causality and offers a philosophical justification for the authority of the Vedas and Vedic ritual. Vedanta ("the End of the Vedas") represents the crowning glory of classical Indian philosophy, the culmination of the Vedic tradition. Vedanta has many schools, the most influential being Monism, or "Non-dualism" (Advaita). Ramanuja (d. 1137) asserts that the world, and the human individual, though not identical with God, are within the Divine Whole. The great philosopher Shankara (c. 788-820) offers a more complete and absolute Monism. Brahman or the Absolute is the only true reality. The human self (jiva) is identical with Brahman, while the world (jagat) is a mere appearance. The self and the world are seen as separate because of a mysterious, cosmic power (Maya, "illusion") which causes ignorance. Shankara's Advaita Vedanta doctrine has dominated Indian thought for twelve centuries. Its prestige can be judged by the popular saying that no other philosophy can challenge Advaita, "just as all living beings in the forest are silent when the lion roars".
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