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SchoolofDistanceEducation
UNIVERSITYOFCALICUT
SCHOOLOFDISTANCEEDUCATION
STUDYMATERIAL
CoreCourse
BAPhilosophy
IVSemester
CLASSICAL INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Preparedby
Dr.Smitha.T.M,
AssistantProfessor,
DepartmentofPhilosophy,
MaharajasCollege,Ernakulam.
ModuleI
ModuleII,III&IV
Smt.Jayasree.K,
AssistantProfessor,
DepartmentofPhilosophy,
UniversityofCalicut.
Scrutinisedby:
Dr. V. Prabhakaran,
(Co-ordinator),
Principal,
EKNM Govt. College,
Elerithattu, Kasargod.
Layout:
ComputerSection,SDE
Reserved
ClassicalIndianPhilosophy
Page2
CONTENTS
PAGES
UNIT - I
- INTRODUCTION
UNIT - II
- VEDAS
12
UNIT - III - UPANISADS
19
UNIT - IV - THE BHAGAVAD GITA
30
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Page4
UNIT I
INTRODUCTION
Objectives:1. To explain nature of Indian Philosophy
2. To identify the systems of Indian Philosophy
1. To explain the importance Vedas in Indian Philosophy
3. To analyse the spiritualistic nature of Indian Philosophy
4. To describe the Law of Karma
5. To explain the concept of Liberation
6. To describe the means of liberation explained by different systems of Indian
Thought
Meaning and scope of Indian Philosophy

The Upanisads are the foundation of Indian Philosophy, which teach spiritual
monism and mysticism. The systems of Indian philosophy are systematic speculations
on the nature of the Reality in harmony with the teachings of the Upanisads, which
contain various aspects of the truth. They aim at the knowledge of the Reality with a
view to transforming and spiritualizing human life. Philosophical knowledge does not
aim at merely satisfying our theoretical and speculative interest, but also at realizing the
highest truth in life.
Indian philosophy is essentially spiritual. Philosophy and religion are intimately
connected with each other in India. Religion is not a system of dogmas, but a living
experience. It is a practical realization of the spiritual truth. Philosophy is the theory of
the Reality. It is an insight into the nature of the Reality, which leads to liberation.
Indianphilosophy is not idle theorizing, but a spiritual quest.
Philosophy is called Darsana, which means vision. Philosophy is the vision of the
Reality as a whole. It is an insight into the nature of the whole Reality.
The most ancient Indian philosophy is contained in the four Vedas -Rg. Veda,
Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. The Sanskrit word vda "knowledge,
wisdom" is derived from the root vid- "to know". This is reconstructed as being derived
from the Proto-Indo-European root *u eid-, meaning "see" or "know". The Vedas are a
large body of texts originating in ancient India. The Vedas are apauru eya ("not of
human agency"). They are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called
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ruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called
sm ti ("what is remembered"). The period of Vedas is debated but can be dated to
4000B.C. or even earlier. Each Veda has four partsSamhita, Brahmans, Aranyakas and
Upanishads. The seed of philosophical knowledge is sown in Rig Veda hymns. They are
the forerunners of monastic system as is evident in the Upanishads. Samhitas are
hymns or prayers. Brahmanas are mostly prose treatise, discussions on rituals and are
devoted to sacrificial duties. Aranyakas provide ritual guidance to the retired seniors in
seclusion (vanaprastha). The Upanishads are deep rooted in philosophical thoughts of
the realized seers. Poets composed the hymns, priests the Brahmanas and the seers the
Upanishads.
Indian philosophy is based on logical reason subordinate to the authority of the
Vedas, which are believed to embody to embody the intuitions of the seers of truth. The
authority of the Vedas is that of intuition. Logical reason is subordinate to intuition. So
Indian philosophy is based on rational speculation in harmony with the Vedas, and
consciously aims at achieving the highest perfection (moksa) attainable in human life.
THE SCHOOLS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
It is customary to divide the schools of Indian philosophy into two broad classes,
viz., orthodox (astika) and heterodox (nastika). The orthodox schools recognize the
authority of the Vedas. The heterodox schools do not recognize their authority. The
Carvaka, the Bauddha, and the Jaina are the heterodox schools. They are called
heterodox not because they are atheists, but because they reject the authority of the
Vedas. The Nyaya, the Vaisesika, the Samkhya, the Yoga, the Mimamsa, and the
Vedanta are the orthodox schools. They believe in the authority of the Vedas. Among,
those the Samkhya and the Mimamsa are atheists. The Nyaya, the Vaisesika, the Yoga,
and the Vedanta are theists. The Samkhya advocates dualism of prakrti and purusas or
individual selves. The Vedanta advocates spiritualistic monism, and recognizes the
reality of Brahman or the Absolute. It regards the world and the individual selves as
their appearances, or parts, or attributes, modes or accessories of Brahman. The Nyaya
and Vaisesika advocate the reality of God, plurality of individual souls, and the world
of diverse objects. They consider the world to be composed of the eternal atoms of
earth, water, fire, and air existing in self-existent and eternal time and space. The
Mimamsa recognizes the reality of individual selves and the self-existent material
world, and rejects the concept of God as the creator of the world. The Yoga grafts the
notion of God on the Samkhys dualism of prakrti and purusas, and makes it theistic. So
it is called the theistic Samkhya.
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SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

1. Spiritualism
Indian philosophy is essentially spiritual. Philosophy and religion are intimately

connected with each other in India. Religion is not a system of dogmas, but a living
experience. It is a practical realization of the spiritual truth. Philosophy is the theory of
the Reality. It is an insight into the nature of the Reality, which leads to liberation.
Indian philosophy is not idle theorizing, but a spiritual quest. Indian philosophy is
therefore a religious tradition. The pride of the Indian philosophy again lies in that
magical blend of the concept of reality or in that absolute reality with that of the
existence of personal God which ultimately leads to a meaningful life. This immense
fusion further crafts Indian philosophy as the most tolerant religions. Ishvara is the very
core of Indian Philosophy.
Ishvara in Sanskrit means, the Lord. In Indian philosophy therefore Ishvara is
reckoned as the ultimate Ruler, the supreme power and is indeed the preternatural
Being of the Cosmos.
"The whole of this Universe is pervaded by me in my Unmanifested form. I am
thus the support of all the manifested existences, but I am not supported by them" - this
eternal law is the very basis of Indian philosophy and is also the main concept of
spiritualism in India.
God is the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of the cosmos. He is the
divinity and this very idea is the crux of Indian philosophy. The concept of Brahman in
Indian philosophy again offers a rather spiritual facet to Indian philosophy; as
according to Krishna " . ...Into Brahman I plant the seed giving birth to all living
beings..." Brahman therefore remains as the logo of the Divine essence of the cosmos.
The reference of Brahman is there also in Mundaka Upanishad, which structures the
base of the Indian philosophy.
The ideal harmonization of spiritualism and religiosity in Indian beliefs makes
the Indian philosophy a never-ending journey in understanding the "Knowledge" of
that perpetual contentment. God is the ultimate reality; the unchallengeable, the huge,
the brightest light who is there almost everywhere -even in the green grass, in the bight
fire, in the living air, in the round ocean, in the blue sky and finally in the mind of man.
To experience His immortality, to feel His presence and to sense His enigmatic
immensity the pious man plunges into the ocean of consciousness whilst praying.
"Lead me from the unreal to the Real. Lead me from darkness unto Light. Lead
me from death to Immortality."
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2. Vedic Authority
All orthodox schools of philosophy recognize the authority of the Vedas. They
cite the authority of the Upanisads in support of their views, and build up their systems
of philosophy on rational speculation in harmony with the teachings of the Vedas.
Reason cannot yield unquestionable certainty in respect of supersensible entities.
Reason is overthrown by reason. It cannot land us in the solid foundation of truth.
Reason is subordinated to the authority of the Vedas, which is regarded as the authority
of intuition. Intuition is the immediate apprehension of the reality, which transcends
discursive thought. It is supra-intellectual direct apprehension. Reason (tarka) is
regarded as subordinate to intuition (anubhava). Intuition can override reason, but
reason cannot overthrow intuition. Reasoning should be carried on under the guidance
if intuition. But the different schools of Indian philosophy are not mere elaborations of
the teachings of the Upanisads with the help of reason. They invent different theories of
the Reality by systematic logical reasoning, appeal to those texts of the Upanisads
which are in favour of their conclusions, and consider those opposed to their theories as
spurious or explain them away. Even the different schools of the Vedanta build their
theories of the Reality on logical reason and philosophical speculation, and endeavor to
harmonize the relevant texts of the Upanisads with one another in the light of their
preconceived theories. The Nyaya, the Vaisesika, the Samkhys, the Yoga, the Mimamsa
and the Vedanta widely diverge from one another in their philosophical speculations,
though they all accept the authority of the Vedas. They all regard consciousness as the
ultimate court of appeal in knowing anything to be real.
3. The law of Karma
All schools of Indian philosophy except the Carvaka believe in the Law of
Karma. As we sow, so we reap. The right action inevitably produces a good
consequence. A wrong action inevitably produces a bad consequence. Performance of a
duty or a prescribed action produces a merit (punya) or virtue (dharma) in the soul.
Violation of a duty or commission of a forbidden action produces a demerit (papa) or
vice (adharma) in it. Merit or virtue produces happiness, demerit or vice produces
misery. Merit and demerit are unseen agencies (adrsta) which mature in course of time
and bear fruits either in this life or in a future life. They are predisposing causes of
happiness and misery while external objects are their exciting causes. There is no escape
from the consequences of actions. Their fruits must be reaped in this life or in a future
life. There is no destruction of the fruits of right and wrong actions (krtapranasa). One
can never reap the fruits of actions undone (akrtabhyagama). The Law of Karma is the
inexorable law of moral causation.
The Buddihist, the Jaina, the Samkhya and the Mimamsa believe in an
impersonal Law of Karma which adjusts the realm of nature to the realm of spiritsthe
physical order to the moral order. It adjusts physical objects to the souls happiness and
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misery in accordance with their merits and demerits. But the other systems believe in
God who is the dispenser of the Law of Karma. He creates the physical objects out of
atoms or prakrti or His own nature and adjusts them to the unseen agencies in the
individual souls.
Merits and demerits are called Karmas. At a particular time we have
accumulated karmas of the past births (prarabdha karma) and karmas which are being
acquired in this birth (sanciyamana karma) to which will be added karmas which will
be acquired in future (anarabdha karma). They determine the kind of birth, length of
life, and enjoyments and sufferings. The Jaina regards karmas as infra-sensible particles
of matter generated by passions and evil actions, which encrust the soul and obscure its
innate qualities.
Transmigration.Metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul is a corollary of the
Law of Karma, which demands that right actions have good consequences and that
wrong actions have bad consequences. Merits and demerits produced by right and
wrong actions determine the kinds of birth. Excessive merits transport the souls to
heaven, and make them celestial beings. Excessive demerits make them assume the
bodies of beasts, birds and insects. Well-balanced merits and demerits make them
transmigrate into human bodies. The souls are eternal. They are neither born nor
destroyed. Their birth is association with bodies. Their death is dissociation from
bodies. They survive the death of their bodies and assume other bodies, superhuman,
human or subhuman, which are appropriate to the moral deserts acquired by them in
the present births. They reincarnate in the bodies which will be the fit vehicles for
enjoying the consequences of their actions in this life. The same soul continues through
different births. Transmigration presupposes the permanence and continuity of the soul
which assumes different bodies. All orthodox schools believe in the permanence and
transmigration of the soul.
The Carvakas do not admit the reality of the soul as distinct from the body, and
so do not believe in its transmigration. The bauddhas do not recognize the permanence
of the soul. They regard it as a flux of ever-changing psychoses. But still they believe in
its transmigration. The last psychosis embodying the dispositions of all past psychoses
in the stream of consciousness assumes a body appropriate to it, and produces the
initial consciousness in the new fetus. There is continuity of the same series of
consciousness in its different births. There is transmigration of character from the
present birth to the future birth as Rhys Davids says. Though the Buddhists deny the
permanence of the soul, they believe in the transmigration of the same series of
cognitions. The Jainas recognize the reality of the permanent soul and its
transmigration. The idea of transmigration is common to all systems of Indian
philosophy except the Carvaka school.
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4. Liberation (moksa).
The idea of liberation (moksa) is common to all systems of Indian philosophy. Only the
Carvaka materialist does not believe in it. He regards dependence as bondage, and
independence as release. Buddhism regards complete extinction of suffering as nirvana.
Joy, sorrow, anger, fear and lust are passions which are compared to fire. Nirvana is
complete extinction of the fire of passions. Some Buddhists regard it as a state of
positive bliss. Others regard it as an ineffable state beyond empirical pleasure and pain.
The Jaina considers complete destruction of karma-matter investing the soul and
realization of its infinite perception, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss and infinite power
as release.
The Nyaya and the Vaisesika look upon the existence of the self in its natural
condition as liberation. It consists in absolute cessation of pain. It consists in complete
destruction of the qualities of the soul,--cognition, pleasure, pain desire, aversion,
volition, impression, merit and demerit. The Mimamsa also considers complete
destruction of merit and demerit and absolute extinction of pain as release. In release
the self is divested of all experience, and remains in its pure essence. The Samkhya
considers absolute negation of threefold suffering as release. In the state of release there
is complete isolation of the self from the mind-body-complex, which is a modification of
prakrti. There is complete destruction of mental functions and dispositions. The Yoga
also considers complete isolation (kaivalya) of the self from the mind (buddhi) and its
modes and dispositions are release. In the state of release the self abides in its essential
nature, and realizes its intrinsic nature. The Advaita Vedanta regards the intuitive
realization of identity of the individual self with Brahman as release which is a state of
infinite bliss. The Visistadvaita Vedanta regards similarity of the self with God in
essence as release, which is a blissful state. So the idea of liberation is common to all
systems of Indian philosophy.
The means to Liberation.The different systems of Indian philosophy lay down the
means to the attainment of liberation. Yoga facilitates the attainment of true knowledge.
It consists in sense-restraints, moral observances, bodily posture, breath-control, and
withdrawal of the sense-organs from their objects, fixation of mind, meditation, and
trance. When the mind meditates on the self, and is absorbed in it, it dissolves, as it
were, in the self, which manifests itself in its real nature. Yoga is a method of acquiring
knowledge of the self, which is regarded as a means of release. Morality is an
indispensable preliminary to meditation and trance. Non-injury, non-stealing,
truthfulness, sex-restraint and non-covetousness are the restraints (yama). Purity of
body and mind, contentment, penance, study of the scriptures, and meditation on God
are the moral observances (niyama). They are included in the eightfold yoga. The
Advaita Vedanta regards discrimination of the eternal and the non-eternal, dispassion
for enjoyment of happiness on earth and in heaven, sense-control, mind-control,
endurance, withdrawal of the senses from their objects, faith in the Atman or Brahman,
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and desire for release as auxiliary to enquiry into the nature of Brahman. True
knowledge depends upon the conquest of the lusts of the flesh and passions and desires
of the mind, purity of body and mind, freedom from selfishness and egoism, tolerance
of spirit, universal good-will and selflessness. Morality is an indispensable element to
the acquisition of true knowledge. Knowledge (jnana) is considered to be the chief
means of release. The Nyaya-Vaisesika considers true knowledge of the reality the
world, the self and God as the means of liberation. True knowledge destroys false
knowledge, which generates attachment, aversion and delusion, which are the springs
of action. The samkhya-Yoga regards discrimination of the self from the not-self or
prakrti and its modifications as the case of release. The Advaita Vedanta considers the
intuitive knowledge of identity of the jiva with Brahman as its cause. The knowledge of
difference is ignorance (avidya). The knowledge of identity is true knowledge (vidya),
which leads to life eternal. The Visistsdvaita Vedanta considers the disinterested
performance of duties (niskama karma), devotion and self-surrender to God, taking
shelter in Him, and knowledge of the selfs dependence on God as the means of release.
It looks upon essential similarity with God as liberation. Moksa is a state of
transcendental purity beyond empirical morality. There is complete transcendence of
virtue and vice in it.
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UNIT II
VEDAS
INTRODUCTION
The etymological meaning of the word philosophy is love of learning. The
Sanskrit terms for philosophy are darsanas and tattva, which means vision of truth
and reality. Know the self (Atmanam Viddhi) is the key note of all Schools of Indian
Philosophy. And this is the reason why most of the Schools of Indian Philosophy are
also religious sects. Annihilation of the three kinds of pain-adhyatmika, adhibhavtika
and adhidvaivika- and realization of supreme happiness is the end and Sravana
Manama and nididhyasana are the means- in almost all Schools of Indian Philosophy.
According to the Hindu tradition the various philosophical ideas that were
developed in the philosophical systems originated in the Vedas. The Vedas are
probably the oldest (1500-800 Bc.) scriptures in the recorded history of man. The veda
is etymologically related to vid meaning knowledge. To the orthodox, it means
knowledge par excellence, the sacred or revealed knowledge. Concretely, however, the
word stands for a vast body of literary compositions the whole of which must have
taken nothing less than two millennia to came into existence. The Vedas are regarded
by Hindus as divine in origin and not the work of human authors accordingly, they are
looked upon as timeless and eternal. This is not to deny that at a certain time in human
history the vedas acquired a specific verbal form, oral or written, it only means that the
truths proclaimed by the Vedas are regarded as eternal truths and in no way dependent
upon the manner, time, and place of their recording.
Each veda consists of four parts known as mantras, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and
the Upanisads. The earliest of these are orally composed songs by the Aryans and
transmitted to the later generations by a method of sheer retentive memory, and hence
also called sruti, that which is heard. These immensely old oral compositions are
traditionally called the mantra, one great decision of the veda, the other being the
Brahmana, which is in prose and is much later. The appendages to these Brahmanas are
called Aranyakas mainly because they were composed in the calmness of the forests.
The concluding portions of the Aranyakas are called the Upanisads.
VEDIC LITERATURE
Mantras
Mantras or metrical hymns composed by the Aryans after they had settled in
their new Indian home. The mantras in its present form dates from 600 B.C. Mantra
means a hymn addressed to some god or goddess. The collection of the mantras is
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called Samhita. There are four Samhitas- RK, Sama,Yajuh, and Atharva. These are
said to be compiled for the smooth performance of the vedic sacrifices. A vedic sacrifice
needs four main priests-Hota, who addresses hymns in praise of the gods to invoke
their presence and participation in the sacrifices. Udgata who sings the hymns in sweet
musical tones to entertain and please the gods; Adhvayu, who performs the sacrifice
according to the strict ritualistic code and gives offerings to the gods: and Brahma, who
is the general supervisor well-versed in all the Vedas. The four Samhitas are said to be
compiled to fulfil the needs of these four main priests RK for the Hota, sama for the
udgata, yaguh, for the Adhvaryu and Atharva for the Brahma. Sometimes the veda,
are referred to only as Trayi, omitting the Atharva. RK means a verse, sama means a
song, Yajuh means a prose passage. Thus we see that the Samhita-bhaga or the mantraportion of the veda is the Hymnology addressed to the various gods and goddesses.
RK samhita is regarded as the oldest and also the most important. The Rsis of the
Vedas are not the authors, but only the Seers of the mantras.
BRAHMANAS
The Brahmans, unlike the mantras, are written in prose. They are the elaboration
of the complicated ritualism of the Vedas. Brahmanas are guide books for the
performance of sacrificial rites. They deal with the rules and regulations laid down for
the performance of the rites and the sacrifices. Their names, Brahmana is derived
from the word Brahma which originally means a prayer. There is little philosophy in
these, though some philosophical ideas flash here and there in the course of some
speculative digressions.
ARANYAKAS AND THE UPANISADS
The Aranyakas give philosophical interpretations of the rituals and also prescribe
modes of meditation for those who live detached lives in the forests. We find here a
mystic interpretation of the Vedic sacrifices. The Upanisads contain teachings about the
ultimate reality and the means of realizing it. These are intensely philosophical and
spiritual and may be rightly regarded as the cream of the Vedic Philosophy.
The
hymns are the creation of the poets, the Brahmas are the work of the priests, and the
Upanishads the meditations of the philosophers. The religion of nature of hymns, the
religion of law of the Brahmans and the religion of spirit of the Upanishads, correspond
in a very close way to the three great divisions in the Hegelian conception of the
development of religion.
The mantras and the Brahmanas are called the Karma-Kanda or the portion
dealing with the sacrificial actions, and the Aranyakas and the Upanishads are called
the Jnana-Kanda or the portion dealing with knowledge. Since people include the
Aranyakas in the karma-Kanda. Really speaking, they represent a transition from the
Karma-Kanda to the Jnana-Kanda. The Upanishads are also known as Vedanta or the
the end of the Veda. Firstly because they are literally the concluding portion, the end
of the Vedas, and secondly because they are the essential, the cream, the height, of the
Vedic Philosophy.
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VEDIC RELIGION
In the vedic hymns, we find religion and philosophy more or less intermixed.
The essence of the Vedic hymns is the philosophy of spiritualistic monism. But along
with it we also find a kind of religious worship, namely, naturalistic polytheism. The
mantras inculcate a form of nature worship. The ancient Indians personified the
various aspects of nature in an anthropomorphic form and worshipped them as gods.
In this religion, the various, powers of Nature like fire(Agni),Wind(Vayu) and the
Sun(Surya) were personified. The hymn were prayers addressed to deified powers of
nature. These gods were regarded as responsible for the governance of the world.
They maintain the physical order of the cosmos known as rta. The word rta sometimes
later came to stand not merely for physical order as well. The gods were thus conceived
as preserving the world from physical and moral disorder.
POLYTHEISM
When the early Vedic Aryans who were primitive, if not semi-civilised and semibarbarious, settled down and began to wonder at the charming and the tempting and to
fear the terrible and the destructive aspects of nature, they personified them in an
anthropomorphic fashion and called them gods and goddess and began to worship
them. This was the stage of naturalistic and anthropomorphic polytheism. A
superficial render of the vedic hymns may find only an unrefined religion of nature
worship. But a deeper study will reveal that even this early religion of the Vedas
contains excellent philosophical insights as well. Agni, for instance, stand, nor merely
for the visible fire kindled at the sacrificial altar but also for the divine fire awakened in
the individual as a result of spiritual discipline known as tapas. It is the fire of wisdom
or illumination; which consumes the lower impulses in man and transforms them into
higher spiritual powers. The import of the well-known gayatri mantra addressed to
savitr is the need for philosophical wisdom by the illumination of the intellect. Varuna
who is, responsible for cosmic order is also the guardian of the moral law, and indra is
conceived as the god who vanquishes evil. These are clear evidences of the
philosophical quest of the ancient Indian seers. In vedic polytheism natural occurrences
are attributed to supernatural causes. The philosophically significant aspect here is the
conviction that no event can take place without a sufficient cause. It shows that the
human mind from the very beginning had believed that every event requires a
sufficient cause to account for it. It is also true that the order of the invisible physical
world is determined by the subtle power-units inherent in it. The only difference is the
early people personified and worshiped the subtle powers of Nature believing that
there were also conscious entities like human beings. But here lies the germ of the great
philosophical wisdom of monism which eliminates the dualism between subject and
object, this is, spirit and matter and reduces the which of existence ultimately into one
spiritual entity. Polytheism yielded place to monotheism and the later to monism. Max
Muller introduces henotheism as a transitional stage from polytheism to monotheism.
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Heonothesm means belief in one only God. The Vedic Aryans regarded any god they
were praising as the most supreme and the only god. According to MacDonnel
henotheism is an appearance rather than a reality, an appearance produced by the
indefiniteness due to undeveloped anthropomorphism. But whether we call it
henotheism or mere exaggeration of the powers of the deity in question, it is obvious
that this stage can neither be properly called polytheistic nor monotheistic but one
which had a tendency towards both of them.
MONOTHEISM (Personal Theism)
Now let us see the stages of development of thought from polytheism to
monotheism in the early parts of the Vedas. First, attempts have been made to bring the
different gods under the supremacy of one god. This presiding god possessed qualities
of great strength, knowledge and moral excellence. The vedic thinker is no longer
satisfied with the idea of a multiplicity of gods. He now strives to discover the one God
that controls and rules over all other gods. When polytheism leads to monotheism, the
most powerful god among the hierarchy of gods is enthroned as the ruler of this
universe. In monotheism, Varuna at one time and Indra at another were treated as the
supreme. The supreme can only be one. We can not have two supreme and unlimited
beings. Everywhere the question was asked whether a god was himself the creation of
another. A creator god is no god at all with the growing insight into the working of the
world and nature of god head the many gods tended to melt into one. The perception
of unity realized in the idea of Rta waked in support of monotheism. Trust in natural
law means faith in one God. Rg Veda declares that reality is one and that sages call it
by many such as Agni, Yama etc.s
MONISM (Absolutism)
Experiments on the concept of God continued and now monotheism gives way to
monism because the seers were not satisfied with an anthropomorphic or
personalistic conception of the God head. This tendency towards the one culminates in
monism. In monotheism many Gods were reduced to one God, but in monism the
whole of existence is reduced to one fundamental reality, which the wise regard him as
many. This reality is no more conceived in personalistic terms, it is called merely as
That(Tat). There are mantras in the Vedas which allude to monism eg: sat is one. To
Israel the same revelation came: The Lord, thy God, is one. Plutarch says: There is
one sun and one sky over all nations and one Deity under many names.
Thus the highest spiritual truth is thus expressed in two forms in vedic hymns-personal
theism(monotheism) and absolutism(monism). Theism here means the belief in a
personal deity where as absolutism is the view that recognizes an absolute impersonal
reality as the ground for all existence. The hymn where absolutism appears in all its
splendor is the well-known a Nasadiya-sukta. The ultimate reality here is the unlimited
absolute which cannot be described in human terms. All things are traced to this one
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principle. Every plurality and the binaries like being and non-being, life and death,
night and day are shown to be the unfolding of this one. How the one appears as
the many is a mystery. Thus we may note in the Nasadiya hymn the foundation of
Advaita the doctrine that the ultimate reality is one and that the world of plurality is an
appearance or maya.
PERIODS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Indian philosophy has had a long and complicated development. A
chronological history is, however, difficulty to present because of the lack of concern of
the ancient Indian to chronology and historical perspective. From the time of the birth
of Buddha, Indian chronology is on a better foundation.
The following are the broad divisions of Indian Philosophy.
The first period of Indain philosophy is called the Vedic period(1500 BC-600 BC)
covers the age of the settlement of the Aryans and the gradual expansion and spread of
the Aryan culture and civilization. This is the age of the assimilation of the great Vedas,
culminating in the Aranyakas and Upanishads. The Indian thought process has been
profoundly influenced by the Upanishads and has remained so ever since. They are the
foundations on which most of the later philosophers and religions of Indian rest there
is no important from of Hindu thought heterodox Buddhism included, which is not
rooted in the Upanishads. The views put forward in this age are not philosophical in
the technical sense of the term. It is the age of groping, where superstition and thought
are yet in conflict. Yet to give order and continuity to the subject, it is necessary for us
to begin with an account of the outlook of the hymns of the Rgveda and discuss the
views of the Upanishads.
The second period of Indian philosophy is called the Epic period(600 BC to AD
200) extends over the development between the early Upanishads and the darsanas or
the systems of philosophy. This was a fertile period in the philosophical development
of the world in general. The great works in China, Greece and Persia coincides with
this period of Indian philosophical development. Not only the great epics of
Mahabharata and Ramayana were written during this period but also the early
development of Buddhism,Jainism, Shaivism and Vaishanavism took place
simultaneously. Bhagavad-Gita, which is a part of Mahabharata ranks as one of the
three most authoritative texts of Indian Philosophical literature(The Upanishads, the
Brahma sutra and the Gita) belong to this age. The philosophies of skepticism,
naturalism and materialism arose and the orthodox systems of Hinduism took shape.
Systematic treaties were written that brought into focus the unorthodox systems of
Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka during the Epic period. In addition the codes of
conduct, social and ethical philosophy were complied in the Dharmashastras.
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The third period is called the sutra period (from AD 200). Most of the sutras in
short enigmatic aphorism were written as treatises to the earlier School of Philosophical
thoughts. This helped in organizing the various doctrines in a systematic, orderly form
and the systems took a basic form in which they were to be preserved. This six Hindu
systems, collectively called the darshana literature developed during this period.
Among the systems themselves, we cannot say definitely what are earlier and which
later. There are cross-references throughout. The Yoga accepts the Samkhya athe
Vaisesika recognizes both the Nyaya and the Samkhya. Nyaya refers to the Vedanta
and the Samkhya. Mimamsa directly or indirectly recognizes the pre-existence of all
others. So does the Vedanta. The sutra period cannot be sharply distinguished from
the scholastic period of the commentators. The two between them extend up till the
present day.
The fourth period of Indian philosophy is called the scholastic period(from AD
200). It is not possible for us to draw a hard and fast line between this and the previous
one. Yet it is to this that the great names of Kumarila, Sankara, Sridhara Ramaniya,
Madhva, Vacaspati, Udayana,Bhaskara, Jayanta, Vijjanabhiksu and Raghunatha
belong. During this period commentaries were written on the sutras and commentaries
were written on original commentaries. Literature from this period, which lasts from
the sutra period to the 17th century, is mainly explanatory. It is also controversial and
often argumentative and noisy. Some of them, however, are invaluable. Sankaras
commentary on the Vedanta sutra is thought of more highly than the original sutra
written by Badarayana. Various scholars wrote commentaries on Brahma sutra
according to their own interpretation. Chief among them were Sankaracharya,
Ramanucharya and Madhavacharya. Incidentally, three schools of Vedanta were
developed. Sankaracharyas
Advaita Vedanta, Ramanucharyas Vishistadvaita
Vedanta and Madhvacharyas Dvaita Vedanta.
RTA THE VEDIC CONCEPT OF COSMIC ORDER
The law of which varuna is the custodian is called the Rita. Rta literally means
the cause of things. It stands for law in general and the immanence of justice. This
concepts must have been originally suggested by the regularity of the moments of sun,
moon, the stars, the alternations of day and of night and of the seasons. Rta denotes
the order of the world. Everything that is ordered in the universe has Rta for its
principle. It corresponds to the universals of Plato. The world of experience is a
shadow or reflection of the Rta, the permanentreality which remains unchanged in all
the welter of mutation. The universal is prior to the particular, and so the vedic seer
thinks that Rta exists before the manifestation of all phenomena. The shifling series of
the world are the varying expressions of the constant Rta. So Rta is called the father of
all. The tendency towards the mystic conception of an unchanging reality shows its
first signs here. The real is unstable show, an imperfect copy. The real is one without
parts and changes, while the many shift and pass.
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After the emergence of Rta as a cosmic order it is also supposed as the settled
will of a supreme god, the law of morality and righteousness as well. Even the gods
cannot transgress it. We see in the conception of Rta a development from the physical
to the devine. Rta originally meant the established route of the world, of the sun,
moon and stars morning evening, day and night. Gradually it became the path of
morality to be followed by man and the law of righteounesss observed even by gods.
OBJECTIVES
1.
To introduce the beginnings of Indian philosophy
2.
To introduce the religion and philosophy of the Vedas.
3.
To introduce the concept of rta
SUMMARY
The oldest record of philosophical thinking is found in the Vedas. There are
four Vedas. Rg veda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharva Veda. The essence of the
Vedic hymns is the philosophy of spiritualistic monism. The ancient Indians
personified the various aspects of nature in an anthropomorphre form, and worshipped
them as gods. These gods were regarded as responsible for the governance of the
world. They maintain the physical order of the cosmos known as rta.
FAQS
1.
What is monotheism.
The vedic thinker is no longer satisfied with the idea of a multiplicity of gods.
He now strives to discover the one God that controls and rules over all other gods. In
monotheism, Varuna at onetime and Indra at another were treated as the supreme.
2.
Bring out the philosophy of monism
In monotheism, many gods were reduced to one God, but in monism the whole
of existence is reduced to one fundamental reality. This reality is no more conceived in
personalistic terms it is called merely as that(Tat).
Glossary
Rta - The course of things
Tat - That
References
1.
C.D Sharma - A critical survey of Indian philosophy
2.
Dr.S.Radha Krishnan - Indian philosophy(Vol. I)
3.
D.P.Chattopadhyaya - Indian philosophy a popular introduction
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UNIT III
UPANISADS
The Upanishads form the concluding parts of the Vedas and are therefore called
the Veda-anta or the end of the veda, a denominations which suggests that they contain
the essence of the vedic teaching. They are the foundations on which most of the later
philosophies and religions of India rest. there is no important form of Hindu thought,
heterodox Buddhism included which is not rooted in the upanisads . The word
Upanisads is derived from the root sad which means (i) to sit down (ii)to destroy
(iii)to loosen. Upa means nearby and ni means devotedly. The word therefore
means the sitting down of the disciple near his teacher in a devoted manner to
receiving instruction about of the highest reality which loosens all doubts and destroys
all ignorance of the disciple. Gradually the word came to signify any secret teaching
about reality and it is used by the upanisads in this sense(rahasya or guhya vidya ). The
muktikopanisad gives the number of the upanisads as 108. But ten or eleven
upanisads are regarded as important and authorities on which Shankaracharya has
commented. They are as follows: Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukhya,
Chandogya, Brahadaranyaka, Aitereya and Taittiriya. We cannot assign any exact
date to them. The earliest of them are certainly pre-Buddhistic, a few of them are after
Buddha. It is likely that they were composed between the completion of the vedic
hymns and the rise of Buddhism. The accepted date for the early upanisads are 1000 Bc
to 300 Bc. Some of the later upanisads on which Samkare has commented, are postBuddhistic, and belong to about 400 or 300 B.c. About the thinkers of the upanisads
nothing much can be said. A few like yajnavalkya and uddalaka figure prominently,
each with a definite set of teachings influencing a group of pupils.
It is not easy to decide what the upanisads teach. The central theme of the
upanisads is the problem of philosophy. It is the search for what is true. The traditional
view holds that the upanisads as revealed tests teach the same doctrine. But there has
been extremely wide difference in their interpretation. The problems discussed in them
as well as their unique style make them liable to many interpretations. All their
teachings are not equally prominent. Some are mere flashes of thought, some are only
hinted at, some are slightly developed, some are mentioned by the way; while some are
often repeated, emphasized and thoroughly dealt with. There is an essential unity of
purpose in them. They emphasize the same fundamental doctrines which may be
called monistic idealism or idealistic monism. These poetic philosophic works are full
of grand imagery, extremely charming and lucid expression abounding in crystal
clarity. To the mind, they bring sound philosophical doctrines and to the heart, peace
and freedom. They are full of Ananda or supreme joy out of which all things arise, by
which they live and into which they return again. Passionate yearning for knowledge
restless striving after truth, and a ceaseless search for reality have found a most
touching expression in them.
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The Upanisads develop the monistic ideas scattered in the samhitas. During the
Brahmana period, these scattered philosophical ideas were almost overlooked and
emphasis was laid on merely the rigorous ritualistic sacrifices. The Aranyakas mark
the shifting of the emphasis from the ritualistic to the philosophical thought which
work was completed by the upanisads. The Upanisads tell us that the Vedas have been
breathed forth from Him(Brahman); but they regard the Karma-Kanda as secondary,
being only a help to purify the mind by which purification one is made fit to receive the
real teaching about Brahman. Thus we find the sage Narada telling Sanatkumara, I
know the Rig-veda, Sir, the Yajuh, the Sama, with all these I know only the Mantras and
the sacred books, I do not know the self. I have heard from persons like you that only
he who knows the self goes beyond sorrow. The Mundaka tells us: Two kinds of
knowledge must be known, the higher and the lower. The lower knowledge is that
which the Rig Veda, Sama,Atharva,ceremonial, Grammas give. .. but the higher
knowledge is that by which the immortal Brahman is known!
THE NATURE OF REALITY
Brahman and Atman are the terms used in the upanisads to stand for the
ultimate reality. It manifests itself as the subject as well as the object and transcends
them both. The same reality is called from the subjective side as Atman and from the
objective side as Brahman. The two terms are used as synonyms. he who is this
Brahman in man, and who is that in the sun, those are one. The transcendent
conception of god held in the Rig-Veda is here transformed into an immanent one. The
true self has been the main topic of investigation in the Upanisads.
ATMAN
There are two currents of thought in the upanisads one aimed at discovering the
primacy principle of the cosmos and the other searching for the innermost essence of
man. This is found in the eternal principle behind the body and mind. It is termed
Atman. The etymology of this word is observe. In the Rig-Veda it means breath or
the vital essence. Gradually it acquired the meaning of soul or self and spirit.
Sankaracarya quotes the verse giving the different connotations of the word Atman.
The verse says that Atman means that which pervades all, which is the subject and
which knows, experiences and illuminates the objects, and which remains immortal and
always the same.
In a dialogue between the teacher Prajapati and the pupil Indra, narrated in the
chandogya Upanisad, we find a progressive development in the definition of self
through the four stages of 1) the bodily self or the waking 2) the empirical self or the
dreaming 3) the transcendental self or deep dreamless sleep and 4) the absolute self or
turiya. What is the nature of the self of man, his central being? the self which is free
from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires
nothing but what it ought to desire and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagines
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, that it is which we must try to understand. The gods and the demons, the dialogue
tells us, sent Indra and Virochana respectively, to Prajapati to learn the teaching about
the self. The teacher asked them to undergo penance for thirty two years to qualify
themselves to receive the teaching. After fulfilling the prescribed condition, both come
to prajapati who teaches them that the self in indeed he who is seen when, you look into
anothers eye or a pail of water or a mirror. It is suggested that we observe a picture
even to the very hairs and nails. To indicate that it is not the self, Prajapati asks Indra to
adorn himself put on the best clothes and look again into the water and the mirror, and
he sees his likeness well adorned with best clothes and clean. Virochana was satisfied
and went away. But Indra began to think thus. How can the self be the reflection of the
body? Or , how can it be identified with the body, itself? As this self in the shadow
or the water is well adorned when the body is well adorned, well dressed when the
body is well dressed, well cleaned when the body is well cleaned, that self will also be
blind if the body is blind, lame if the body is lame, crippled if the body is crippled, and
perish, if fact, as soon as the body perishes. I see no good in this. Indra approaches
his teacher Prajapati, and after another long interval is told he who moves about
happy in dreams is the self. The true self is not the body which is exposed to all
suffering and imperfections, which is a material phenomenon. The body is only an
instrument used by consciousness, while consciousness is not the product of the body.
And now Indra is told that the dreaming subject is the self, but he feels another
difficulty. Though it is true that self is not rendered faulty by faults of body, not struck
when it is struck nor lamed when it is lamed, yet it is as if they struck him in dreams, as
if they chased him. He becomes even conscious as it were of pain and sheds tears,
therefore I see no good in this. Indra again returns to prajapati and tells him his
doubts, and after a long time is taught. when a man being asleep, reposing and at
perfect rest, sees no dreams, that is the self. Indra has to be taught that the object of
experience require a permanent subject by which they could be experienced. To enable
Indra to realize that the self is the subject of all experiences, Prajapati employs the
method of abstraction which has its own disadvantages. Prajapati tries to bring out
the absolute supremacy of the subject over the object, the truth of yajnavalkyas
statement that even when all objects are extinguished, the subject persists in its own
light. when the sun has set, when the moon has set, and when the fire is put out, the
self alone is his light. Indra felt that this self, freed from all bodily experience, from the
shapeless mass of dreams, etc, this object less self, is a barren fiction. If the self is not
what it knows , feels and reacts upon, if it is divorced from it and thus emptied of its
content, what remains? Nothing, said Indira. To be free from everything is to be
nothing. The self, he thinks, in deep sleep reduces itself to mere abstraction. There are
no objects to be felt, to be known to be enjoyed. This self appears to be absolutely
unconscious-knowing nothing feeling nothing, willing nothing. It is a zero, a cipher I
see no good in this. Indra shows the risks in conceiving the self as a transcendental
one. The self must be shown to be the true life of the whole, and not a mere
abstraction. And again he approaches prajapati and tells him his doubts. The teacher
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is now very much pleased with the ability of the disciple and now follows the real
teaching. Dear Indra. The body is not the self, thou it exists for the self. The dreamexperiences are not the self, though they have a meaning only for the self. The self is
not an abstract formal principle of deep sleep too. The eye, the body, the mental states,
the presentation continuum, the stream of consciousness are all mere instruments and
objects of the self. The self is the ground of waking, dream and sleep states and yet it
transcends them all. The self is universal, immanent as well as transcendent. The
whole universe lives and moves and breathes in it. It is immortal, self luminous, self
proved and beyond doubts and denials, as the very principle which makes all doubts,
denials and thoughts possible. It is the ultimate subject which can never become an
object and which is to be necessarily presupposed by all knowledge. There is no
second outside it, no other distinct term. The self is the whole. Indeed am this whole
universe. This fundamental identity, which is the presupposition of both self and notself is called the Atman. None can doubts it reality.
The Mandukhya Upanisads gives us an analysis of consciousness leading to the
same conclusion. The soul has three condition which are all included in a fourth. They
are waking, dreaming, sleeping, and what is called turiya. The first condition is that of
wakefulness, where the self is conscious of the common world of external objects. It
enjoys the gross things. Here the dependence on the body is predominant. It is called
Vishva. The second condition is that of dreaming, where the self enjoys subtle things,
fashions for itself a new world of forms with the materials of its waking experience and
is called Taijasa. The third is the condition of sound sleep, where we have neither
dreams nor desires. It is called susupti. The soul is said to become temporarily one
with Brahman and enjoy bliss. Here the self is called prajna. The mandukya
upanisad prints out that the highest is not this dreamless sleep, but another, a fourth
state of the soul, a pure intuitional consciousness, where there is no knowledge of
objects internal or external. It is called Turiya. The fourth is not that which is conscious
of the subjective, nor that which is conscious of objective nor that which is conscious of
both, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is an all sentient mass,
nor that which is all darkness. It is unscen, transcendent, in apprehensible, uninferable,
unthinkable, indescribable, the sole essence of the consciousness of self, the completion
of the world, the ever peaceful, all blissful, the one unit, this indeed is the Atman. It is
symblised by the Aumkara, with its parts of A-U-M, the waking, the dreaming and the
sleeping states. This self is the common ground of all these states. It manifests, itself in
these three states and yet in its own nature it transcends them all.
BRAHMAN
We may now proceed to define the ultimate reality from the objective side, when
it is called Brahman. The word is derived from the root Brh which means to grow or
to evolve. In the beginning it meant sacrifice, then prayer and then it acquired its
present meaning of ultimate reality which evolves itself as this world. Brahman is that
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which spontaneously bursts forth as nature and soul. It is the ultimate cause of this
universe. In the chandogya, it is cryptically described as Tajjalan,- as that(tat) which the
world arises(ja), into which it returns (la), and by which it is supported and it lives(an).
In the taittiriya upanisad in chapter iii the Brahman is defined as that from which
these beings are born, that in which when born they live, and that into which they enter
at their death, that is Brahman. The evolution of the elements is given in this order.
From Brahman arises ether, from ether air, from air fire, from fire water and from
water earth. But the real theory of evolution is given in the doctrine of five sheaths
(koshas) in the Taittiriya.
The lowest level is that of matter. Annam
Brahma(annamaya) matter is unconscious and dead and cannot account for life. It is
purely on the physical plane. Brahman cannot rest content with matter. The purpose of
matter is fulfilled only when life is evolved. The highest state of matter is therefore
life. Though matter cannot account for life, yet there can be no life without matter. The
inorganic matter must be transformed into organic life. Hence the second state of
evolution is life. Prana is Brahma(pranamaya). Now we are on the biological plane.
The vegetable life emerges first but the vegetable life must lead to the animal life. The
vegetable products must be transformed into living animal cells. Life provides the
universe and binds man with the rest of creation. But the destiny of life is fulfilled only
when consciousness is evolved. Hence the third state of evolution is mind or
perceptual consciousness. Manas is Brahma(manomaya). Here we are on the mental
or psychological plane. This state is shared by lower animals with man. Even this will
not suffice, for there are intellectual facts which mere perceptual consciousness does not
take into account. Hence the fourth state of evolution is self-conscious reason. Vijnana
or intelligence is Brahma(vijnanamaya). Here we are on the metaphysical plane. This
state is the sole monopoly of human beings. Reason becomes self-conscious only at this
state and this fact distinguishes human beings from lower animals. The empirical
trinity of knower, knowledge and known has been evolved. But even this will not
suffice. There must be something higher than mere intellect, where existence is no
longer formulated in terms of knowledge. The unity of existence requires that we must
transcend the intellectual level. Reality is different from thought, and can be reached in
the turiya state of highest immediacy, which trcenscends thought and its distinctions,
where the individual coincides with the central reality. The fifth and the highest state of
evolution, therefore, is the non-dual bliss. Ananada is Brahma(anandamaya). Here we
are on the mystic plane.
The empirical trinity of knower, known and knowledge has
been fused into a transcendental unity. Here philosophy terminates, the suggestion
being that there is nothing higher than ananda. From it all things flow. By it all things
are sustained, and into it all things are dissolved. As all spokes are contained in the
axle and the wheel, so all beings, all gods, all world, all organs are contained in the
universal self the Brahman.
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This Brahman is described in two ways in the upanisads. Cosmic and acosmic.
It is called cosmic, all-comprehensive, full of all good qualities-saprapaneha, saguna,
and savisesa. And it is also called acosmic, quality less, indeterminate, indescribable.
Nisprapancha, Nirguna, Nirvisesa and Anirvacaniya. This distinction is the root of the
celebrated distinction made by sankaracharya between God and the absolute. The
former is called lower Brahman(apara Brahma) or Isvara, and the latter higher Brahman
(para Brahma) or the absolute.
The cosmic Brahman is regarded as the cause of production, maintenance and
destruction of this universe. All beings arise from Him, live in Him and are absorbed
in Him. The mandukya calls Him the Lord of all, the knower of all, the inner controller
of all. Like sparks arising from fire, like earthen-ware arising out of earth, like gold
ornaments being made out of gold, like cob-web coming out of a spider, like the
musical sound coming out of a flute, the entire creation arises out of Brahman. Just as
when clay is known everything made out of clay becomes known, for it is only name
and form similarly when Brahman, the cause is known, everything , being a mere effect,
becomes known, for the effects are only names and forms, the reality is Brahman alone.
The acosmic Brahman is the transcendental absolute, the Turiya or the fourth, the
Amatra or the measureless, the Anirvachaniya or the indescribable. The absolute can be
best described only in a negative way, though it is not itself negated by it. Yajnavalkya
describes it thus. This is the imperishable, O Gargi, which wise people adore and not
gross, not subtle, not short, not long, without shadow, without darkness without air,
without space, without attachment without taste, without smell, without sight, without
ears without speech, without mind, without light, without breath, without mouth, and
without either inside or outside. It does not eat anything nor can anything eat it. The
negative description of Brahman does not mean that it is a blank nothingness. It only
signifies that the absolute cannot adequately be represented by the categories known
to human thought. It is not this, not this(Netineti). The best possible description
gives is succidanada(sat- cit -ananda). Sat means existence which points to the eternal
nature of the absolute compared to things of temporal existence. Cit means
consciousness which shows that it is spiritual. The last epilthet ananda stands for the
blissful nature of the reality. The terms are interpreted also as satyam(truth),
jnanam(knowledge) and anantam(infinite) respectively. The Brhadaranyaka describes
Brahman as the Real of the real(Satyasya Satyam).
THE INDIVIDUAL SELF OR SOUL
The Upanisads make out that of finite objects the individual self or soul has the
highest reality. The individual soul is called jiva from the root jiv which means to
live. Both according to the cosmic and the acosmic views, the individual is not
different in essence from the absolute spirit. The analogy of the two birds is given, not
to teach the jiva and Brahman are different , but to show what make for their apparent
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difference. Two birds, akin and friends, cling to the self-same tree, one of them eats
the sweet berry, but the other gazen upon him without eating. In the same tree- the
world tree-man dwells along with God with troubles over whelmed, he faints and
grieves at his own helplessness. But when he sees the other, the Lord in whom he
delights-ah, what glory is his, his troubles pass away. The Kalha upanisad compares
the supreme self and the individual soul to light and shade respectively. The prasna
says, from the Atman this life is born just as there is this shadow in the case of a
person, so is this connected there with (i.e the Atman). Thus it will be seen that what
makes for the state of jiva is the apparent conditioning of the self by a complex of body
and mind. It is these latter that account for the souls transmigration and travail.
In the Taittiriya doctrines of Kosas, five sheaths of the soul are mentioned
annarasamaya, which is the outer most sheath made of food viz the physical body.
Pranamaya the sheaths of vital airs manomaya, the sheaths of mind, vijnanemaya the
sheaths of intellect and anandamaya, the sheaths of bliss. In later Vedanta, the first is
also known as the grossbody(sthirta-sariga), the next three constitute the subtle
body(saksma sarira), and the last is called the causal body(karma sarira) viz. ignorance
or nescience(avidya). These together constitute the empirical home of the soul. Being
conditioned by these, the soul becomes the subject of experience and enjoyment. The
katha upanisads compares the self to the lord of the chariot, the body to the chariot, the
intellect to the charioteer, the mind to the reins, the senses to the horses, and the senseobject to the roads, and it adds that the individual soul as associated with the body, the
senses and mind, is the experiment or enjoyer(bhoktr). In all experience and
enjoyment, the mind or manas, of course, is the central factor. The body and the breath,
which are graded below manas, are respectively the physical basis of the souls activity
and enjoyoment, and the principle of life which makes for the animation of the body.
The Vijnannamaya and the anandamaya which are higher than the manomaya
represent the moral and the supra moral levels of experience.
The soul, in the view of the Upanisads, is not born with the body, nor does it
perish therewith. The wise one(i.e. the soul) is not born, nor does it die. This one has
not came from any where, nor has it become any one. Unborn, constant, external,
primeval, this one is not slain when the body is slain. What happens at death is only
the decease of the physical body. The soul migrates from life to life, being conditioned
by the cause of such migration, viz ignorance and by the instrument which enables it to
migrate, viz the subtle body. The Mundaka Upanisad analyses three states of existence
of the jive-waking, dream and deep sleep. In the waking state, the mind and the sense
organs are fully active and the jiva is in contact with the external world. This state of
existence is known as Jagrat and the jiva in this state is known as Vaisvanasa. In the
dream state, the sense organs are at rest, only the mind functions and this state is
known as svapna. The jiva in this state is known taijasa. In deep sleep or dreamless
sleep known as swapti, both the mind and the senses are at rest. In this stat the jiva
enjoys bliss, but avidya is not destroyed, and in this state the jiva is known as prajna.
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THE PRACTICAL TEACHINGS

The practical teaching of the Upanisads is devised to bring about Brahman
realization. It aims at the rectification of our thoughts and of our deeds. Broadly
speaking, the course of discipline prescribed comprises two states. Cultivation of
detachment(Vairagya) and acquisition of knowledge(Jnana).
1.
Cultivation of detachment(Vairagya)
The prime object of Upanisadic discipline is the removal of aham-kara, which is

the basis of all evil, and vairagya is the name given to the attitude towards the world
which results from the successful eradication of the narrow selfish impulses for which it
stands. Its accomplishment necessarily presupposes a large course of training through
the three asramas or disciplinary stages-those of the religious student (brahma-carya),
the house holder(garhasthya) and the anchorite(vanaprastha)-so far as they were
understood at the time. As the very word asrama(toil) means, they are stages of strife
when selfreshness is slowly but steadily rooted out. This training leads to samanyasa
but we should remember that the term does not yet bear in the Upanisads its present
significance of a formal stage in the spiritual ascent of man. It there means only the
transcending of the triple mode of asrama life and is regarded as a consequence of
Brahma-knowledge rather than a means of attaining it. In the latter sense, Samnyasa
appears comparatively late. The Upanisads, while fully recognizing the value of this
preparatory training, do not ordinarily dwell at length upon it. They rather take it for
granted and address themselves to such as have already successfully undergone that
training and have acquired vairagya.
2.
Acquisition of Knowledge (jnana)
Evil being due to a misconception of the nature of reality, its removal can be only
through right knowledge and if the cultivation of detachment is also laid down as
necessary, it is only to render the acquisition of such knowledge possible. Detachment
is a precondition of right knowledge. The training of this second stage is three fold:
Sravana,Manana and Nididhyasana.
Sravana stands for the study of the Upanisads under a proper guru. He that has
a teacher knows. It defines the place of precept and tradition in the training. It also
means that the influence of an ideal is never so great on us as when we are brought into
personal contact with one who is a living embodiment of that ideal. Though necessary,
sravana is not enough, so it is supplemented by manana or continued reflection upon
what has there been learnt with a view to get an intellectual conviction regarding it.
This training is to be further supplemented by Nididhyasana or meditation, which
assists directly in the realization, within oneself of the unity underlying the multiplicity
of the Universe. Nididhyasa is the highest form of meditation and is possible only after
considerable practice in concentration of thought. Hence the Upanisads prescribe
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several meditative exercises of a preliminary character. They are called upasanas. In

upasana, the thought may be directed wholly out wards and two selected objects, both
external may be mentally identified as in the meditation of the universe as a horse
alluded to above, or only one external object may be chosen and it may be thought of as
identical with the contemplatives own self. There is one important difference between
the two forms of meditation while the former affords exercise only in concentration, the
latter gives scope in addition, to the cultivation of sympathetic imagination. The power
to place oneself in the portion of another. It accordingly serves as a more direct aid to
Brahman-realization, where in also what is contemplated, viz Brahman is to be
identified with the contemplatives self. Again the objects of contemplation may be
real object or only symbols. Among real objects which the disciple is asked to think of
as one with Brahman, we often find conceptions which were once taken for ultimate
reality itself, but which in course of time, as philosophic thought progressed, were
superseded by higher conceptions. Such for insistence is the cases with prana, which
marked an actual stage in the evolution of the conception of the absolute. Among the
symbols used for Brahman may be mentioned the famous OM, the mystic syllable
which finds a very important place in the upanisads. Whatever form these meditations
may take, they prepare the disciple for the final m ode of contemplation as Aham
Brahmaasmi(I am Brahman). When a person that has morally purified himself and has
after formal study and reflection convinced himself intellectually of the truth of unity
succeeds through nididhyasana in transforming. What was here to fore known only
meditatively into an immediate certainty, he attain the spiritual goal. It is however,
only a very few that can achieve this goal. The Upanisads themselves refer to a knower
of Brahman as a rarity.
MOKSA OR RELEASE
Moksa or Release is the goal of every man, and release consist in the souls
freedom from the need to be reborn. There are two views in the Upanisads regarding
the nature of the goal. One view is that Moksa is attainable only after death that is,
Videha mukti. The other view is that it can be attained while one is alive. It is known
as jivanmuki. According to this view, since moksa is the state in which ignorance is
dispelled by knowledge of the true self, and for this one need not wait until the death of
the body.
Is the highest state of religious realization, the atonement with the supreme god
head, a mere vanishing into nothingness? The upanisad view is that there is in the
highest condition a disintegration of individuality, a giving up of selfish isolation, but it
is not a mere nothing or death. As the flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their
name and form thus a wise man, freed from name and form, gives to the divine person
who is beyond all. The liberated condition must be looked upon as the fullest
expression of the self.
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The highest is a state of rapture and ecstasy, a condition of ananda, where the
creature as creature is abolished, but becomes one with the creator, or more accurately
realises his oneness with Him. We cannot describe this perfection adequately we use
symbols. The nature of eternal life is a condition of ananda or freedom, a state of joyous
expansion of the soul, where heaven and earth are felt to flow together.
There are passages where the individual is said to become one with the highest.
The pranava is the bow, the Atman is the arrow, and the Brahman is said to be its
mark. It should be hit by one who is self-collected, and that which hits becomes like
the arrow, one with the mark, that is Brahman. Here absolute identity between the
soul and Brahman is asserted. Aham Brahmaasmi. The knower of Brahmanbecomes
Brahman. Brahmavid Brahmaivabhavati. There is no sense of individuality, and there
is no possibility of action in the highest state when Yajnavalkya explains it to Maitreys
in the words. As a lump of salt which is thrown into the water dissolves and cannot
be gathered up again, but wherever water is drawn, it is salty, so truly is it with this
great being, the endless, the unlimited, the fullness of knowledge from these beings it
came into view and with them it vanishes. There is no consciousness after death.
According to the chandogya, immortality is lifting oneself up to the region of the deity
Mundaka holds it to be the companionship with God. Absolute likness with God is
also suggested.
All most all Indian thinkers are agreed that moksa is release from birth and
death. Union with God is another name for becoming eternal. When eternity is
translated into the terms of the phenomenal world, it becomes birth lessness and death
lessness.
OBJECTIVES
1.
To introduce the main teachings of the Upanisads
2.
To introduce the concepts Atman and Brahman
3.
To introduce the concept of jiva
4.
To introduce the concept moksa
SUMMARY
The teaching of the Upanisads represents the final aim or goal of the Vedas.
The Upanisads are the foundation on which several of the later philosophies and
religions of India rest. Brahman and Atman are the terms used in the Upanisads to
stand for the ultimate reality. In the Upanisads, we have not only religious and
metaphysical ideas about the ultimate reality but also ways and means of attaining
them. The practical teaching of the Upanisads is devised to bring about Brahman
realization.
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FAQS
1.
Elucidate the nature of jiva
The individual soul is called jiva. Both according to the cosmic and acosmic
views, the individual is not different in essence from the absolute spirit. The Katha
Upanisads compares the supreme self and the individual soul to light and shade
respectively. In its empirical condition, the jiva has an out fit of three bodies. Sthula,
Suksma and Karana Sarira. A more elaborate analysis of the soul is found in the
Taittiriya as the doctrines of Kosas(sheaths)- Annmaya, pranamaya, manomaya,
vijnanamaya and Aandamaya.
2.
Explain the practical teaching of the Upanisads
The practical teaching of the Upanisads is devised to bring about Brahm

realization. The course of life that a man should adopt in order to attain moksa is out
lined in the Upanisads. The course of discipline prescribed comprises two states. The
first requirement is detachment (vairagya) and the second requirement is a high degree
of ethical culture or moral purity. It is renunciation or tyaga or wordly desires and
pursuits. But the direct means of liberation in jnana. The actual training which directly
aims at self realization consists of three steps, namely, sravana, manana and
nidhidhyasana..
REFERENCES
1.
C.D.Sharma
- A Critical Survey of Indian philosophy
2.
Dr.S.Radhakrishnan - Indian philosophy(Vol. I)
3.
M. Hiriyanna
- Out lines of Indian philosophy
GLOSSARY
1.
Moksa
2.
Vairagya
3.
Avidya
4.
Jiva
5.
Ananda
- Liberation
- Detachment
- Ignorance
- Soul
- Bliss
UNIT IV
THE BHAGAVAD GITA
INTRODUCTION
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Bhagavad-Gita is more a religious classic than philosophical treaties. It gives

answers and directions to the aspirations of the pilgrims of all sects who seek their inner
way to the city of God. The teaching of the Gita is not presented as a metaphysical
system thought out by an individual thinker or school of thinkers. It is set forth as a
tradition which has emerged from the religious life of mankind. The Bhagavad-Gita is
later than the great movement represented by the early Upanisads and earlier than the
period of the development of the philosophic systems and their formulation in sutras.
Its date may be assigned to the fifth century B.C. though the text may have received
many alterations in subsequent times. We do not know the name of the author of the
Gita. The authorship of the Gita is attributed to Vyasa, the legendary compiler of the
Mahbhrata. The eighteen Chapters of the Gita are from the chapters 23-40 of the
Bhismaparva of the Mahbhrata. Mahbhrata belongs to the Bhgavat group of
Vaisnava religion. It is said that the Bhagavad-Gita must have been a separate poem of
Vaisnavism and latter adopted or added to the Mahbhrata.
The Bhagavad Gita consists of eighteen chapters. They are as follows.
1. The Hesitation and despondency of Arjuna
2. Samkhya theory and yoga practice
3. Karma yoga or the method of work
4. The way of knowledge
5. True Renunciation
6. The true yoga
7. God and the world
8. The course of cosmic evolution
9. The lord is more than his creation
10. God is the source of all, to lawn Him is to know all
11. The Lords Transfiguration
12. Worship of the personal Lord is better than meditation of the absolute
13. The body called the held, the soul called the knower of the field and
discrimination between them.
14. The mystical father of all beings
15. The tree of life
16. The nature of the God like and the Demoniac mind
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17. The Three modes applied to religious phenomena

18. Conclusion
Bhagavad gita literally means The lords song ie. The philosophical
discourse of Lord Krishna to persuade the reluctant Arjuna to fight. It is said to be
the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known
tongue. The poet makes the teacher the very God descended into humanity. He is
supposed to address Arjuna, the representative man, at a great crisis in his life. In the
beginnings we find Arjuna horrified at the thought that he has to fight with his
relatives and friends and he says to Krishna that he can foresee no advantage in
killing relatives and he flatly refuses to fight. The mood of despair in which Arjuna is
found in the first chapter of the Gita is what the mystics call the dark night of the soul,
an essential step in the up word path. The further stages of illumination and
realization are found in the course of the dialogue. From the second chapter onwards
we have a philosophical analysis. The essential thing in man is not the body or the
sense but the changeless spirit. The mind of Arjuna is switched on to a new path.
The life of the soul is symbolized by the battle fields of Kuruksetra, and the
Kauravas are the enemies who impede the progress of the soul. The opening chapter
shown great insight into the heart of man, its conflict of motives, the force of
selfishness and the subtle whisperings of the Evil one. As the dialogue proceeds the
dramatic element disappears. The echoes of the battle field die away, and we have
only an interview between God and man. The chariot of war becomes the lonely cell
of meditation, a corner of the battle-field where the Voices of the world are stilled, a
fit place for thoughts on the supreme.
Some people have tried to read in the Gita a cult of murder. But this simply
shows to what extent a noble worked can be misinterpret . To fight against evils is
the duty of man. To make the situation poignant relatives and beloved friends and
revered elders stand on both sides and Arjuna has to vindicate his claim, he has to
follow his Svabhava and Svadharma. It is a significant fact that though Lord Krishna
in the beginning repeatedly asks Arjuna to fight, in the end when the teaching has
been imparted to him, the lord simply says Do as yo please. Krishna undertakes to
remove Arjunas narrowness of out look born out of ignorance by giving him the light
of knowledge. The teaching is not for him alone. Treating Arjunas predicament as
an occasion, the Lord expounds his message to the whole of humanity.
Some argue that Gita has no central teaching as such for it gives very many
spiritual principles and moral cords without any focus. But it is not true. The aim of
the Bhagavad-Gita was to show a definite and clear path to Arjuna. After hearing the
Gita he admitted that all his doubts were removed. If so, how can it be said that the
Gita has no central teaching? Very many scholars agree that the central teaching of the
Gita is Karmayoga, particularly Niskmakarmayoga i.e., self-less activity.
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The central teaching of the Bhagavad gita is the same as that of the Upanisads.
Sankara in his commentary on the Gita, describes the text as containing the
quintessence of all vedic teachings. A popular verse compares the Upanisads to the
cows, Shri Krishna to the cow-herd, Arjuna to the calf, the Gita to the celestial milk and
good people to be partakers of the milk. The central teaching of the Gita can be
beautifully summarized in this sentence of Annie Besant. it is meant to lift the aspirant
from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier
highest where desires are dead, and where the yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless
contemplation, while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the
duties that fall to his lot in life . The gita tries to build up a philosophy of karma based
on Jnana and supported by Bhakti in a beautiful manner.
The Gita represent a unique synthesis of action, Devotion and knowledge. Man is
a complex of intellect, will and emotion, he is a being who thinks wills and feels.
Intellect has given rise to the philosophy of knowledge, will to the philosophy of
Action, and emotion to the philosophy of devotion. Modern psychology teach us that
these three aspects of mind are distinguishable by in thought and not divisible in
reality. There is no water tight division separating one from the rest. The teaching of
the Gita is in keeping with this view. To quote Dr.S.Radhakrishnana The absolute
reveals itself to those seeking for knowledge as the eternal light, clear and radiant as
the sun at noon-day; to those struggling for virthue as the Eternal Righteousness, stead
fast and impartial, and to those emotionally inclined as Eternal Love and Beauty of
holiness. Different people attain the same goal of salvation by these three different
paths of knowledge, action and devotion.
KARMA YOGA
To understand what exactly is meant by the expression karma-yoga, it is
necessary to consider the two terms constituting it: karma and yoga.
Karma literally means What is done or aa deed and it is from the root kri. This is
the general meaning of the term. But it also signifies that particular form of activity
which is taught in the liturgical portion of Vedic literature, that is, sacrifice. But the
most common significance by which this term is ued is to denote those duties that are in
accordance with custom and tradition. That is to say, the duties pertaining to each
individual, according to each ones varna and shrama. This would mean, fulfilling
ones social obligations. And again with a fourth meaning this term is used in the
Gita,i.e divine worship and the devotional acts connected with it such as prayer. When
the word karma is used in the context of the Gita all these meanings should be there in
our mind, of course, with a special emphasis on social obligations. The word yoga is
from the root word yuj, which means to join or the act of joining. It means, joining
together or yoking together or combining together the parts so that by the combined
effort some higher purpose may be achieved. Thus the word karma-yoga would
mean, adjoin oneself to the discharge of obligations so that some higher result is
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obtained. This would popularly mean devotion or commitment to the discharge of

social obligations. Now the meaning karma yoga has got two parts and which need
explanation:.
1)What is the nature of social obligations to which one has to commit oneself? 2) How
one should commit oneself in the doing of his social obligations? As the answer for the
first question the Gita explains theory of svadharma, and for the second question
niskmakarma.
SVADHDARMA
The term sva-dharma means duties of ones own, the specific duties
according to ones varna-social class-and ashrama-stages of life. But though the general
meaning implies both varna and ashrama, the Gita uses this term to indicate varnasystem alone. It does not mean that by karma the Gita mean only varna dharma, but
rather it gives special emphasis and explanation for varna dharma. Duties of ashramas
and those which are common to everyone, which is known as samanya dharma also are
included here. Thus svadharma means, duties assigned to each class of the society.
The society was divided in to four classes: Brahmana, Ksatirya, Vaisya and Sudra.
Those included in the group of Brahmana are men of learning and who has to perform
rituals and sacrifices for the society. Ksatriyas are suppose to be the people of great
dynamism and courage and their dutyis to protect the country from enemies and thus
to rule the country. Vaisyas are business men and they have to take care of the
economic well fare of the society. Sudras are those who do the manual work. The Gita
has dealt varna system as one of the principal themes and has given adequate and
reasonable explanation for its institution. Though many Hindu scriptures makes
mention of them, all of then agree with the Gita.
SCRIPTURAL SANCTION FOR VARNA DHARMA DIVISION OF SOCIETY
The origin of the concept of varnadharma and the division of the society
accordingly is found in the Vedas, - in Purusa Sukta of the Rig Veda- though it later
underwent much transformation in the hands of the Hindu law givers. The BhagavadGita says that the Lord Himself divided human beings into four groups, determined by
their actions and virtues. It advocates very much of the following of it. At a very start it
has spoken of the duty, rule and function of the Ksatriya as Arjuinas own law of action,
varnadharma; it has proceeded to lay it down with a striking emphasis that own ones
duty or function should be observed and followed. Ones own natural work is better
even if it looks from some other point of view defective. One does not incur sin or stain
when one acts in the true spirit of work and in agreement with the law of ones own
nature.
VARNADHARMA AND SVABHAVA
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Now let us see the meaning of the term svabhava. Sva-bhava means ones won
nature. One of the important teachings of the Gita with regard to svadharma is that it is
based on svabhabva. That is to say, the division as four classes is not determined by
birth or heredity but is based on the character or the very nature of each one. Every
person is unique. Everyone has got inborn inequalities. The varna system recognizes
this fact of inevitable difference in svabhava and thus formulates its division of society.
Now we have seen that the nature(svabhava) of every individual is different or unique.
What is the reason for such an inborn inequality or uniqueness. The reason provided
by the Gita is that the difference in the character of every person is determined by the
difference in the proportion of three gunas(qualities), i.e., satva, rajas and thamas.
According to Hindu principle, especially for Samkhya philosophy, there are
there fundamental qualities or gunas which is present in every individual. Those are
satva, rajas and thamas. These three gunas are the constituents of prakrti, which is the
material stuff of the universe out of which everything in the universe-of course,
including the human beings is created. Satva is the principle of all that is positive, and
rajas is the principle of dynamism and thams is that of dullness. The difference in the
character and personality of every individual is due to the varying proportion of these
qualities. Due to this we find different type of character and action. As per Sankaras
elaboration (Sankara, The Gitabhasya) those in whom satva is predominant is grouped
and named as Brahmana. Those in whom rajas is predominant and satva is secondary
are given a collective name Ksatriya. Those in whom rajas predominates and tamas
occupies the secondary position are Vaisya. The group in whom tamas predominates
and rajas is secondary in Sudra. The leaving of some guna or gunas unmentioned in
each case, is not that they are totally absent, but they are present only minimally. The
three gunas are the constituent of prakriti, the primal matter, and nothing worldly can
remain devoid of any one of them.
The nature(svabhava) of an individual, belonging to any varna, is determined by
his guna complex. Thus the nature, or natural property, of a Brahmana who is satva
dominated, is tranquility(santhi), that of a Ksatriya, who is rajas dominated with satva
is subordinated to his rajasika nature is lordliness, that of a Vaisysa, who is rajas
dominated to his thamasika nature, industriousness, and that of a Sudra who is tamas
dominated with rajas subordinated to his tamasika nature dullness. The duties of the
individuals of the each varna is determined in accordance with their nature.
Now a deeper question remains. Why at all there is difference in the proportion
of gunas in the self? What is the reason for such a difference in the distribution of gunas
among the individual human selves? The Gitas answer to this question is the doctrine
of karma. According to the Indian theory of karma, which the Gita recognizes, a mans
inborn nature and course of life are essentially determined by his own past lives.
According to the merit one has acquired during his past life he will get a better self
with satva dominated or worse self which is dominated by rajas or thamas. Thus
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uniqueness of the person, whether positive or negative, cannot depend solely on the
material factor of his ancestry, parentage, physical birth. The person himself is
responsible for his present state of self.
If this is the case, another problem has to be settled. If the nature of every person
is pre-determined, he cannot but act the other way than his nature which is already
determined demands from him. It becomes merely his fate to be condemned in this
way or that way to behave. Thus all moral responsibility should cease and self-effort
becomes meaningless.
But Hindu philosophy gives adequate answer to it. In considering this object, it
is necessary to remember that every deed that we do leads to double result. It not only
produces what may be termed its direct result- the pain or pleasure following from it
but it also establishes in us a tendency to repeat the same deed in the future. This
tendency is termed samskara, and the direct fruit of the karma is known as its phala.
Every deed is bound to yield its phala; even the gods cannot prevent it from doing so.
But that is all the necessity involved in the karma theory. As regards the samskaras, on
the other hand, we have within us the full power of control so that we may regu.ate
them as they tend to express themselves in action. There is thus nothing in the doctrine
which either eliminates responsibility or invalidates self effort. The necessity that
governs the incidence of the direct fruit or phala and renders escape from it impossible ,
so far form unnerving us should stimulate us exertion. It must enable us to work for
the future with confidence, unmindful of what may happen in the present as the result
of our past actions over which we have no longer any control. The important point
about the karma doctrine then is that paradoxical though it may seem, it inspires us
with hope and resignation towards what may occur in the present.
Thus from the two points discussed above it is clear that it is not the birth that
determined to which group one includes, but rather it is the inner nature or svabhava.
Gita speaks indeed that the inclusion of a person in a particular class and the work born
assigned to him are sahajam karma(the word sahaja means that which is born with us).
The work or function of a man is determined by his svabhava, svabhavajam karma, and
regulated by his svabhava. This emphasis on the inner quality of and spirit which finds
expression in work, function and action is the whole sense of the Gitas idea of karma.
VARNADHARMA: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS

So far we have been trying to explain what is meant by svadharma, and
svabhava and their interrelations. Now it has got a double application with its double
aspects: personal(individual) and social.
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We have already seen that the varnadharma is the innate character of the very
being of individual. One can attain perfection if he is in harmony with his inner
nature. Competing against the fundamental nature will never produce self-satisfaction
but rather inner dispute and dissatisfaction. Thus a man who devotes himself to his
own natural work in life acquires spiritual perfection. The Gitas injunction is to
worship the Divine by our own work, sarva- karmanan; necessarily means our offering
must be the works determined by our own law of being and nature. Because it is the
divine will of god operated through the law of karma that has determined our nature
and thus each ones class. To worship him with our karma is to make our whole life
a sacrifice of work to the highest is to prepare ourselves to become one with him in all
our will and substance and nature. Our work should be in accordance with the truth
within us. It should not be an accommodation with outward and artificial standards: it
must be a living and sincere expression of the soul and its inborn powers Svadharma, as
we have seen is a classification of the society based on differing nature of the
individual. This varna system, of applied with right motive, will become one of the
best principle for an ideal society. Now let us explore its further social significance.
SVABHAVA AND SOCIAL NEED
Thus on the one side there are individuals of differing temperaments, and on the
other, are the various types of functions in society- each one requiring distinct
qualities. To the extent the above two needs are organically related, there is the
securing of the individuals efficient performance of duties.
The varna classification seems to be based on the division of human beings in to
four distinct categories- each one comprehending individuals with similar qualities.
The classification represents the dominant and not the exclusive characteristics of the
individuals comprising the group. The possession of the various qualities indicates the
aptitudes of the individuals for specific duties. The recognition of the fundamental
differences in the qualities and abilities of men provides ample evidence of the deep
psychological insight that the Hindu philosophers possessed for classifying human
beings.
VARNADHARMA FOR SOCIAL UNITY AND WELFARE
In the Vedas the four castes have their own special superiority. No caste is
inferior to any other. In the Vedas the four castes are described as four important parts
of the body of the Cosmic Person; the head, the arms, the thigh, and the feet. This
analogy suggests the interdependence of the four castes for the common welfare of all;
it also suggests that the exploitation of one by another undermines the strength of the
whole of society. Hence it is not only that every section of society is important but also
indispensible for the welfare of the society as such. Though the different groups
carryout different functions, they are bound by a sense of unity and brotherhood since
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each group is not working for its own sake but is contributing its fruits of its labor to
society.
NISKMAKARMA
Now let us come to the second question. How one should commit oneself in the
doing of his social obligations? Towards answering the question how one has to apply
himself in his obligations, Gita would say do your duties without any selfish motive;
without seeking any reward from what you have done, which termed as
Niskmakarma-karma (nis=not, or without, kma-desire, karma =action) which is in
opposition to sa-kma-karma. Our devotion should be to the duties alone and never to
its phala. An important consequence of following this principle of action is that one can
act with complete equanimity. Desire or self-interest when allowed to have a sway over
us may blind us to what is right. This teaching, that we ought to engage ourselves in
our work as members of social order in the usual way and yet banish from our mind all
thoughts of deriving any personal benefit, is the meaning of karma yoga and
constitutes the specific message of the Gita. In karma-yoga the idea of the result must
be totally dismissed from the mind of the doer before as well as during the act.
To understand the importance of the teaching of niskmakarma, one would be
aware of the social context and the prevalent ideals at the time of the formation of the
Gita. There were two opposing views; one is the negative ideal of renunciation, which
is known as nivrti and the other is positive one of active life, known as pravrti. Nivrti
advocated giving up of all karma and withdrawing from the world. Pravrti
recommended living in the midst of society undertaking all the obligations implied
thereby; but it did not exclude the element of selfishness altogether . The object of
Gita is to discover the golden mean between the two ideals of pravrti and nivrti, or
action or contemplation, preserving the excellence of both. Karma yoga is such a mean.
While it does not abandon activity, it reserves the spirit of renunciation. Thus it
discards neither idea, but by combining them refines and ennobles both. In other words
the Gita teaching stands not for renunciation of action(naiskarma) but for
renunciation in action(niskmakarma).
Do the duty without any motive (disinterested activity). But, actually is it
possible? Disinterested activity in the literal sense of the expression is a psychological
impossibility, to insist upon it in the name of morality is to reduce life to a meaningless
drudgery. A specific feature of all voluntary deeds is that, they are proceeded by a
desire for something, which is described as their motive or phala. In the beginning of
the war the aim of Arjuna was limited to the acquisition of kingdom. That is why he
makes his rejection by telling how he could kill his kith and kin merely for the
enjoyment of kingdom, which is a selfish and wordly motive.
If disinterested activity is not possible as we have seen, then in what sense the
Gita advocates Niskamakarma? For Gita any activity, of course, which is natural to
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man. If not properly guided, will become the means of obscuring from him the higher
end for which he exists. Karma yoga is disinterested only so far as it turns our mind
from selfish and inferior results and sets it on the path leading to the true goal of
superior motive which leads to divine union or betterment of our spiritual nature ie
spiritual union with the ultimate.
According to Gita a Niskamakarmayogi can attain self realization or the
perfected state even in this life. The Gita requires man to continue to work even in this
perfected state. He has to work for the well being of the society-lokasamgraha in a
purely detached manner. Lord himself, though he has nothing to accomplish for
himself, acts for the benefit of the humanity. He who performs action in a detached
manner thinking himself to be a mere instrument of God, is not contaminated by sin
like the lotus leaf, though living in water, yet not being contaminated by it.
JNANA- YOGA
Jnana-yoga aims at self-realization or realization of the true nature of the self.
The yogis ideal is self-realization which cannot be attained without knowledge.
Even the devotees are granted knowledge by the Lord so that they may realize the
goal. Yoga, benefit of knowledge, is an impossibility. The discipline of Jnana yoga is
two fold (i) withdrawal from everything that is material and objective, and (ii)
meditation upon the true nature of the self.) We may weaken the power of the senses
by fasting and abstaining from necessities, but unless we rise above the relish and the
desire, the psychological attachment to the sense-objects, we are not true yogis. And
this relish can go away only with the rise of true knowledge. The Gita declares that
even the most sinful can cross over the ocean of Samsara(wordly life) by means of the
boat of knowledge alone. As a fire well-kindled reduces fuel to ashes, so the fire of
knowledge reduces all actions to ashes. The culmination of action is in knowledge.
Having attained knowledge, one soon embraces peace. There is nothing purer than
knowledge. The knower is identified by the Lord with his own self.
BHAKTI YOGA
Bhakti-yoga is for the man of emotional nature who wants to love God.
Devotion to any form of god is called Bhakti. Bhakti or devotion is defined as
disinterested service to God. So it is a form of Karma. And disinterested action, as we
have seen, is not possible without knowledge. Hence Bhakti too, like Niskama karma
can be performed only by a true jnani. The ideal devotee is one who is dedicated to the
service of God. For him, absolute dependence, surrender and faith are necessary. The
devotee is confident of the guarantee given by the Lord; O, Arjuna, know firmly that
my devotee is never ruined. He who does my work, who yields himself upto me, who
is devoted to me, void of attachment, without hatred to any one, O Arjuna, comes to
me.
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The object of devotion is the personal God, the purusottama on whose mercy the
devotee has to throw himself utterly. Absolute dependence and utter faith are very
necessary. The Lord Himself lifts up his devotees from the ocean of birth-and- death.
The love of God is the supreme love and every other from of it is an imperfect
manifestation of this supreme love. There are four kinds of devotees. They are the
suffering (arta), the seeker for truth(jijnasa), the self-interested(artharthi), and the
wise(jnani). Out of the four kinds of devotees the last one is the best. He comes to
know that the Lord pervades the entire universe. He sees the Lord in everything and
everything is Lord.
STHITHA PRAJNA
To satisfy Arjunas curiosity regarding the state of the perfect soul, Krsna
enumerates the following qualities. The perfected soul is the ideal yogi who has
curbed his passions and maintains calmness is cold and heat, in joy and sorrow in
honour and dishonor. As a lamp flickers not in a windless place, that is the simile for
the yogi who curbs his thoughts and yields himself entirely to absorption. He is known
as sthitaprajna or man-of-steady-wisdom. The sthitaprajna is firmly rooted in the
higher self and is unmoved by the pairs of opposites. The liberated state is the one in
which seeing the self by the self one is satisfied on oneself. Here one experiences
absolute bliss, known only to higher consciousness, but ever beyond the senses. A yogi
never deviates from the truth and considers no other gain greater than truth; such a
state free from all misery is the state of the liberated soul.
Sthithaprajna is the jivam mukta, liberated which alive. He is fee from the petty
desires that bind the soul. He does not have the sense of being the agent or the enjoyer
of an action, for he has ceased to identify himself with the mind, body organism. His
happiness is not derived from the objects of sense. He does good to the world but
without any sense of egoity. His actions are the spontaneous expressions of his innate
goodness. The lord Himself, though he has nothing to accomplish for Himself, acts for
the benefit of humanity. The perfect man, like wise, asks for the good of the word
(loka-sangraha) in the spirit of perfect detachment. The very existence of such a person
is a blessing to the world. Having attained the final goal of self-realization he is not
born again.
OBJECTIVES
To introduce the three paths to the realization of absolute truth
1. To introduce the concept swadharma
2. To introduce the concept sthethapraja
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SUMMARY
The essential teaching of the Bhavavad Gita is identical with that of the
Upanisads. As to the practical teaching Gita advocates the path of Knowledge of
devotion and of action. All leads to the same, namely moksa or liberation. The theory
of action, which the Gita teaches, is known as Niskama karma(renunciation in action).
It is performance of action without selfish desire for the fruits of it. The liberated soul is
known as sthithaprajna or a man of steady wisdom.
FAQS
1. What are the characteristics of sthithiprajna?
Sthitiprajna means man- of steady-wisdom. The stitheprajna is firmly rooted
in the higher self and is unmoved by the pairs of opposites. Such as cold and heat,
honour and dishonour and joy and sorrow
2. Explain the doctrine of Niskama karma
The central message of Gita is Nismaka karma. The Gita teaching stands not
for renunciation of action. True renunciation is not the giving up of activity but it is
detachment from self interest. Such detached activity is known as Niskamam
karma.
GLOSSARY
Bhakti -devotion
Karma -deed
Kama -desire
Svadharma -duties of ones own
Varna -caste
REFERENCES
1. C.D. Sharma - A critical survey of Indian philosophy
2. Dr.S.Radhakrishnan - Indian Philosophy Vol.I
3. Dr.S.Radhakrishnan -The Bhagavad Gita
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UNIT - III - UPANISADS

UNIT - IV - THE BHAGAVAD GITA

Meaning and scope of Indian Philosophy

SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

Indian philosophy is essentially spiritual. Philosophy and religion are intimately

To introduce the beginnings of Indian philosophy

To introduce the religion and philosophy of the Vedas.

To introduce the concept of rta

Bring out the philosophy of monism

C.D Sharma - A critical survey of Indian philosophy

Dr.S.Radha Krishnan - Indian philosophy(Vol. I)

D.P.Chattopadhyaya - Indian philosophy a popular introduction

THE PRACTICAL TEACHINGS

The prime object of Upanisadic discipline is the removal of aham-kara, which is

Acquisition of Knowledge (jnana)

several meditative exercises of a preliminary character. They are called upasanas. In

To introduce the main teachings of the Upanisads

To introduce the concepts Atman and Brahman

To introduce the concept of jiva

To introduce the concept moksa

Elucidate the nature of jiva

Explain the practical teaching of the Upanisads

The practical teaching of the Upanisads is devised to bring about Brahm

- A Critical Survey of Indian philosophy

Dr.S.Radhakrishnan - Indian philosophy(Vol. I)

- Out lines of Indian philosophy

Bhagavad-Gita is more a religious classic than philosophical treaties. It gives

17. The Three modes applied to religious phenomena

obtained. This would popularly mean devotion or commitment to the discharge of

VARNADHARMA: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS

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