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Indian philosophy summary, Exams of Indian Philosophy

University of Madras Indian Philosophy

Students of philosophy need to read a lot. Here is my class notes which contains important points under a theme. It's very useful for students and for exam.

Typology: Exams

2017/2018

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1. Explain Purusharthas.

Intro.:

All human being live for something. Philosophy shold have a serious

bearing upon life of the philosopher. Shold effect reality. For P shold

lead the philosopher and others to ‘ends of Life’. Prurusharthas= ends

of life.

Four ends: Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksa.

I. Dharma:

•Several meanings in Sanskrit- no exact English

translation. But, ‘Dhr’= to sustain, to maintain, to

support.

•Duties, obligation, Justice (rule of conduct and guides

for action) come under dharma. They are essential to the

protection and endurance of the individual and society.

•Therefore, Dharma= duties and obligation of ann

individual towards himself, society and vice versa.

•Dharma helps men to live and function harmoniously,

fulfil themselves and contribute to the society at large.

•Different individual has different duties depending on

aptitude, ability, station in life at any given time.

However, some duities are common.

II. Artha:

•Artha Many meanings in Sanskrit. Root= that which one

seeks.

•Artha is one’s means of supporting life.

•Covers job, wealth, all material means necessary for

sustainment of life.

•Does not mean artha excludes spiritual life, contrararily,

material well-being necessary for spiritual life. No

spiritual life when one is in grip of grinding hunger and

poverty, deadly sickness.

•All means of livelihood are arth, but it is in accordance

eith dharma. So, deceiving, killing, stealing is bad.

On special offer

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Download Indian philosophy summary and more Exams Indian Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity!

1. Explain Purusharthas.

Intro.:

All human being live for something. Philosophy shold have a serious

bearing upon life of the philosopher. Shold effect reality. For P shold

lead the philosopher and others to ‘ends of Life’. Prurusharthas= ends

of life.

Four ends: Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksa.

I. Dharma:

• Several meanings in Sanskrit- no exact English

translation. But, ‘Dhr’= to sustain, to maintain, to

support.

• Duties, obligation, Justice (rule of conduct and guides

for action) come under dharma. They are essential to the

protection and endurance of the individual and society.

• Therefore, Dharma= duties and obligation of ann

individual towards himself, society and vice versa.

• Dharma helps men to live and function harmoniously,

fulfil themselves and contribute to the society at large.

• Different individual has different duties depending on

aptitude, ability, station in life at any given time.

However, some duities are common.

II. Artha:

• Artha Many meanings in Sanskrit. Root= that which one

seeks.

• Artha is one’s means of supporting life.

• Covers job, wealth, all material means necessary for

sustainment of life.

• Does not mean artha excludes spiritual life, contrararily,

material well-being necessary for spiritual life. No

spiritual life when one is in grip of grinding hunger and

poverty, deadly sickness.

• All means of livelihood are arth, but it is in accordance

eith dharma. So, deceiving, killing, stealing is bad.

III. Kama:

• Wealth is onle a means of life. Purpose of wealth is

Kama.

• Kama is pleasure and enjoyment in general. Desires,

seek kama.

• Pleasure and enjoyment of food, drink, sex, home,

friendship.

• Pleasures are not sinful or unworthy, contrararily, they

are one of the main aims of life. Everyone is encourages

to marry, it is not sinful.

• Important that artha and kama remain in harmony with

dharma.

IV. Moksa:

• Moksa= root ‘muk’= to free, to emancipate, to realease.

Moksa= complete freedom. Moksa is ultimate goal of

life. But freedom from what? Answer is essence of IP,

where emphases is on the essentially spiritual natuew of

man.

• Unfreedom and suffering is from ignorance (avidya) of

his true being and nature. Upnishads say man’s true

being is atman (bhrhman= ultimate reality). Atman is

infinite, eternal and immortal. Due to ignorance, man

identifies with finite and perishable things like mind,

body, ego, develops attachment that results in sorrow and

misery on loses inevitably them.

• One can overcome ingnorance by attaining knowledge

that his true nature is bhrahman he can become free from

bondage.

• Freedom is self-realization - realization that man is

infinite, eternal, immortal and pure being. Immortality is

not in some distance or unknown corner of the cosmos

but the discovery that he is identical eith the all-

composing eternal reality. On such realization birth and

death are seen no more than products of ignorance and

2. Explain General Modus Operandi.

Intro.:

The questions like what is truth, is world created , eternal, God exists

or not, are asked in both western philosophy asnd IP. Answeres are

strikingly similar however, Modus operandi of IP or the meathod of

inqiry in Ip is different from western philosophy. wetern philosophy

treats metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics etc as sperratwe

branches, IP disscuss each problem from all these point of view.

Nothing sepratey but combined.

Modus Operandi 3 stages. Purvapaksa, Khandana, Uttarapaksha

I. Purvapaksa:

• The prior view. The first stage.

• Philosopher presents the position and the arguments of

the opponent and that arguments that he gives in defence

of it.

II. Khandana:

• The second stage, refutation.

• Refutes the agument of the the opponent. Refutes his

position by systematic criticism.

• Refutation of opponent’s position by systematic

criticism.

III. Uttarapaksa:

• The last stage. The subsequent view.

• Philosopher presents his own position with subsequent

proofs and arguments in defence of it.

• The stage is also called siddhanta= conclusion.

Conclusion:

Note that philosophers present their view and defend the arguments.

They refute the arguments of the opponent but they refrain from

mocking the opponents. Because, IP does not recognise the law of

contradiction and excuded middle.

3. Explain Theory of Causation.

Intro.:

The doctrine of prakriti is based on the theory of causation. Talks about

cause and effect. Carpenter needs to see the wood as cause, scientists go

in detail to see the cause of wood. Cause and effect used in our day to

day life- steatch everything back to find the cause of a paticulate event

(effect).

I. The Basic question in theory of causation: Does the effect

pre-exist in its material cause?

• Two Branches: Effect= (karya) Pre-exist (sat)

I.i. Asatkaryavadins: Does not pre-exist in its

material cause: Negative

• The effect is new creation, new

beginning. Else no sense in saying that it

is produced or caused.

• If effect exist in the cause: (pot in clay,

cloth in thread, curd in milk)

I.a. Why potter exerts himself

producing the pot out of clay

I.b. Why should not thread

serve the purpose of the cloth

I.c. Why milk doesn’t taste

like curd

• Also production of the effect is repeated

bith of the cause if effect already present

in the cause. This is non-sense.

• Nyaya, Vaisesika, Hinayana, Buddhism,

Materialism are Asatkaryavadins.

• Asatkaryavada= Arambhvada (the view

that production is new beginning.)

I.ii. Satkaryavadins: Pre-exists: Affermitive

• The effect is not a new creation, but only

an explicit manifestation of that which

4. Explain Structure of Yoga sutras.

Intro.: Yoga is a unique indian discipline of theory and practice for the realization of the ultimate truth concerning man and the world. Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras is the first and most systematic and authoritative presentation of Yoga in both its theoratical and practical aspect. It consists of four parts.

I. Samadhipada

(^) deals nature and aim of concentration
general introduction to the nature, goal, and methods of Yoga in various forms.
Describes the various modifications of internal organ,Chitta. And different Yogic techniques of leading to termination of the modification

II. Sadhanapada:

explains the means to realize thia end.
(^) Concerned with an analysis of suffering, its causes and its elimination.
Under causes of suffering are discussed not only mental states but also actions, their fruits, attachement to the fruits: Karma and bondage.

III. Vibhutipada

deals with the supra-normal powers which can be acquired through yoga: the paranormal phenomena.
deals with Yoga Psychology

IV. Kaivalyapada

describes the nature of liberation and the reality of the transcendental self and various realms of being.
Chitta is mahat, Ahamkara and mans.
For Masrary overself mastery over chitta required (control of senses). Can be attauned by practice of Yoga. Conclusion:

Aim of Yoga is to attain knowledge that frees man from the bondage of prakriti. Knowledge of one’s immortality frees from the bondage of prakriti and reveals the self as purusha (pure consciousness).

Omnipotent: he should cause/produce all things, but wee see house and jars not produced by God.
Unitary: if Gods were many there would not be harmony in the world because each one has his own plan, purpose and activity. Jainas say that it is absured to think that Gods cant work together, because masons and lower animals like bees and ants can also work collectively.
Eternally Perfect: The claim is absurd because perfection means removal of imperfection so to say perfect to one who was never imperfect is nonsensical.

II. Libearation in Jainism:

atheism doent mean lack of religious quest. For IP belief in God is neither a necessary or a sufffecient condition for deeoply spiritual life.
They do nto reject the activities as prayer and worship. They worship and pray ro Tirthamkaras (the liberated souls) for guidance and inspiration for their quest of liberation.
But, motive behind prayer is not to sek mercy or confession of guilt.
Each man has to attain liberation and perfection by his own efforts, no one can help or saved by others. Tirthamkras are just inspiration.
Meditation on perfection of tirthankaras only serves to remind one of one’s own potential for perfection, this inspires.
Karma is the link between the soul and the body.
Ignorance of truth and the four passions- anger (krodha), greed (lobha), Pride (mana) and delusion (maya) are the sticky substance where the karmic particlas stick and attrqact the flow of karmic matter towards the soul.
When the flow begings the stae is Asrava or flow and when the particles actually infiltrate into saul and bind it, the state is Bandha or bondage.

The karmic matterws unites eith soul by intimate interpenetration as water unites with milk. Because of this that we find the consciousness in every part of our body.
By right practice and possession of faith, knowledge and conduct, the influx of fresh karma is stopped. This state is samvara or stoppage.
Then the already existing karma must be exaustased: state is Nirjara or wearing out.
When the last particle is dissolved/ exhausted ‘the partnership between saul and matter is dissolved’ the soul shines in its intrinsic nature of faith, knowledge, bliss and power. This state is Moksa or liberation

Conclusion:

These moral virtues and meditation on profound truths taught by Jina and faith in oneself leads to liberation. Libearation is stater charecterised by infinite knowledge, infinite power, infinite faith and infinite bliss. Perfect knowledge cannopt be without perfet conduct (both inseparable), or vice versa.

Atheism doent mean lack of religious quest. For IP belief in God is neither a necessary or a sufffecient condition for deeoply spiritual life. Self reliance on everything makes the religion fit for only the courageous.

1. Existance of Prakriti

Intro.:

Samkhya is oldest IP, dualistic realism. Satkaryavadin, effect is real:

Parinamvada, Many objects around us which raise What and Why

questions ( curd←milk) but Milk from where?. Samkhya says all of

these objects come from Prakriti. Dualism beause Prakriti= matter

(constituent of three gunas) and purusha= self, spirit. Both are real.

I. Prakriti: Prakriti=Nature

• Uncaused, independent, absolute, limitless, fromless,

ungrounded, one and eternal mstter, beyond production

and destruction.

• It is unmanifesteed and imperceptible. We can only infer

its existance through its products.

• Samkhya says all material effects are modification of

prakriti. They eternall pre-exixt in the bosom pf prakriti

and comes out at the time of creation and return at the

time of dissolution. No new production or utter

destruction. It is just evolution/ manifestation or

dissolution/involution. Everything comes from prakriti

goes back to prakriti.

• Prakriti ultimate cause of all physical existance,

therefore, the three gunas that constitute prakriti also

constitute every object of the physical world: therefore

all objects produce in us, pleasure, pain or indiff.

• Motion is inherent in prakriti through Rajas. As the

source of inanimated world it is unconscious.

• Prakriti is active and unconscious.

• The world of object is in the bosom of prakriti. Cause of

both types of object material(gross objects- nyaya-

vaisesika atoms) and non-material (vedanta and

mahayana- consciousness-non-intellect).

II. Five proofs for the existance of prakriti

• All individual things in this world are limited, dependent

conditional and finite. The finite cannot be the cause of

the universe. So, we need to proceed from finite to

infinite. So, ther has to be something that is unlimited,

infinite, unconditional and undependant. This is Prakriti.

Jar← Clay← primary elements← I principle← Great Principle←

Prakriti

• All things of world posses certain common

characteristics by which they are capable of producing

pleasure, pain and indifference. So, there has to be a

common source composed of this gunas. This source is

prakriti.

• All effects arise from the activity of the potent cause.

Evolution means the manifestation of the implicit as the

explicit. Nothing comes from inactivity. This activity

must be inherient in the world-cause. This cause is

prakriti.

• The effect differs from the cause hense the limited effect

cannto be regarded as its own cause. The effect is

explicit and cause is implicit state of the same process.

Seed of mango is cause but effect tree is bigger. So all

the extra features of effect has to be contained in an

ultimate cause, that is Prakriti. Effects point to a world-

cause where they are potentially containted.

• Unity of the universe points to a single cause. This cause

is Prakriti.

Conclusion:

Prakriti is non-self and is devoid of consciousness and hense can only

be manifested as the various objects of experience of the purusha, self.

How is not clear.

Mobile and stimulating
Effect: pain
Colour: Red
Predominates: bad, active and impure III. Tamas: Means: darkness
Quality: heaviness
Effect: indifference
Principle of inertia.
Produces apathy and indifference.
(^) Ignorance, sloth, confusion, bewilderment, passivity and negativity are results.
Heavy and persistent, resistance to activity
In man causes ignorance, coarseness, stupidity, laziness, lack of sensitivity and indifference.
Opposed to Sattva and Rajas
Colur: Dark
Predominates: indifferent, slothful and nuetrol.

They cannot be separated.

They Conflict but are intermingled.
Dynamic complex not static
Oppose to each other but also dependent on each other. Compared to oil, wick and flame of lamp co-opearte to produce light.
Prakriti cannot be decomposed into one individual guna.

Theory of Evolution;

Gunas are held in the state of equilibrium. This is state of prakriti.- no evolution
But gunas are ever changing: Change is of two kinds:
During the dissolution of the world the gunas change because prakriti comes into contact with purusha. - Homogeneous: sattva into sattva, etc. no evolution because no disequilibrium.

Heterogeneous: sattva into any other two gunas, evolution because one guna predominates other two gunas.

Conclusion: Nature of three gunas brought out by Hindi couplet: Rasalina

Eyes of beloved are: White, red, darkFull of nectar, intoxication and poison.Result: pierce the heart of lover Lover experience: joy of life, agony of restlessness, inertia of death.

Indian philosophy summary, Exams of Indian Philosophy

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Partial preview of the text

Download Indian philosophy summary and more Exams Indian Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity!

1. Explain Purusharthas.

Intro.:

All human being live for something. Philosophy shold have a serious

bearing upon life of the philosopher. Shold effect reality. For P shold

lead the philosopher and others to ‘ends of Life’. Prurusharthas= ends

of life.

Four ends: Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksa.

I. Dharma:

• Several meanings in Sanskrit- no exact English

translation. But, ‘Dhr’= to sustain, to maintain, to

support.

• Duties, obligation, Justice (rule of conduct and guides

for action) come under dharma. They are essential to the

protection and endurance of the individual and society.

• Therefore, Dharma= duties and obligation of ann

individual towards himself, society and vice versa.

• Dharma helps men to live and function harmoniously,

fulfil themselves and contribute to the society at large.

• Different individual has different duties depending on

aptitude, ability, station in life at any given time.

However, some duities are common.

II. Artha:

• Artha Many meanings in Sanskrit. Root= that which one

seeks.

• Artha is one’s means of supporting life.

• Covers job, wealth, all material means necessary for

sustainment of life.

• Does not mean artha excludes spiritual life, contrararily,

material well-being necessary for spiritual life. No

spiritual life when one is in grip of grinding hunger and

poverty, deadly sickness.

• All means of livelihood are arth, but it is in accordance

eith dharma. So, deceiving, killing, stealing is bad.

III. Kama:

• Wealth is onle a means of life. Purpose of wealth is

Kama.

• Kama is pleasure and enjoyment in general. Desires,

seek kama.

• Pleasure and enjoyment of food, drink, sex, home,

friendship.

• Pleasures are not sinful or unworthy, contrararily, they

are one of the main aims of life. Everyone is encourages

to marry, it is not sinful.

• Important that artha and kama remain in harmony with

dharma.

IV. Moksa:

• Moksa= root ‘muk’= to free, to emancipate, to realease.

Moksa= complete freedom. Moksa is ultimate goal of

life. But freedom from what? Answer is essence of IP,

where emphases is on the essentially spiritual natuew of

man.

• Unfreedom and suffering is from ignorance (avidya) of

his true being and nature. Upnishads say man’s true

being is atman (bhrhman= ultimate reality). Atman is

infinite, eternal and immortal. Due to ignorance, man

identifies with finite and perishable things like mind,

body, ego, develops attachment that results in sorrow and

misery on loses inevitably them.

• One can overcome ingnorance by attaining knowledge

that his true nature is bhrahman he can become free from

bondage.

• Freedom is self-realization - realization that man is

infinite, eternal, immortal and pure being. Immortality is

not in some distance or unknown corner of the cosmos

but the discovery that he is identical eith the all-

composing eternal reality. On such realization birth and

death are seen no more than products of ignorance and

2. Explain General Modus Operandi.

Intro.:

The questions like what is truth, is world created , eternal, God exists

or not, are asked in both western philosophy asnd IP. Answeres are

strikingly similar however, Modus operandi of IP or the meathod of

inqiry in Ip is different from western philosophy. wetern philosophy

treats metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics etc as sperratwe

branches, IP disscuss each problem from all these point of view.

Nothing sepratey but combined.