Part I Nyaya and Vaiseshika (Historical Perspective of Indian Religious Thoughts)

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Part I Nyaya and Vaiseshika (Historical Perspective of Indian Religious

Thoughts)

 

The Nyaya primarily deals with logical methods and the Vaiseshika uses

analytical methods to study the the nature of the world. Nyaya and

Vaiseshika accepts and applies each other's methodology in understanding

the atomistic constitution of the world. The Nyaya recognizes four

sources of knowledge: perception (pratyaksha), inference (anumanA),

analogy (upamana), and credible testimony (sabda). The principle of

causation is accepted by the Nyaya school. In addition, considerable

attention is paid to problems arising from noncausal antecedents,

plurality of causes, etc. Gautama was the most important exponent of

the Nyaya was Gautama, who lived in the third century B.C. His Nyaya

Sutra is the first systematic exposition of its approach.

 

Gangesa of MithilA was the founder of the Modern Nyaya School (about

1200 A.D.) His Tattva cintAmani is the standard text for the Modern

Nyaya school of thought. Gangesa tried to build up a more rigorous

structure for the discipline to describe the external world. There were

various critics of the Nyaya school,and the critics more often than not

used the methods of reasoning of the Nyaya school to dispute the claims.

This really illustrates the importance of this school in Indian

philosophical history.

 

The Vaiseshika is more interested in cosmology. All material objects, it

claims, are made of four kinds of atoms. Different combinations of these

atoms of earth, water, fire, and air make different materials.

Additionally, five subtle substances: space, time, ether (AkAsa), mind,

and soul were included. It accepts a personal God who created the

world, but not out of nothing. The nine substances (four material and

five subtle) existed before the world was formed; He fashioned them into

an ordered universe. God is thus the creator of the world, but not of

its constituents. Therefore, the philosophy of the Vaiseshika, while not

atheistic, is different from that of most schools of traditional Hindu

theology. Sankara, the champion of the Advaita Vedanta, described the

followers of Vaiseshika as ardhavainAsikas, i.e. half-nihilists.

 

The first notable theologist was KanAda (third century B.C.), whose

Vaiseshika Sutra occupies in this system about the same place as the

Nyaya Sutra in the Nyaya school. The evolutions of the two systems have,

throughout the history, been very closely linked with each other.

Together they represent the relatively analytical branch of the early

Hindu philosophical thoughts.