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Like any other philosophy, Indian philosophy grew out of religion. But to say so is to oversimplify and even to mislead, because the words philosophy and religion do not mean exactly the same to the Indian and to the western student. It may be interesting to note that even in the West philosophy does not mean the same to Plato and to the modern analytic philosopher. Philosophy etymologically means 'love of wisdom', but the philosophy that is transmitted, for instance, by Socrates to Plato is not the 'love of wisdom', but 'wisdom' itself in the form of ideas, doctrines and theories. So philosophy has come to mean all those theories about man, his world, his ideals and goals, and the rules of conduct for achieving them.
Now we find such theories in India also, and we call them Indian philosophy. Philosophy is evidently not an Indian word, and India's ancient and classical thinkers used many words to mean these theories, two of which, darsana and mata are important. Darsana means seeing, looking at, viewing, and therefore sight, look, view. The darsana of the Nyaya school means the 'view' of the Nyaya school, the perception of reality according to the Nyaya, and so the philosophical theory of the Nyaya. The school or system may be spiritual or materialistic, theistic or atheistic; yet it is a darsana or view or perception of reality. Perception here does not mean direct knowledge like the seeing of colors or the hearing of sounds, but a mental view on vision of reality, and there- fore a theory of reality.
The other word mata means opinion, thought, and therefore a doctrine, theory. The mata of the Nyaya means the theory or doctrine according to the Nyaya. In this sense, the Western word philosophy means what the Indian words darsana and mata mean.
Chronology of Indian Philosophical Works*
600 BC - Brhaspati Sutra
500 BC to 200 BC - Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta by Badarayana
400 BC - Vaisesika Sutras by Kanada
400 BC - Mimasa Sutra by Jaimini
300 BC - Nyaya Sutras by Gotama
200 BC - Yoga Sutras by Patanjali
100 BC - Sabara Bhasya by Sabara
400 AD - Padarthadharmasamgraha by Prasastapada
700 AD - Tattvopaplavasimha
700 AD - Slokavartika by Kumarila
800 AD - Sarvasiddhantasamgraha by Samkara
800 AD - Vedanta Sutras by Samkara
800 AD - Bhasya by Vatsyayana
800 AD - Karikas by Gaudapada
991 AD - Nyayakandali by Sridhara
1000 AD - Kusumanjali by Udayana Acaryya
1100 AD - Vedanta Sutras by Ramanuja
1200 AD - Vedanta Sutras by Madhva
*Source: A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan & Charles Moore |
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