Hindu philosophy
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Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of Indian philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the religion of Hinduism during the iron and classical ages of India. In Indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is Darshana (Sanskrit: दर्शन; meaning: "viewpoint or perspective"), from the Sanskrit root 'दृश' (drish) meaning 'to see, to experience'.[1]
The schools of thought or shad-darśana (षड्दर्शन) within Hindu philosophy consist of six orthodox schools, also known as the āstika (Sanskrit : आस्तिक) schools. These six, which include Samkhya (सांख्य), Yoga (योग), Nyaya (न्यायः), Vaisheshika (वैषेशिक), Mimamsa (मीमांसा) and Vedanta (वेदान्त),[2] are defined by their acceptance of the Vedas, the oldest collection of Sanskrit texts, as an authoritative source of knowledge.[3][note 1][note 2]
Indian philosophy during the ancient and medieval periods also yielded philosophical systems that share concepts with āstika traditions, but reject the Vedas. These have been called nāstika (heterodox or non-orthodox) philosophies,[2][3] and they include: Buddhism, Jainism, Chārvāka, Ājīvika, and others,[6] which are thus broadly classified under Indian but not Hindu philosophy.
Western scholars have debated the relationship and differences within āstika philosophies and with the nāstika philosophies, starting with the writings of Indologists and Orientalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, based on limited availability of Indian literature and medieval doxographies.[2] The various sibling traditions included in Indian philosophies are diverse and are united by: shared history and concepts, textual resources, ontological and soteriological focus, and cosmology.[7][8] Some heterodox (nāstika) traditions such as Chārvāka are often considered as distinct schools within Hindu philosophy because the word Hindu is also an exonym and historically the term has been used as a geographical and cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent.[9][10][11][12]
Hindu philosophy also includes several sub-schools of theistic philosophies that integrate ideas from two or more of the six orthodox philosophies, such as direct realism from Nyaya, naturalism from Vaisheshika, dualism from Samkhya, non-dualism from (Advaita) Vedanta, and self-discipline from Yoga.[13][14][15] Examples of such schools include: Pāśupata Śaiva, Śaiva siddhānta, Pratyabhijña, Raseśvara and Vaiṣṇava.[13][14] Some sub-schools share Tantric ideas with those found in some Buddhist traditions,[16] which are nevertheless found in the Puranas and the Āgamas.[17][18][19] Each school of Hindu philosophy has extensive epistemological literature called Pramana,[20][21] as well as theories on metaphysics, axiology, and other topics.[22]