The Six Darśanas: Schools of Indian Philosophy

The six darśanas are Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta -- six schools that together form the complete panorama of Indian philosophical investigation.

"Darśana" comes from the root dṛś -- to see. Each darśana is a "vision" of reality. They are not religious sects or opinion clubs. They are rigorous systems of investigation, each with its foundational texts (sūtras), commentaries, and methodology.

What makes Indian philosophy unique is that all these schools share a practical goal: liberation (mokṣa). This is not philosophy as intellectual exercise. It is philosophy as an instrument of freedom.

The six schools in pairs

Traditionally, the darśanas are studied in three complementary pairs:

Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika -- logic and ontology Sāṃkhya and Yoga -- cosmology and practice Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta -- Vedic rituals and ultimate knowledge

Each pair covers a different aspect of investigation. Together, they form a comprehensive system.

Nyāya: the school of logic

Founded by Gautama (not the Buddha -- a different Gautama), Nyāya dedicates itself to the study of the means of knowledge (pramāṇas). How many valid means of knowledge exist? What are their rules? How to distinguish true knowledge from error?

Nyāya recognizes four pramāṇas: direct perception (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna), analogy (upamāna), and verbal testimony (śabda).

Nyāya's contribution is enormous. Its formal logic -- with five-membered syllogisms -- is as sophisticated as Aristotelian logic, and in some respects more precise.

Vaiśeṣika: the school of categories

Complementary to Nyāya, Kaṇāda's Vaiśeṣika classifies everything that exists into categories (padārthas): substance, quality, action, generality, particularity, inherence, and -- in later versions -- absence.

It is an atomist ontology. Vaiśeṣika proposes that the world is composed of eternal atoms (paramāṇus) that combine to form objects. It predates the Greek atomism of Democritus and Leucippus.

Sāṃkhya: the school of enumeration

[Sāṃkhya](/blog/samkhya-filosofia-fundamenta-yoga) is one of the oldest and most influential systems. Founded by Kapila, it proposes a fundamental dualism: puruṣa (consciousness) and prakṛti (matter).

Prakṛti is composed of three guṇas (qualities): sattva (clarity), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia). All of manifestation -- from intellect to gross elements -- is an evolution of prakṛti.

Puruṣa is pure consciousness, without action. The human problem, for Sāṃkhya, is the confusion between puruṣa and prakṛti -- thinking that you (consciousness) are the body-mind (matter).

Yoga: the school of discipline

Patañjali's Yoga is the practical complement of Sāṃkhya. While Sāṃkhya analyzes reality theoretically, [Yoga systematizes the practice](/blog/yoga-sutras-patanjali-vedanta).

The Yoga Sūtras present the path of eight limbs (aṣṭāṅga): yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi.

The goal is citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ -- the cessation of mental modifications. When the mind stops, puruṣa "rests in its own nature."

Note: the Yoga of the sūtras is not studio yoga. It is a complete life discipline, not a sequence of postures.

Mīmāṃsā: the school of ritual

Mīmāṃsā (also called Pūrva Mīmāṃsā) dedicates itself to the interpretation of the karma-kāṇḍa of the [Vedas](/blog/vedas-o-que-sao-guia) -- the portion dealing with rituals and actions.

Founded by Jaimini, Mīmāṃsā developed sophisticated hermeneutic principles for interpreting Vedic texts. Those who wrote laws and legal texts in India used these principles -- the influence is vast.

Mīmāṃsā accepts dharma as the supreme purpose and emphasizes that correctly executed ritual actions produce real results (apūrva). It is a deeply pragmatic school.

Vedānta: the school of ultimate knowledge

[Vedānta](/blog/o-que-e-vedanta) -- also called Uttara Mīmāṃsā -- dedicates itself to the jñāna-kāṇḍa of the Vedas: the [Upaniṣads](/blog/upanishads-sabedoria-vedanta).

While Mīmāṃsā asks "what to do?", Vedānta asks "who am I?"

The answer: ātman (the self) is Brahman (absolute reality). You already are what you seek. The problem is not lack of something -- it is ignorance (avidyā) about yourself.

Vedānta has important subdivisions. [Advaita](/blog/advaita-vedanta-o-que-e-nao-dualidade) (non-duality) of Śaṅkarācārya is the most well-known. Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-duality) of Rāmānuja and Dvaita (duality) of Madhva are others.

What all of them share

Despite their differences, the six schools share certain premises:

Human [suffering](/blog/por-que-sofremos-vedanta) has a solution. This solution is accessible in this life. The path involves knowledge and/or discipline. The Vedas are a valid source of knowledge.

They are also called "āstika" -- schools that accept the authority of the Vedas. The "nāstika" schools -- Buddhism, Jainism, and Cārvāka -- reject this authority, but share much of the vocabulary and concerns.

Why study the six darśanas?

Because no school exists in a vacuum. Vedānta is better understood when you know what it argues against (Sāṃkhya, Nyāya) and what it presupposes (Mīmāṃsā). The concepts illuminate each other.

And because the richness of Indian philosophy is underrepresented in the West. India produced thousands of years of sophisticated philosophical debate -- as rigorous as the Greek tradition, and in many respects more comprehensive.

Start where it makes sense. If you like logic, Nyāya. If you seek practice, Yoga. If you want the final answer about who you are, [Vedānta](/blog/autoconhecimento-vedanta-caminho).