manifest proceeds, and upon which alone it rests, consistently pervades all Hindu thought. More or less of personality is attributed to the eternal base, according either to the immediate object of the writer or to the stage of progress at which he had arrived. To quote again from the valuable paper referred to above, the Upanishads "reveal the struggle of the Hindu mind to reach the comprehension of one supreme being. ... They advance sufficiently far to express their belief in such a being, but at the same time acknowledge the inability of the human mind to comprehend its essence." Having recognised that man belongs both to the perishable world around him and to the eternal world "beyond," they next proceed to investigate the powers with which he is endowed, and to inquire how these powers, or faculties, could be made available for procuring escape from the perishable and the attainment of the eternal. The result of this thought is embodied in the six philosophic systems of which we are now about to treat. Professor Wilson was much struck with the kindred spirit of these systems and that of the older Greek or Ionic schools. "The metempsychosis itself," he says, "is an important feature in this similitude, for this belief is not to be looked upon as a mere popular superstition; it is the main principle of all Hindu metaphysics—the foundation of all Hindu philosophy," the object of each system, whether Brahmanical or Buddhist, being "the discovery of the means of putting a stop to further transmigrations." And that such was also the leading principle of Pythagoras, is, he considers, well established. The systems are all alike in making this their special aim, and they also agree that knowledge of truth is the effectual means by which to secure this end. But in their several definitions or representations of essential truth, we shall find considerable variation, according to the bias of each system. Chambers' Encyclo., art. "India.” 2 Preface to Sankhya-Kârikâ, p. x. SIX SYSTEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. 151 There are six systems, called Darsanas, into which the scattered thoughts of previous periods have been collected. I. The Sankhya System of Kapila, to which is appended- III. The Nyâya System of Gotama, to which is appended— V. The Pûrva-Mîmânsâ, by Jaimini. VI. The Uttara-Mîmânsâ or Vedanta, by Vyâsa. The "order" in which the systems first appeared is a question of difficulty, "because," Dr. Goldstücker observes, "we have no evidence that the Sûtras1 of these systems are the same now as they were originally." And secondly, "because it has not yet been sufficiently ascertained to what extent one may have borrowed from the other, supposing the present shape to be the original one.' He concludes, that probably besides the Upanishads, there were philosophical works which were more original, but less systematic, than those now preserved, and which served as the common source of the works which have come down to us as the six Darsanas. And thus their general concordance may be accounted for. Of these systems, the oldest in thought is the Sânkhya. Rest, or exemption from transmigration, we have observed to be the aim of all philosophy, each system inculcating that this is to be attained by knowledge of truth, according to its particular teaching. Kapila's scheme for attaining this knowledge is to look steadily at the whole united universe and recognise that man, and all which is created, is transitory; but that beyond the transitory is the eternal. And this is the knowledge which he seems to view as the key which unlocks for man the portal of the eternal. Sânkhya doctrine is a very wonderful effort at unravelling the deep mysteries of our existence. On one side, it exhibits the worthlessness of the perishable universe, For an explanation of the word Sûtra, see p. 154. including man, with all his powers and qualities. On the other side, it places imperishable Soul. The perishable portion of this division is fully and firmly dealt with, and has excited the admiration and interest of such men as Wilson, Ballantyne, &c. But concerning the Soul, or the imperishable portion of his subject, one feels that the author is reserved, or that he has more thoughts than he chooses to express. His silence on the subject of a Supreme Being has been supposed by some to imply atheism; and the Yoga system, which completes the Sânkhya, is said to have been written to correct the atheism of Kapila. But on the other hand, it is suggested that if, when the Yoga was written, the Sânkhya had been viewed as a system which denied God, it would not have been completed by so decided a theist as Patanjali. The Yoga doctrine is taught in four chapters, and these, in the best existing manuscripts, are named as forming part of Kapila's work, the Sânkhya-pravachana.1 Later than the Sânkhya, we have placed the Nyâya, of which the very name seems to imply that it is its counterpart. Sânkhya means, something analagous to speculation or synthetic reasoning. The word "comes from Sankhyd," (sam, together, khya, reasoning,) indicating that it is philosophy, based on synthetic reasoning. The Nyâya, however, takes the other course, and gives philosophy founded on analytical reasoning. And thus, whilst the Sânkhya builds up a system of the universe, the Nyâya dissects it into categories, and "enters into its component parts."'s "Entering into" appears to be the literal rendering of Nyâya, a word which aptly describes a system which "enters into" the whole contents of the universe. Gotama, the reputed author of this system, took special note of man's mental powers, and of the uses to which such powers may be applied; and to the unfailing interest attaching to such subjects, as also to the ability of For further interesting thought on this subject, see Westminster Review, October, 1862, p. 471. * Goldstücker, Panini, p. 151. SIX SYSTEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. 153 the author, may be attributed the yet-continued popularity of his work. The Vaiseshika system, attributed to Kanâda, is a fuller and probably later development of the Nyâya. It is remarkable for its peculiar doctrine of atomic individualities, or viseshas, from which its name is derived. The name of its author, Kanâda, comes, according to native authorities, from Kana, minute, and áda, eating.1 Mîmânsâ is the name given to the two last divisions of Hindu philosophy. They attribute implicit authority to Vedic writings. With the other systems, these writings are considered sacred; but the two Mîmânsâs refer to them as absolute Revelation. The Pûrva-Mîmânsâ, or the interpretation of the prior part of the Vedas, viz., of the Sanhitâs and Brâhmanas, is devoted exclusively to questions purely Brahmanical, especially to those connected with the Brahmanical ceremonial; and it is therefore less interesting to European readers than the other systems. The Uttara-Mîmânsâ, or "the investigation of the latter" part of the Vedas, viz., the Aranyakas and Upanishads, is, on the other hand, the most universally attractive. The name by which this system is generally called is Vedânta, a compound of veda and anta, which means, literally, "the end or ultimate aim of the Vedas." Like the other systems, it seeks to emancipate man from transmigration, and like them, it teaches that this is to be effected by a proper understanding of truth; but the truth which it inculcates is not a duality of principles, as in the Sânkhya, nor a variety of topics, as in the Nyâya. The Vedânta simply teaches that the universe emanates in a successive development from Brahma or Paramâtman, Supreme Soul; that man's soul is identical in origin with the Supreme Soul; and that liberation, or freedom from transmigration, will be obtained so soon as man knows his soul to be one with the Supreme Soul. We will now, as briefly as the case admits, endeavour to bring into view the essential character of each system. Chambers' Encyclo., art. "Vaiseshika." CHAPTER IX. THE SANKHYA AND YOGA SYSTEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. KAPILA's doctrine is taught in Sûtras, distributed in six lectures, and bears the title of Sânkhya-pravachana. To teach by means of aphorisms was the custom of the ancient Hindus, extreme brevity appearing to be the object; and this, it is suggested, may have originated when writing materials were scarce, and the pupil was required to retain the teacher's lesson in his memory. The aphorism was written on a leaf, usually a narrow leaf, such as the dried palm leaves on which, even to this day, works are either written in ink, or scratched with a stile. A pile of such leaves is called a Sûtra, from siv, to sew, the custom being to pass one or two long strings through the pile, to keep the whole together. It seems probable, therefore, that the name Sûtra does not imply a thread or string of rules, but merely refers to the mode by which the works were kept fit for use. The Sûtras or aphorisms are peculiarly brief, and pithy, so as absolutely to require a commentary to supply that which the voice of the teacher originally explained.' 'Chambers' Encyclopædia, art. "Sûtra.” |