Hindu Philosophy- A Rational Life

  Nayaya Philosophy took the mind or intellect totally different from the mind of Samkhayas. Samlhya concept of mind is eternal while Naya took it as non-eternal. For Samkya mind is a comic principle independent of self and meant to account for the existence of the light of reasoning in the whole universe.   Nayaya took it as subjective activity of thought in the acquisition of knowledge or in the lighting up and appreciating of the inert impressions received by the senses. This knowledge can come to an end and vanish by forgetfulness while an eternal essence like the mind of Samkhya, though it may ignored can never be destroyed.   Nayaya declared clearly that nor does knowledge belong to the manas which is but the instrument of knowledge, it arises from the conjunction of atman (soul) with manas and on the other side of mana with indriyas (senses).Manas is the true instrument and the wielder of an axe must be someone different from it.   But Lokayat, the India...

The greatest philosophy in India prevailed at the time of Buddhism and  Vasubandu goes into more detailed when he confronted the existence of pure conscience (Vignaptimatra) with inherent power. This potential attribute with its force perform threefold modification, first of all it manifest itself as Vipaka or alayavijana which is a store house of consciousness. Then this universal consciousness further manifests itself into two forms, it takes the form of an individual subject or ego (Klista Manovijinana) and secondly it manifests itself in the formal the various mental states and of the external objects (Visaya- Vijnapti) . In Indian schools, memory had not got the limelight as it was deserved and it was treated as a means of knowledge then it falls under experience which is either immediate or mediate. Every experience is supposed to leave an impression or modification of the mind which is capable of being revived. Another manifestation of memory is the act of remembering an...

The idea of subtle body by the seeing of gross body is very natural and it was also common in Greeks, Pythagoras claimed that subtle ethereal clothing for the soul apart from its clothing when united with the body. Vedanta took this thin and transparent ( Sukshma Sarira ) soul as a seminal or potential power and at the time of death leaves the corpus without being injured itself. The function of Yoga is subduing away of the self from all that is not self, in the highest object of this philosophy, by ascetic exercises delivering the self from the fetters of the body and the body senses.   Samkhya also hold that senses are different from the soul and in order to prove he argued, “ If each sense could perceive by itself, each sense would perceive its own object only, the eye color, the ear sound, the skin warmth and that what perceives all their impressions together at the same time and in the same object must be something different from the several senses which is the soul. ” T...

  “ To a Hindu the idea that the souls of men migrated after death into new bodies of living beings, o f animals, nay, even of plants, is so well self evident that it was hardly ever question. We never meet with any attempt of proving or disproving it among the prominent writers of ancient and modern times ” found German Scholar Seelen Wanderung.   “ Then, man was born with the power of thought, the knowledge of good and evil, and the cruel thirst for worship. And man saw that all is passing in this mad, monstrous world that all is struggling to snatch, at any cost, a few briefed moments of life before death’s inexorable decree ” Dr. Faustus, “ The self is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth, but it is seen by subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect. A wise man should keep them within self which is knowledge. He should keep knowledge within the self which is great and he should keep this greatness within the self which is the quiet. Rise, awake! H...