Six Systems of Vedic Philosophy
(Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta)
compiled by Suhotra Swami

Introduction

	The word Veda means `knowledge.'  In the modern world, we use the 
term `science' to identify the kind of authoritative knowledge upon which 
human progress is based.  To the ancient people of Bharatavarsha (Greater 
India), the word Veda had an even more profound import than the word 
science has for us today.  That is because in those days scientific 
inquiry was not restricted to the world perceived by the physicial 
senses.  And the definition of human progress was not restricted to 
massive technological exploitation of material nature.  In Vedic times, 
the primary focus of science was the eternal, not the temporary; human 
progress meant the advancement of spiritual awareness yielding the soul's 
release from the entrapment of material nature, which is temporary and 
full of ignorance and suffering.

	Vedic knowledge is called apauruseya, which means it is not 
knowledge of human invention.  Vedic knowledge appeared at the dawn of 
the cosmos within the heart of Brahma, the lotus-born demigod of creation 
from whom all the species of life within the universe descend.  Brahma 
imparted this knowledge in the form of sabda (spiritual sound) to his 
immediate sons, who are great sages of higher planetary systems like the 
Satyaloka, Janaloka and Tapaloka.  These sages transmitted the Vedic 
sabda to disciples all over the universe, including wise men of earth in 
ancient times.  Five thousand years ago the great Vedic authority Krsna 
Dvaipayana Vyasa compiled the sabda into Sanskrit scripture (sastra) 
which collectively is known today as `the Vedas.'  

	In the India of old, the study of the Vedas was the special 
perogative of the brahmanas (the priestly and intellectual class).  There 
were four degrees of education in Vedic knowledge that corresponded to 
the four asramas of brahminical culture (the brahmacari or student 
asrama, the grhastha or householder asrama, the vanaprastha or retired 
asrama and the sannyasa or renounced asrama).  The first degree of 
learning was the memorization of the Vedic Samhita, which consists of 
20,000 mantras (verses) divided into four sections--Rg, Sama, Yajur and 
Atharva--that are chanted by priests in glorification of various aspects 
of the Supreme Being during sacrificial rituals.  The second degree was 
the mastery of the Brahmana portion of the Vedas, which teaches rituals 
for fulfillment of duties to family, society, demigods, sages, other 
living entities and the Supreme Lord.  The third degree was the mastery 
of the Aranyaka portion, which prepares the retired householder for 
complete renunciation.  The fourth degree was the mastery of the 
Upanisads, which present the philosophy of the Absolute Truth to persons 
seeking liberation from birth and death.

	The texts studied in the four stages of formal Vedic education 
are collectively called sruti-sastra, `scripture that is to be heard' by 
the brahmanas.  But sruti-sastra is not all there is to the Vedic 
literature.  Chandogya Upanisad 7.1.2 declares that the Puranas and 
Itihasas comprise the fifth division of Vedic study.  The Puranas and 
Itihasa teach the same knowledge as the four Vedas, but it is illustrated 
with extensive historical narrations.  The fifth Veda is known as 
smrti-sastra (`scripture that must be remembered').  Smrti-sastra study was 
permitted to non-brahmanas.

	Traditionally, six schools of thought propagated Vedic wisdom, 
each from a different philosophical perspective.  Each of these 
perspectives or darsanas is associated with a famous sage who is the 
author of a sutra (code) expressing the essence of his darsana.  Vyasa's 
Vedanta-sutra, which carefully examines and judges the six systems of 
Vedic philosopy (as well as other philosophies), forms the third great 
body of Vedic literature after the sruti-sastra and smrti-sastra.  This 
is known as the nyaya-sastra, `scripture of philosophical