Mythology

  • Hindu Literature: Smriti

    Hindu Literature: Smriti

    Hindu Literature can be classified into two broad categories: Shruti & Smriti. This blog covers in detail the Smriti Literature. You can read about Shruti (Vedas) in the Hindu Literature: Shruti (Vedas) post. SMRITI Smriti means ‘that which is remembered’. Smiritis are human thoughts in response to the Shrutis and they are traditionally regarded to … Hindu Literature: Smriti Read More »
  • Hindu Literature: Shruti (Vedas)

    Hindu Literature: Shruti (Vedas)

    Hindu Literature can be classified into two broad categories: Shruti & Smruti. This blog covers in detail about the structure and types of Vedas. You can read about Smriti in the Hindu Literature: Smriti post. SHRUTI (VEDAS) Shruti, meaning ‘that which is heard’, refers to those ancient religious texts which did not have any particular author and which … Hindu Literature: Shruti (Vedas) Read More »
  • Indian Philosophy: Other Nāstika Schools

    Indian Philosophy: Other Nāstika Schools

    CĀRVĀKA (LOKAYATA) The Cārvāka school is one of the nāstika or “heterodox” philosophies . It rejects ritualism and supernaturalism, emphasizes materialism (matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions) and philosophical skepticism, holding empiricism, perception and conditional inference as the proper source … Indian Philosophy: Other Nāstika Schools Read More »
  • Indian Philosophy: Jainism

    Indian Philosophy: Jainism

    From the Jain point of view, Jain philosophy is eternal and has been taught numerous times in the remote past by the great enlightened tirthankaras(“ford-makers”). One of the main features of Jain philosophy is its dualistic metaphysics, which holds that there are two distinct categories of existence, the living, conscious or sentient being (jiva) and … Indian Philosophy: Jainism Read More »
  • Indian Philosophy: Buddhism

    Indian Philosophy: Buddhism

    BUDDHISM The Buddhist path combines both philosophical reasoning and meditation. The Buddhist traditions present a multitude of Buddhist paths to liberation, and Buddhist thinkers in India and subsequently in East Asia have covered topics as varied as phenomenology, ethics, ontology, epistemology, logic and philosophy of time in their analysis of these paths. For the Indian … Indian Philosophy: Buddhism Read More »
  • Indian Philosophy: Astika Schools

    Indian Philosophy: Astika Schools

    Āstika SĀMKHYA The word samkhya means ‘empirical‘ or ‘relating to numbers’. It is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism, with origins in the 1st millennium BCE. It is a rationalist school (regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. The criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and … Indian Philosophy: Astika Schools Read More »
  • Indian Philosophy

    Indian Philosophy

    Indian Philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views, and teachings of Hinduism and other religious sects that emerged in Ancient India. These include six systems – Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. These are also called the Astika (theistic) philosophical traditions and are those that accept the Vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge.Ancient … Indian Philosophy Read More »