In ancient times only two cultures were very fertile in Philosophy – the Greek and Indian. While Greek Philosophers, like, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were laying the foundations for Western philosophy in Greece. India’s geniuses produced treatises in linguistics, mathematics, logic, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine. Unlike western philosophy, where each Philosopher’s views, responses and comments were recorded by their disciples, and are chronologically available, the ancient Indian philosophy is represented in a mass of texts for which the authors and dates of composition are mostly unknown.

Chief among these texts are the Vedas, written from perhaps 1500-1000 B.C., the oldest religious texts in the world. They mainly consist of hymns in praise of nature gods and instructions for rituals. The last of the works among the Vedas, called the Upanishads, were written after 700 B.C. and are on occasion more philosophical. Also, “( The main philosophical themes       that the            Upaniṣads explore are the nature of the Absolute (Brahman) as the ground of being and the importance of knowledge of Brahman as the key to liberation”( p.12, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Roy W Perret)These Indian scriptures laid the foundation for most of India’s philosophical schools.

Ancient Indian Philosophy is classified into six Darshanas, or views, or systems. They are Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Vedanta. Indians also distinguish two classes of Indian philosophies: astika and nastika. The astika systems respect the Vedas to some degree. The nastika systems reject Vedic thought. They are: Jainism, Buddhism, and Lokayata or Carvakas.

In the West, philosophical schools tended to rise and fall, one after the other. But in India all these systems have competed for adherence beside each other for centuries.

Astika (Vedic/ Orthodox) Systems

Except for differences in fundamental thinking and rituals, all these systems agreed about karma(action), the good and evil actions of karma, reincarnation, the transient nature of human life andthe doctrine of samsara - that today’s humans have passed from birth to birth from eternity. The goal of these systems was moksha (or mukti): liberation from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth, and therefore liberation from all suffering. All Darshanas agreed on the existence of a permanent soul (atman). In most systems, it is a kind of purification of the soul that lead to moksha, though what this means varies from system to system.The ancient Indians did not see philosophy as a disinterested investigation of the nature of reality. Rather, philosophy was a practical matter, useful for daily life and in shaping one’s destiny.

Nastika (Heterodox) Systems

Atheists and materialists were apparently common in ancient India, for the Hindu scriptures found it necessary to respond to the arguments of non-believers on many occasions. The nastika systems of Lokayata held that perception is the only valid source of knowledge, and all other sources, like testimony and inference are unreliable. Perception revealed only the material world, all rituals were useless, and scriptures contained no special insight. Thus, the only purpose of life was to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain.

Jainism, however, accepted perception, inference (assuming that correct reasoning is being followed), and testimony, when it came from a reliable authority. The Jain doctrine holds that there are souls in everything. Unfortunately, the desires of souls attract tiny bits of matter that weigh them down. Only by removing its desires can a soul free itself from the bondage of matter and achieve happiness. There are three things can free a soul from its desires - faith in the teachings of Jain saints, right understanding of these teachings, and right conduct.

Buddhism philosophy propagates that the best way to know something is through personal experience. Suffering lies at the core of this philosophy. If it is understood that worldly desires cause suffering, then one should abstain from these desires and through its liberation, attain nirvana - a perfect peace of mind free from desire, the end of identity due to a realized oneness with the world, perfect bliss and highest spiritual attainment.

Conclusion

In ancient India, there was a continuing tension between the “activism (pravṛtti), exemplified in the early Vedic ritualistic tradition, and quietism (nivṛtti), exemplified in the later Upaniṣadic renunciant tradition.”( p.13, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Roy W Perret While the earlier Vedic literature emphasized the ideal householder committed to “Dharma”, the later idiolised the renunciant in pursuit of “Moksha”. At the same time, rival anti-Vedic philosophies like Jainism and Buddhism emphasised the path of ascetism.