nyAya - 02

Introduction to Hinduism - 01.1.1.1.1

Premise
Basic premise on which nyAya is developed (reference: Hindu Philosophy by Theos Barnard):
a. The world consists of uninterrupted flows of misapprehension, faults, activity, birth and pain
b. By the cessation of the flow of this chain of consequences one shall be freed
c. The way to break this chain is to obtain a fuller understanding of the true nature of things
d. Once this is accomplished, likes and dislikes will no longer exist
e. Thus there shall be no desire, which is the stimulus of action
f. This in turn will free us from rebirth

In order to attain the Supreme Knowledge, the true nature of the following 16 items must be understood.

A. Logic
----------
1. pramAna - means of right knowledge
2. prameya - object of right knowledge
3. saMsaya - doubt
4. prayojana - purpose
5. drishtAnta - illustrative example
6. siddhAnta - tenet
7. avayava - members of a syllogism
8. tarka - refute
9. nirnaya - ascertainment

B. Error discovery and prevention--------------------------------------
10. vAda - discussion
11. jalpa - controversy
12. vitaNDA - cavil/ object
13. hetvAbhAsha - fallacy
14. chala - equivocation
15. jAti - futility
16. nigrahasthAna - disagreement in principle

nyAya - 01

Introduction to Hinduism - 01.1.1.1.1

Definition
nyAya is a philosophical system which examines the means and methods to explore the fundamental problem of reality. It's focus is on the means of knowledge and not on the nature of knowledge. nyAya provides an analytical investigative framework to explore the objects and subjects of human knowledge. It is also known as tarkavidyA (science of reasoning) and vAdavidyA (science of discussion).

Founder
The founder of nyAya is gautama, who was also known as aksapAda (one whose eyes are directed towards the feet) and dIrghatapas (one who undertakes long penances) given his physical mannerisms especially during contemplations. His date of birth or when he lived is uncertain - he has been dated as early as 550 BC (by Hindu scholars) to as late as 200 AD (by Western Christian scholars).

Texts
1. nyAya sUtra by gautama
1. The earliest commentary on the nyAya sUtra called vAtsyAyana bhAshya was written by vAtsyAyana.
2. udyotakara wrote a commentary on this commentary called bhAshyavAttika, as a response to criticism by Buddhist diNanAga
3. vArttika-tAtparyaTikA by vAchashpati mishra - a commentary on bhAshyvAttika
4. nyAyatAtparyaTikA-parishuddhi by Udayana
5. nyAya nibandha prakAsha by varddhamAna
6. varddhamAnendu by padmAnabha mishra
7. nyAya tAtparyamaNDana by shankara mishra

Introduction to Hinduism - 01.1.1 - Overview of Astika Schools

Astika (आस्तिक) and nAstika (नास्तिक) are technical terms in relation to Hindu philosophy indicating whether the philosophical schools accept the Vedas as the supreme authority or not, respectively.

The six Astika schools (also known as sad darshana) are:
nyAya
Vaisheshika
Samkhya
Yoga
Mimamsa
Vedanta

The common theme of all the schools of Hindu Philosophy is the same - to understand the Ultimate Reality - the difference lies in the depth and level of interpretation of the Ultimate Reality. Each of these schools focus on a particular aspect of the whole and answers specific questions.

nyAya answers the question "What are the means by which I may gain knowledge about the Ultimate Reality?"
vaisheShika (वैशॆषिक) answers the question "What are the various things to be known about the Ultimate Reality?"
sAMkhya (सांख्य) is a metaphysical doctrine and tries to answer about the fundamental nature of Existence
yoga (योग) links this metaphysical doctrine to the Individual
mImAMsA (मीमांसा) answers the question "How do I systematically explore and comprehend the metaphysical doctrine?"
vedAnta (वेदान्त) answers the question, "What is the relationship between God, Matter and Man?"

We shall be taking up a detailed study of each of these philosophical schools in the subsequent posts.