Reaching There

What is purva-paksha?  Vaisheshik Darshan throughout the text is not afraid to question the observation and heavily relies on ' purva-paksha ' i.e. debating a former argument to solidify the proposition.  Vaisheshik Darshan  doesn't just state aphorisms, but it takes the reader (you) inside the mind of the author, as he grapples with observations & inferences. And this grappling often leads to counter-argument, which in the case of this  Darshan  is included in the text itself! You won't see any other philosophical treatise, other than Indic texts, where the counter-argument is part of the journey a reader has to take to deep dive into the topic for a clear understanding.  As we go through the proof of one of the nine  Dravyas  (substances) i.e. Atman ( misinterpreted as the soul in Western translation but actually means the reality of realization of our existence i.e. the true "I" ), the author uses counter-arguments to facilitate the proof. ...

Vaisheshik Darshan  was written over two and a half thousand years ago (it is likely older than that). It is one of the earliest texts that delve into the nature of the physical world - thereby one of the oldest texts that can share the shelf space with other books on Physics.  It likely predates Greek and other Eastern philosophies that developed between the 4th and 2nd century BCE. What is all around us? Let's classify each and every existing entity!   One of the astounding aspects of Vaisheshika is that it's a combination of Ontology, Psychology, Ethics, Spiritualism, and Physics. Rishi Kanada embarked on a journey that sought an answer to the 'question of being' and he observed everything around him with the keenest eye.  The roots of the question 'of being' requires understanding everything around us through means of knowledge available to us normally; pratyaksha pramana (i.e. through our material senses) or when that's not possible then via anumana pr...

 I apologize as I start this post with a negative article on  Vaiśeṣika from the online magazine The Wire. The article published in 2017 posits a question ' Were the 'Atoms' of Acharya Kanad a Product of Science or Speculative Metaphysics? ' (Note: I haven't yet reached the sutras that discuss anu or atom) The author concludes that " the positing of the idea of the atom by Kanada did not carry an explanatory burden; it was just a speculative thesis. It is outrageous to compare it with modern scientific atomic theories." Yet the author fails to states that a n inference is conclusion drawn based on observations and prior knowledge. And inference eventually leads to hypothesis which can be then proven via an experiment. So, it's the gradual evolution of observations. Here is an interesting article that discusses ' How did Einstein Think? ' Did  Vaiśeṣika  prove that atoms exist? No, during it's course of categorization it inferred that matt...

What is Dharma? In the first post of my series on  Vaiśeṣika Darshan, we started with the basic question - What is Dharma ? As Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj points out that the word Dharma ( धर्म) originates from the  Sanskrit  root word 'dhru (धृ)' , which means to bear, or support. It can be interpreted as a support system that serves a purpose for us, so by definition is not self-serving.  A purposeless life is a boring life, at least that's my imperfect philosophy. We as human beings don't just want to live a daily life centered around survival but we strive for knowing the unknown. Whether that's knowledge of oceans, stars, soil, chemicals, the human body, or other sentient beings. Just for curious minds, the  Sanskrit word for knowledge is  ज्ञान ( gyaan - from root word  ज्ञा) which means to know or to be aware of. Back to our discussion. A system that supports us should provide us a purpose and means to fulfill that purpose. But to understand...

Hindu Philosophy is unique in its way that it includes Samkhya (rationalism and atheism), Yoga (focusing on mental as well as physical study) and Nyāya (logic/rules) as part of its six philosophies. While world debates on monotheism, atheism, iconoclasm, superiority, equality, proselytization and other such subject which are bound to create controversy and divisiveness, Hinduism is comfortable in the diversity of thoughts from ancient time and is still evolving. As author, Prafull Goradia in his book Hindu Masjids , says 'it is well known that the conceptual purpose of every Hindu is self actualisation". Some call it moksha , mukti , nirvana or bhagwat prapti . Although the goal sounds a simple enough endeavour yet for a logical mind there needs to be a rationale that helps you to identify this as a goal one needs to focus & strive for. I think Hinduism is the only religion (or way of life ) which believes in self-critique, debates, logical analysis and takes considerable...