There have been a lot of philosophical activities around the globe. This is mainly due to the fact that man is continuously evolving and is in constant search of deeper understanding and grasp of what is truly occurring around his external environment. Moreover he is more and more curious at how he can absolutely control his inner thoughts and beings.
This characteristic of man towards philosophy has brought him ahead of all that is surrounding. It has clearly brought him beyond the limits of time and nature. Civilizations and communities have thrived because of guiding principles and practices. Lets take a look at one of the oldest surviving groups in the worlds history and learn how Indian philosophy have given its lands and people quite a promising journey.
The earliest thinkers within the Indian circles regarded philosophy in high terms as they seem to see it as one of the practical needs so as to reach a better understanding on how the different aspects of life can be best manipulated and navigated. Philosophical works of budding ancient Indian writers focused their works on explaining at how these works can benefit in mans struggle and survival. Philosophy at that time was simply believed to be within the realms of an underlying order which is encompassing and omnipresent.
The Rig Veda was the first one that contained such form of order which was described in the image of the Brahman. The Brahman was recognized as overlooking being that is beyond the capacities of normal men. It was basically an indescribable and inexplicable existence that this worlds emotions and comprehension cannot reach.
Indian philosophy can be categorized through the use of the existence of two schools. The first one is the astika or the six orthodox schools all of which are founded under the Vedic authority. The six member schools are Nyaya or the school of logic, Vaisheshika or the atomist school, Samkhya or the enumeration school, Yoga or the school of Patanjali from which the metaphysics of Samkhya springs forth, Purva Mimamsa or the tradition of Vedic exegesis and rituals, and finally Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa which gives much emphasis on Vedic philosophy.
The mentioned schools are usually paired up for reasons regarding concepts and histories. Pairings include Mimamsa-Vedanta, Nyaya-Vaisheshika, and Samkhya-Yoga. The school of Vedanta then branches on to more sub-schools such as Dvaita, Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita, Advaita, and Achintya Bheda Abheda.
The Brahmins then identified schools that did not acknowledge the power of the Vedas as heterodox or unorthodox. These schools were mainly built on the nastika system. The Jain, Buddhist, and Carvaka philosophies are the ones that fuel the beliefs of such schools.
The Jain principle is that one should be wary of the consequences that may arise from his physical and mental behavior. It gives much emphasis on having full awareness about the well-being of all the things around since most being that are part of the world possess a soul. Furthermore there should be equality in the advocacy and treatment of all walks of life. Buddhism is built on the concept of karma which clearly states that there is a major connection between events that have taken place and events that will take place in the near future. Carvaka is a school of thought that is based on ideas of materialism and atheism.
Indian philosophy is a great medium that can be used to learn how these people come up with their words and actions in certain time and places.