Hinduism

Hindu Philosophy

This guide helps you get your bearings in Hindu Philosophy before you start exploring the interactive timeline, framework graph, and concept maps.

Before You Dive In

Hindu philosophy is not a single system but six orthodox schools (darśanas): Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta — each with distinct metaphysics and epistemology.
Vedānta (especially Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Dvaita) is the most widely known outside India, but the other schools developed rigorous logic, atomism, and philosophy of language.
Start with the Advaita Vedānta vs. Dvaita debate: "reality is ultimately one" (Śaṅkara) vs. "God and souls are permanently distinct" (Madhva). This split defines the field.
Hindu philosophy has a sophisticated epistemology — the pramāṇa (means of valid knowledge) debate is as rigorous as anything in Western epistemology.
The tradition interacts deeply with Buddhist philosophy — many key positions (on self, causation, perception) were developed in explicit debate with Buddhist thinkers.

BrahmanUltimate reality in Vedānta; whether it is personal (saguṇa) or impersonal (nirguṇa) is a central debate.

ĀtmanThe self or soul; its relationship to Brahman is the core question of Vedānta.

MāyāIn Advaita Vedānta, the cosmic illusion that makes the one Brahman appear as the manifold world.

PramāṇaMeans of valid knowledge; schools differ on how many they accept (perception, inference, testimony, etc.).

DarśanaA "viewpoint" or philosophical school; each offers a complete system of metaphysics, epistemology, and soteriology.

KarmaThe principle that actions produce consequences across lifetimes; a shared axiom across all Hindu philosophical schools.

Treating Advaita Vedānta as "the" Hindu philosophy — it's one school among many, and other darśanas disagree with it fundamentally.

Assuming Hindu philosophy is purely mystical or religious — Nyāya logic and Vaiśeṣika atomism are as analytical as any Western tradition.

Confusing popular Hinduism with philosophical Hinduism — the darśanas are technical systems of argument, not summaries of religious practice.

Open the interactive view and scan the framework timeline. Which frameworks came first? Which ones overlap? Where are the big transitions?

Click into individual frameworks to read what each one claims, where it came from, and how it relates to its neighbors.

See how the key ideas within a framework connect. This is useful for figuring out what to learn first and what depends on what.

Take the quiz for any framework you've read about. It's a quick way to find out whether you actually understood the core ideas or just skimmed them.