Shad Darshan - The six philosophies of life Flashcards
What is Ayurveda?
Medical Science and its purpose to heal and to maintain the quality and longevity of life.
What Ayurveda contains?
Ayurveda deals with the nature, scope and purpose of life, and includes its metaphysical and physical aspects - health and disease, happiness and sorrow, pain and pleasure.Ayurveda defines life as the conjunction of body, mind and spirit found in Cosmic Consciousness and embracing all of Creation. Ayurveda states that the purpose of life is to know or realise the Creator, both within and without, and express this Divinity in ones daily life. According to Ayurveda, every individual life is a microcosm of the Cosmos.
What does Ayurveda means in Sanskrit?
Ayuh - life, vedas - knowledge
Western Medicine vs Ayurveda
Western Medicine is extremely helpful for acute conditions and trauma, it tends to overlook the importance of individual response to stresses and conditions of life. There is no concept of specialization in Ayurveda, as there is in Western Medicine. Ayurveda treats the whole person, not just the organ or the system involved.
Ayurveda’s basic foundation on philosophies is based on..
Shad Darshan
What are vedas?
The Vedic scriptures are the spiritual literature of the ancient Indian culture, written in the Sanskrit language.
What are the 4 main vedas?
Rigveda
Yajurveda
Atharvaveda
Samaveda
What are 4 secondary vedas?
Upa- Vedas or subordinate Vedas, which developed from main bodies of knowledge
What are sutras?
Ayurvedic knowledge has been passed on in Sutras or small phrases and the wisdom these sutras contain is there to be unlocked by the inquiring mind.
What Sutras means in Sanskrit?
to suture with the thread. The small phrase of the sutra is analogous to a thread passing through the eye of a needle. The eye of a needle is small but the trail of the thread leads to a great hidden wisdom waiting for interpretation.
What is the oldest Ancient Sanskrit text and what it describes?
The Charaka Samhita, compiled appox 400 C.E. and it described the five subdoshas of vata.
What Anxient text would described first surgery, blood and five pita doshas?
The Sushruta Samhita
List The Six Philosophies of Life according to Ayurveda?
Sankhya Nyaya Vaisheshika Mimamsa Yoga Vedanta
The founder of Sankhya
Kapila
The founder of Nyaya
Gautama
The founder of Veisheshika
Kanada
The founder Mimamsa
Jaimini
The founder of Yoga
Patanjali
The founder of Vendanta
Badarayana
Translation of Shad Darshan
Darshan is translated as direct perception and philosophy, which is love of truth. While darshan is not philosophy, philosophy of comed from Darshan. Therefore we translate Shad Darshan as Six Philosopies that Ayrveda accepts for the healing mankind.
Which of 3 systems predominantly deal with material world?
Sankhya
Nyaya
Vaisheshika
Which of 3 systems observe inner reality as an attempt to understand outer reality?
Yoga
Mimamsa
Vedanta
Whats the purpose of Shad Darshan?
All six system lead to evolutionary fulfilment and self realisation.
What word Sankhya mean?
San - truth
Khya - to realise, to know, to understand
Sankhya
is philosophy to discover and understand the Truth of Life. Kapila discerned 24 principles in the manifestation of the Universe.
Purusha meaning
Pur - city, sheta - dwelling, living, existing
Purusha define
Purusha is pure consciousness that exists, lives, dwells in the city of senses. Purusha is the ultimate truth, the ultimate healing power, the ultimate enlightenment, the transcendental state of being and existence. It is formless , colorless, beyond attributes and takes no active part in creation. Purusha can be called Pure consciousness.
Prakruti define
Primordial will, primordial matter, creative potential. Prakruti has a form, color, and attributes in the field of action. It is awareness with choice , Divine wil, the one that desires to become many.
Purusha and Prakruti relationship
Prakruti creates all forms in the universe, while Purusha is the witness to this creation. There is no matter without energy, but there can be energy without matter. Prakruti cannot exist without Purusha.However there can be Purusha without Prakruti. Sankhya says Prakruti is creativity, the feminine energy. With the womb of Prakruti the whole universe is born. Therefore the Prakruti is the Divine Mother.
The unmanifested state of Purusha and Prakruti
Brahman
Brahman define
the state of pure Awareness, pure consciousness. Before Prakruti begins to manifest
The emerging point of Purusha and Prakruti
avyakta, which means unmanifested
Vyakta define
Once Prakruti manifests Vyakta means manifestation. The root cause of the whole universe is Prakruti, not Purusha.
List 24 principles of creation according to Sankhya
- Prakruti
- Mahad (Universal Intelligence)
3.Ahamkara
Formed from the interaction of Sattva and Rajas - Manas ( sensory faculties (Jnanendriya))
- Hearing
- Touch
- Vision
- Taste
- Smell
Motor faculties - Speech
- Grasping
- Walking
- Procreation
- Elimination
Formed from the interaction of Tamas and Rajas
Objects of Sensory PErception (Tanmatras) - Sound (Shabda)
- Touch (Sparsha)
- Form (Rupa)
- Taste (Rasa)
- Odor (Gandha)
Five Elements (Maha Bhutas) - Ether (Akasha)
- Air (Vayu)
- Fire ( Agni)
- Water (Apas)
- Earth (Pruthivi)
Mahad (Creative Intelligence)
Purusha and Praktruti are there for the purpose of creation. In the presence of Purusha, when Prakruti becomes conscious of Consciousnesses, Prakruti creates a first expression, which is Mahad. Mahad has self awareness. The meaning of Mahad is supreme intelligence, that which puts everything in its proper place.
Prana
the communication between cells which if the flow of intelligence, the life force. Mahad is the collective intelligence.
Ahamkara
Mahad is pure intelligence and from mahad comes Ahamkara. It means the feeling of “I am”, the ego.
Buddhi
The moment the “I” is formed , which is a centre created in the consciousness, that the creative intelligence (Mahad) becomes Buddhi, which is reasoning capacity, intellect, individual awareness.
Mahad vs Buddhi
Mahad is the universal principle. Buddhi is the individual principle.
Sattva Rajas Tamas
The pulsation of cosmic prana causes Consciousness to break up into three universal qualities (gunas) which pervade all Creation
Sattva define
is the pure essence of light, right action, and spiritual purpose.
Rajas define
the principle of movement, change, excitability.
Tamas define
inertia, darkness, confusion.
Describe qualities of each guna on universal level
Sattva - vast, clear space
Rajas - atmosphere
Tamas - solid substance
Describe qualities for each guna on individual level
Sattva - perception, the knower
Rajas - the mover of perception, which becomes the process of attention
Tamas - precipitation of perception, which is experience, the known.
Type of energy that relates to each guna
Sattva - is the light of consciousness, it is potential energy
Rajas - kinetic energy
Tamas - represents inertia. Without tamas there is no experience.
Jnanashakti
the further word in Sanskrit used to describe Sattva. Means energy of cognition, the motive for perception. Jnana means perception, knowledge, cognition, intelligence.
Kriyashakti
Further description for Rajas, the energy of observation. Kriya means action, creativity.
Dravyashakti
Further description of Tamas. Material matter, the observed.
Time of the day and gunas
You wake up because of Sattva ( jnanashakti), because of rajas (kriyashaki) you plan for entire day. In evening after heavy dinner you feel tamas ( dravyashakti) heavy, dull, like going to sleep. Tamas brings sleep, inaction and darkness.
What creates organic universe?
Rajas is the active vital force which moves to sattva to create the organic universe, the world of sensory perception.
What creates inorganic universe?
Rajas moves to tamas to create the inorganic universe.
What required kinetic force of rajas?
Sattva and tamas are inactive energies that require the active, kinetic force of rajas.
What are the result of three universal qualities interacting?
five jnanendriya ( sensory pathways) five karmendiya ( motor pathways)
What are the 5 tanmatras (gunas/qualities) or objects of sensory perception?
shabda (sound) sparha (touch) rupa (form) rasa (taste) gandha (odor/smell)
What are five elements?
Ether Air Fire Water Earth
Nyaya meaning
Nyaya means logic
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika means to specify the important aspect of concrete reality