Hinduism 101

Lesson 2: Important Religious Texts.

The Brahma Sutras & The Six Darshanas.

The Brahma Sutras:

The Brahma Sutras are pithy commentaries on the philosophy of the Vedas. Sutras are short aphorisms and these are commentaries on the knowledge contained in the Vedas. Thus, the Brahma Sutras are part of the Vedanta. “Anta” means “End” and “Vedanta” means the “End of the Vedas”. They contain the gist of the knowledge contained in the Vedas.

Since the Vedas themselves are not written but revealed literature, the Sutras are interpretations by a human being of a philosophy that is divinely transmitted from the eternal to the transient.

In particular, the Brahma Sutras were written by Badarayana in the 1st century A.D. Badarayana also founded the philosophical school of thought called Uttara Mimamsa. The reason why the Brahma Sutras have been separately treated is because they are extremely important and form a part of the Vedanta together with the 13 classical Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

The transcendental knowledge of the Upanishads, which are in essence the Vedanta, is full of contradictions and very little consistency of thought is apparently evident. Badarayana took these apparently contradictory thoughts and philosophies and systemized them and created the original Brahma Sutras. Thus, to study the Vedanta, one must study the 14 Classical Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. The fine distinction of the Brahman, the Eternal Soul, which is often confused with the whole of existence, is elucidated in the Sutras. Any teacher or Acharya who wishes to establish his own school or sect or cult within Hinduism must first write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and be accepted to be able to do so. So it has been for ages and great Acharyas of the past like Adi Sankaracharya, Ramanuja and Madhyacharya have done so and their established schools of thought are still adhered to by large numbers of disciples even today.

The principal reason for human suffering and misery is the erroneous identification of the body with the soul, the pure Atman, which causes the recurrent cycles of births and deaths. The main objective of the Brahma Sutras is to remove this false identification of the body with the Atman and help the reader achieve Moksha or Salvation.

The Six Darshanas:

While the Itihases, Puranas and Agamas are meant for the general masses, the Darshanas are philosophical works based on the Vedas meant for the erudite scholars. The Darshanas appeal to the intellect while the other three appeal to the heart.. “Darshana literally means “Way of Seeing Things”.

There are Six Darshanas or Schools of Philosophical Thought in the Hindu world. Each of these schools has systemized and correlated the Vedas in its own particular way. Each school was initiated by a Sutrakara, a Great Rishi, who is held as the Ultimate Authority of that school.

The Shad Darshanas or Six Philosophical Schools are:

The Nyaya founded by Gautama Rishi
The Vaiseshika founded by Kanada Rishi
The Sankhya founded by Kapila Muni
The Yoga founded by Patanjali Maharshi
The Purva Mimamsa founded by Jaimini Rishi
The Uttara Mimamsa founded by Badarayana

These are grouped in pairs to explain the philosophy of the Vedas rationally. They are:

The Nyaya & Vaiseshika
The Sankhya & Yoga
The Mimamsa & Vedanta

Each school of philosophy has been expressed through the pithy medium of Sutras and these have some commentaries on them whose types are bulleted below:

Bhashya, which is a running word-for-word commentary on the Sutra with certain personal interpretations by the Bhashyakara or Commentator.
Vritti, which is shorter and less elaborate than a Bhashya.
Varttika, which is a critical appraisal of a Bhashya and an addition of what is left unsaid or imperfectly said in a Bhashya.
Vyakhyana or Tika, which is running explanation in easier language of what is said in the original Sutra.
Tippani, which is an explanation of difficult words and phrases in the original. It is just like a Vritti but much less orthodox.