Classical Indian Philosophy

Deepak Sarma completes the first book in more than fifty years to outline India's key philosophical traditions. Promising to become a standard companion for courses in religion, philosophy, and South Asian studies, Sarma's reader inventively draws on seminal texts and clarifies Indian philosophy's basic language, positions, and issues. Organized by tradition, the volume covers six schools of orthodox Hindu philosophy: Mimamsa (the study of the earlier Vedas, later incorporated into Vedanta), Vedanta (the study of the later Vedas, including the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads), Sankhya (a form of self-nature dualism), Yoga (a practical outgrowth of Sankhya), and Nyaya and Vaisesika (two forms of realism). It also discusses Jain philosophy and the Mahayana Buddhist schools of Madhyamaka and Yogacara. Sarma unravels these schools' theories of knowledge, perception, ontology, religion, and salvation, and he details central concepts, such as the pramanas(means of knowledge), pratyaksa(perception), drayvas(types of being), moksa(liberation), and nirvana. Selections and accompanying materials inspire readers to rethink their presuppositions and modes of thought, and the accessible translations provided by Sarma also prove these works' modern relevance.