INTERRELATION BETWEEN THE SIX SYSTEMS

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

INTERRELATION BETWEEN THE SIX SYSTEMS
The six schools are divided into three groups: (i) The Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, (ii) The
Sankhya and the Yoga, and (iii) The Mimamsa and the Vedanta. The Vaiseshika is a supplement of
the Nyaya. The Yoga is a supplement of the Sankhya. The Vedanta is an amplification and
fulfilment of the Sankhya. Study of Vyakarana (grammar), Mimamsa, Nyaya and Sankhya is
necessary to understand the Vedanta. The Nyaya sharpens the intellect and enables the aspirants to
grasp the Vedanta. The Nyaya is considered as a prerequisite for all philosophical enquiry.
The Vaiseshika is not very much in honour now. The Nyaya is popular. The Sankhya is not a
living faith. The Yoga is practised by a few in its practical form. The Vedanta is the most popular of
all the schools today.
The Nyaya and the Vaiseshika will give you an analysis of the world of experience. They
arrange all the things of the world into certain kinds or categories (Padarthas). They explain how
God has made all this material world out of atoms and molecules. They show the way to attain
knowledge of God. The Sankhya will provide you with deep knowledge of Hindu psychology.
Kapila Muni was the father of psychology. The Yoga deals with the control of Vrittis, or
thought-waves, and with meditation. The Yoga system shows the ways to discipline the mind and
the senses. The Yoga will help you to cultivate concentration and one-pointedness of mind and
enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi or the Superconscious State. The Purva-Mimamsa deals with the
Karma-Kanda of the Vedas, and the Uttara-Mimamsa with the Jnana-Kanda. The Uttara-Mimamsa
is also known as the Vedanta-Darsana. This is the corner-stone of Hinduism. The Vedanta
philosophy explains in detail the nature of Brahman or the Eternal Being, and shows that the
individual soul is, in essence, identical with the Supreme Self. It gives methods to remove Avidya
or the veil of ignorance and to merge oneself in the ocean of bliss or Brahman.
The Nyaya calls ignorance Mithya Jnana, false knowledge. The Sankhya styles it Aviveka,
non-discrimination between the real and the unreal. The Vedanta names it Avidya, nescience. Each
philosophy aims at its eradication by Knowledge or Jnana. Then one attains eternal bliss or
immortality.
By study of Nyaya and Vaiseshika, one learns to utilise his intellect to find out fallacies and
to know the material constitution of the world. By study of Sankhya, one understands the course of
evolution. By study and practice of Yoga, one gains self-restraint and obtains mastery over mind
and senses. By practice of Vedanta, one reaches the highest rung of the ladder of spirituality or the
pinnacle of divine glory, oneness with the Supreme Being, by the destruction of ignorance
(Avidya).