Outlines of Indian Philosophy by Hiriyanna

Summary of the Introduction

N J Sadhana
HS18H064

The Introduction begins with a broad outline of the contents of the book. It traces Indian philosophy
back to the hymns of the Rig Veda. The richness of Indian thought, which developed practically
unaffected by outside influence, was responsible for the evolution of several systems of philosophy
besides creating Brahminism and Buddhism.
 
However, Hiriyanna also mentions some drawbacks in recording and analysing Indian philosophic
thought one of which is the lack of information about dates. There is a deficiency in terms of tracing
the exact roots of philosophical ideas because of a lack of exact chronology in early Indian history
which leads to a looseness of perspective. The only date which is agreed by all scholars is the death of
Buddha which occurred in 487 BC. Another difficulty is the absence of references to the lives of the
great thinkers who created the texts that we refer to. This indifference by ancient Indians towards the
personal histories of their great men could be due to the realisation that individuals are just a product
of their times but very little of them is known.
 
The History of Indian thought can be divided into two stages: close of the Vedic Period and the
beginning of the Classical Period. The works that survived from the former period were held sacred
with remarkable accuracy but because the collection was made for ritualistic purposes, it fails to give
a comprehensive outlook into the character of the thoughts and beliefs that existed then. The
collection also lacks a system, unlike the latter. The latter period saw extensive literature with new
discoveries which appears in a systemized form. But because it was handed down by oral tradition,
reliability can be questioned as additions and amendments have been made in different places. The
period can be further divided into two: early post-Vedic Period (500 BC to the beginning of the
Christian Era) and the age of the systems.
 
One important characteristic of Indian thought is its richness and variety. It includes multiple shades
of speculation and hence cannot be characterised easily. It is often described as pessimistic due to
partial knowledge of the scholar but the emphasis on the reality of the external world or on the
optimistic view of life in a larger sense can be observed.
 
Underlying the varied development, there are two divergent currents: orthodox and heterodox.
Orthodox is the one which has its source in the Veda and heterodox is the one which is independent of
it. The former is more complex and has general trends of pessimism while the latter commenced as a
reaction against the first and eventually developed a constructive side. However, both these currents
have certain common characteristics. They portray that religion and philosophy is intertwined in
India. Both seek the central meaning of existence but develop on different lines. Indian philosophy
aims beyond logic, it did not originate because of curiosity but rather the pressure of a practical need
from the presence of moral and physical evil in life. Furthermore, philosophy is not merely a way of
thought but rather a fundamental way of life. Both orthodox and heterodox ideas agree on the
necessity of renunciation but assign different reasons to it and also see asceticism as a bond of union.
Heterodox held that man should turn away from the world regardless of circumstances while the
orthodox regarded the ascetic ideal as only to be progressively realised. There was a constructed
duality of the society and individual.

Reference: Hiriyanna, M. (1993) 1994. Outlines of Indian Philosophy. Reprint, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass