Course Introduction

This course outlines the fundamentals of ancient Indian philosophy. The course
covers the basic concepts of the nine schools of Indian philosophy while
also delving into various Upanis̩ ads along with their detailed philosophical
explanations. This course is essential as it lays a background for further
philosophical studies and also serves as an introductory overview to studies in
metaphysics and epistemology. The objective of this core course is to introduce
Indian philosophy from various thematic contexts and also build on basic
concepts and their analysis in Philosophy.
The term darśan or Indian philosophy broadly may refer to any of the several
traditions of philosophical thought that originated in the Indian subcontinent:
Hindu philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, Jain philosophy, and Tribal and
Dalit Philosophy. Having the same or rather intertwined origins, all of these
philosophies have a common underlying theme of world vision, and similarly
attempt to explain metaphysics, primarily through their ideas on attainment of
truth and liberation. The characteristic of these philosophies is that they may
belong to one “school” and disagree with each other, like in the case of Dvaita
(dual) and Advaita (non-dual) schools being a part of the same tradition yet
differing in their outlook or the non-Vedic Jaina school and the Vedic Sāṅkhya
school, both of which have similar ideas on pluralism yet are two completely
independent schools.
The BA General Philosophy Course is designed for you to have a holistic
understanding of the basics of the discipline of Philosophy. The first course is
BPYC-131: Indian Philosophy which covers the fundamentals of ancient Indian
philosophy which ranged from the philosophy of the Vedas to unorthodox
philosophies like that of the Cārvāka and Buddhist systems. There are 22 units in
Indian Philosophy course, which are divided into 5 blocks. The first block titled
Introduction to Indian Philosophy is an entry point into Indian Philosophy as it
first introduces the basic concepts and then delves into how the ancient Indian
scriptures form the backbone of the discipline. The first block is divided into four
units. This block helps you to understand the differences between Western and
Indian philosophical traditions, and the aims of philosophy differently perceived
by the Western and Indian thinkers. This block forms a sort of background
study which should enable you to form a proper perspective of Indian thought.
This block looks at the basic questions raised in Indian metaphysics like the
perspectives on reality and the scope of life (including liberation); it also looks
at the modes of answering such questions or the breadth of epistemology in
the context of Indian philosophical thought. One of the units of this block is on
Indian Scriptures. In this unit, you are exposed to the sources of Indian culture.
However, the study material excludes prominent texts like Vedas (also called
Sruti) and scriptures of Buddhism and Jainism. Since, there are other units
reserved for these sources. This unit, therefore, includes only the following;
Smr̩ ti, mythology, vedangas and epics. The relevance of Indian scripture in
Philosophy takes us to the unit named “Philosophy of the Epics”. In the ancient
Indian tradition, there are three main texts that Hindu religion and philosophy
rely on: the Rāmāyan̩a, Mahābhārata, and the Bhagvad Gīta along with other
texts. There is a deep rooted relationship between philosophy and literature —
and many aspects of the Hindu moral philosophy like that of the Purus̩ ārthas,
goals of liberation, theory of karma and so on — are influenced by ancient