HOW TO READ INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

VEDIC PHILOSOPHY IS MORE VOLUMINOUS THAN ALL THE LITERATURE OF OTHER PHILOSOPHIES PUT TOGETHER, MORE ESOTERIC THAN QUANTUM MECHANICS AND AS OLD AS EARTH. CONSIDERING THE SIZE, MANY AN APPREHENSION WOULD TWART THE EFFORTS OF AN AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL FROM ATTEMPTING A COMPHRENSIVE STUDY. APPROPOS THE TOOLS NEEDED TO COMPHREHEND IT, ONE NEEDS A THROUGH KNOWLEDGE ON SANSKRIT TARKA, MIMANSA, NYAYA , VYAKARNAM , VEDAS, UPANISHADS, BRAHMASUTRAS, SMRITIS, ITIHAS AND PURANAS. VEDAS ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR MAJOR BRANCHES RIG, YAJUR, SAMAN, ATHARVANA. VEDAS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO SAMHITAS, BRAHMANAS, ARANYAKAS AND UPANISHADS. THESE UPANISHADS ARE 108 IN NUMBER THOUGH ONLY ABOUT 15 OF THEM ARE DEEMED IMPORTANT. THESE UPANISHADS WERE CONSIDERED TOO ESOTERIC AND WERE CONDENSED INTO BRAHMASUTRAS BY BADRAYANA OR VEDA VYASA. THESE BRAHMASURTAS ALSO KNOWN AS VEDANTA REQUIRED AN INTERPRETATIVE TRADITION AND WERE COMMENTED BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS LIKE SHAMKARA, RAMANUJA, MADAVA, NIMBARKA, VALLABA, ..... AND SO ON . APART FROM THESE VEDANTA SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT THERE WERE NYAYA, VAISESIKHA, YOGA, SAMKYA, BUDDHA , JAINA..ETC SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT. BUT VEDANTIC SCHOOLS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME BECAME MORE PROMINENT THAN THE REST. ....MORE TO BE CONTINUED.

FOR A BEGINNER INDIAN PHILOSOPHY BY S. RADHA KRISHNAN IS A GOOD STARTER