Indian philosophy is not only the most ancient of all philosophies, but also the most variegated.Though each theological school that originated in ancient India has evolved in its philosophical arguments, they cannot be termed schools of philosophy as they are not specific, are disorganised and not amenable to systematic and scientific reasoning or conclusions.Among the many schools of philosophy, nine schools have emerged as complete schools: Nyaya propounded by Gautama, Vaiseshika propounded by Kanada, Sankhya propounded by sage Kapila, Ashtanga-yoga propounded by Patanjali, Purva-mimamsa by Jaimini, Uttara-mimamsa by sage Veda Vyasa, Buddhism by Lord Gautama Buddha, Jainism by Lord Mahavira and Carvaka propounded by Carvaka, also referred to as Charuvaka.According to popular belief, the Vedas revealed themselves, and are therefore a manifestation of God.Every school of philosophy was required to substantiate its conclusions with evidence from the Vedas.The schools of philosophy that subscribe to the authority of Vedas are therefore classified as theistic schools, and the schools that do not are termed atheistic. The first six of the aforementioned schools are theistic schools and the last three atheistic.Each school of philosophy, excepting Charuvaka’s, has further evolved into many sub-schools. The Uttara Mimamsa school, for instance, has been interpreted differently by different philosophers; Shankaracharya propounded Advaita school of thought, Ramanujacharya the Vishista Advaita, Madhavacharya propounded Dvaita, Vishnu Sharma and Vallabhacharya the Shuddha Advaita, Nimbarkacharya the Dvaita-advaita school, Baladev Vidya Bhushan the Achintya bheda-abheda and Bhaskaracharya his own school of thought. There are subsects in Buddhism and Jainism as well.Considering the philosophy of each sub-sect is different, we can conclude that at least 50 different schools of philosophy have originated in India.The founders of each school condensed their philosophical conclusions into small Sanskrit aphorisms, which were orally transmitted. These aphorisms were understood with the help of Vedic texts or of senior spiritual masters in the case of the atheistic schools of thought.Each Sanskrit word is derived from a root, which has varying meanings, causing differences to arise among philosophers with respect to interpretations of the aphorisms. Each individual philosopher found Vedic texts to support his interpretation of the aphorisms passed on to him, resulting in the emergence of several schools and sub-schools of philosophical thought.
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