Indian Orthodox Schools. Prephilosophy of Ancient India

Indian philosophy is one of the oldest in the history of world civilization. It is a collection of philosophical theories of all Indian thinkers, ancient and modern, Hindus and non-Hindus, theists and atheists. The originality and power of ancient Indian philosophy had a great influence on the work of the greatest thinkers of the modern and modern times, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, L. Tolstoy, R. Rolland, A. Schweitzer, A. Einstein, V. Heisenberg, etc. In India itself, the centuries-old spiritual heritage has always been a source of inspiration not only for philosophers, but also for outstanding political and public figures: M. Gandhi, J. Nehru, S. Radhakrishnan, etc. And the deeper and more comprehensive study of its distant past, the clearer and the role of India in the fate of world civilization and culture is becoming more obvious.

Eastern philosophy explores the problem of a person from the point of view of practice, people's life, their way of life, it contains many particular problems related to the self-consciousness of people, therefore this topic is relevant today.

The purpose of the test is to characterize the traditional schools of ancient Indian philosophy, to understand how they influenced the development of modern philosophy. Indian philosophy is distinguished by an amazing breadth of horizons, which testifies to its relentless pursuit of truth.

When writing a test paper, I set myself the following tasks:

1 Give a definition of ancient Indian philosophy;

2 List and characterize the schools of ancient Indian philosophy;

3 Describe the main ideas of the teachings of the ancient Indian schools;

1. CONDITIONS OF ORIGIN AND BASIC DIRECTIONS OF ANCIENT INDIAN PHILOSOPHY.

The main feature of ancient Indian epistemology (the doctrine of cognition) is not the study of external (visible) signs of objects and phenomena (which is characteristic of the European type of cognition), but the study of the processes occurring in consciousness when in contact with the world of objects and phenomena.

Philosophy in India originated from one of the most ancient human civilizations; its thousand-year-old traditions dating back to the 15th-10th centuries. BC e., have survived to the present day. Religious and philosophical commentaries on the Vedas - the Upanishads contain ideas that largely determined the entire subsequent development of Indian philosophy (about the unity of an integral spiritual substance, brahmana, and an individual soul, atman; about the immortality of a soul, which passes from one birth to another, according to the law of karma, or retribution). Along with the religious-idealistic teachings, the Upanishads also reflected the views of materialists and atheists, who rejected the authority of the Vedas, the existence of the soul after the death of a person, and considered one of the material principles to be the fundamental principle of the world.

Since the early Middle Ages, there has been a tradition to divide all philosophical schools into orthodox, which recognized the authority of the Vedas, and unorthodox, which rejected the infallibility of the Vedas. Six of the orthodox schools are considered to be the main ones: these are mimamsa, sankhya, yoga, nyaya, vaisesika and vedanta. The unorthodox schools include Buddhist, Jain and numerous materialistic and atheistic schools, the most widespread of which was the Charvaka (Lokayata) school.

In India, a number of schools, which, although not at the same time, exist in parallel and flourish together for several centuries. The reason for this is that in India philosophy was an integral part of life. As soon as a new system of thought appeared, a group of its supporters perceived it as a philosophy of life and created a school of this philosophy.

2. SCHOOLS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

Although the various schools were opposed to each other, Indian thinkers nevertheless find a certain similarity between them. They believe that all people have different inclinations and that this difference must be taken into account in religious, philosophical and social issues and the resulting difference in natural human rights (adhikara-bheda) should be taken into account.

According to the traditional principles of classification, adopted by the majority of orthodox Indian thinkers, schools and systems of Indian philosophy are divided into two broad camps - orthodox (astika) and unorthodox (nastika) The first group includes six main philosophical systems: mimamsa, vedanta, sankhya, yoga, nyaya and vaisesika. They are considered orthodox not because they admit the existence of a god, but because they accept the authority of the Vedas. So, for example, although the Mimamsa and Samkhya schools deny the existence of God as the creator of the world, they are still considered orthodox, since they recognize the authority of the Vedas. In addition to them, there are also less important orthodox schools, such as grammar, medical, and others.

Among the unorthodox systems are mainly three main schools - materialistic (such as Charvaka), Buddhist and Jain. They are called unorthodox because they do not accept the authority of the Vedas.

3. ORTHODOX PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS

3.1 NYAYA (rule, logic) - A system that emphasizes the study of metaphysical issues using logic.

This is a realistic philosophy (the theory according to which things, objects of the external world, exist independently of any cognition, from the attitude to the mind), based mainly on the laws of logic. This philosophy considers mainly the conditions for correct thinking and the means of knowing reality. It recognizes the existence of four independent sources of true knowledge: perception (pratyaksha), inference or conclusion (anumana), comparison (upamana), and evidence or proof (sabda). The objects of cognition, according to the Nyaya school, are: our self, body, feelings and their objects, cognitive ability, mind, activity, mental defects, rebirth, feelings of pleasure and pain, suffering and freedom from suffering. Nyayiki philosophers strive to rid the soul of its attachment to the body. According to the Nyaya system, I (atman) is an independent substance, completely different from the mind and body and acquiring the attributes of consciousness in the process of establishing a connection with an object through the senses. However, consciousness is not an inherent property of the self. This is an accidental side property. It ceases to restrict the self in the state of liberation.

Liberation means the absolute cessation of all torment and suffering, made possible by the correct knowledge of reality. Moreover, liberation is only the relief of suffering, and not pleasure or happiness. To achieve liberation, one must acquire true knowledge of one's self and all other objects of experience. It is necessary to understand that our self is different from the body, mind, feelings, etc.

Nyayiki consider God to be the primary cause of creation, preservation and destruction of the world. He creates the world not out of nothing, but out of eternal atoms, space, time, ether, minds and souls. The thinkers of this school prove the existence of God. They use several arguments to do this. In particular, they say that all complex objects in the world, formed by a certain combination of atoms (mountains, seas, rivers, etc.), must have a cause, because they are by their nature the consequences of some action, just as a consequence of the action the potter is a pot. Without the guidance of a rational cause, the material causes of these things cannot achieve the order, connection, and coordination that enable them to perform certain actions. Man is obviously weak for such a creation.

The second argument is based on the question of the difference in human destinies. Nyayiki say that the causes of suffering and joy are the actions of people committed in the present and past lives. If the world is perfect by God, not only omnipotent, but also morally perfect, then obviously suffering is given to a person for bad deeds, and joy for good. If God is both the creator and the moral leader of the world, then it turns out that human beings are responsible to God for their actions. From this it naturally and necessarily follows that God rewards us for good deeds and punishes us for bad ones.

The third argument for the existence of a god is based on the authority of the Vedas. The significance of the nyaya system lies in its methodology, that is, in the theory of knowledge on which this philosophy is based. Nyaya applies the method of logical criticism to solve all vital and philosophical problems. Nyaya does not provide a systematic view of the world as a whole in the light of a single absolute principle.

3.2 VAYSHESHIKA.

There is constant change, an eternal and cyclical process of rise and fall. In this process, however, there is a stable element atom. Vaisesika is a school that gravitates towards a metaphysical understanding of life, and represents the cosmological aspects of cognition. Within the framework of this school, a structural analysis of the basic elements - earth, water, fire and air - and related concepts - taste, color, touch and smell was undertaken, it sought to distinguish between everything that opposes us in the external and internal world. Vaisesika developed the doctrine of categories and atomistics; being theistic, she saw the liberation of man in the separation of the soul from all material and its transformation into an organ of thought. The philosophical system is based on personal experience acquired at the sensory level. The experience gained is analyzed, and the category of manifestation of padartha is determined, which lends itself to cognition and verbal description. There are seven such categories: substance, quality, action, community, specificity, inherent and non-being. All seven are recognized as real. In other words, in reality everything that lends itself to empirical study represents a substantial beginning, specific characteristics and is interconnected with other objects. Moreover, the characteristics and relationships are no less real than the material manifestation itself. The Nyaya / Vaisesika philosophical system considers the qualitative characteristics of objects as an unconditional reality. For example, each thing has a tree-like quality that gives rise to different quality categories. So, any tree in the corresponding period of the year becomes green, that is, it acquires a specific quality, which, in turn, becomes an independent category. The Vaisesika system was founded by the sage Kanada, whose real name was Uluka. It is related to the nyaya system and has the same ultimate goal - the liberation of the individual self. It brings all objects of knowledge, the whole world, under seven categories: substance (dravya) quality (guna), action (karma), universality (samanya), singularity (visesha), inherent (samavaya) and non-existence (abhava). Substance is a substrate. quality and activity, but it is different from both. There are nine types of substances: earth, water, fire, air, ether (akasha), time, space, soul and mind (manas). Of these, the first five are called physical elements (bhutas) and accordingly have specific qualities of smell, taste, color, touch and sound. The first four consist of four types of atoms - earth, water, fire and air, which are invisible and indivisible particles of matter. Atoms are uncreated, eternal entities, the idea of \u200b\u200bwhich we can get by splitting material objects into smaller and smaller pieces, until this process can be continued. Ether, space and time are intangible substances, each of which is unique, eternal and all-encompassing. Manas is an eternal substance, not extended and, like an atom, infinitely small. It is an inner feeling that directly or indirectly deals with all mental functions, such as cognition, emotions, will. The soul is an eternal and all-encompassing substance that is a substrate of the phenomena of consciousness. The individual soul is realized internally, by the mind of the individual, when, for example, they say: "I am happy." The Supreme Soul, or God, is considered the creator of the world and everything. God created the world from eternal atoms. The origin and disintegration of complex objects are explained by the connection and separation of atoms. But atoms cannot move and act independently. The primary source of their actions is the will of God, who directs their movements in accordance with the law of karma. From atoms the whole world is formed, corresponding to the invisible moral merit of individual souls and serving the cause of their moral redemption. This is the atomistic theory of Vaisesika. It is a teleological theory rather than a mechanistic and materialistic theory, as other atomic theories are. 3.3 SANKHYA ("reasonable weighing" or "transfer").

There are two principles in the world: prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit). The goal of Sankhya philosophy is to distract spirit from matter. Sankhyaik is the calculator.

Sankhya is rightfully considered the oldest philosophical school, as evidenced by the numerous references to this teaching in the Shvegashvatara Upanishad and Bhagavad Gita. However, it is possible that in ancient sources the term Samkhya (knowledge, wisdom) was used in a utilitarian sense. The key concepts of the system are prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirituality). Teaches that there is a primary material root cause of the world. The transformation from an amorphous form into the world of beings and objects was carried out under the influence of three qualitative elements - striving, darkness, clarity. Each item is dominated by one of these three quality elements. The Samkhya recognizes the existence of an absolute soul, which is independent of the material basis of the world. It cannot be observed and discovered. When combined, twenty-five basic principles arise: material and spiritual. Sankhya is a philosophy of dualistic realism, the creation of which is attributed to the sage Kapila. She recognizes the existence of two independent primary realities: purusha and prakriti. Purusha is a kind of rational principle, in which consciousness (chaitanya) is not an attribute, but its very essence. Purusha is "I" completely different from body, senses and mind. Being outside the world of objects, it is an eternal consciousness that is a witness to the changes and actions taking place in the world - consciousness that does not act and does not change. Physical things - chairs, beds, etc. - exist for others rather than themselves. Therefore, there must be a purusha, or I, different from prakrti, or primary matter, but using the products of prakrti. There are many different selves associated with different bodies, as a result of which some people are happy, others are unhappy, some die, others live. Prakriti is the root cause of the world. This is an eternal, unconscious beginning, which, always changing, serves exclusively the satisfaction of I. Sattva, rajas, tamas are the constituent parts of prakriti, which keeps them in a state of peace and balance. These three constituent parts are called gunas. They are in no way qualities or attributes. Rather, they represent the three substantial elements that make up prakrit, just as three ropes twisted together form a rope. We come to the conclusion about the existence of the gunas when we experience pleasure, pain, or are indifferent to certain things. So cause and effect are essentially the same. The effect is the manifested condition of the cause. For example, in vegetable oil, as a consequence, what was already contained in the seed as a cause is found. All things in the world are effects that are endowed with qualities that cause pleasure, pain, or indifference. Therefore, Prakrita, or Pradhana, being the primary cause of things, must have three elements: sattva, rajas and tamas, which have the properties of causing pleasure, suffering or indifference, respectively, as well as manifestation, activity and passivity.

As for the problem of the existence of God, the Samkhya philosophy rejects all belief in the divine. According to this system, the existence of God cannot be proven in any way.

The conceptual basis of the school is built on the same theses that other Hindu teachings proclaim - comprehending the reality of being and finding ways to liberate oneself from suffering. Practical recommendations for spiritual growth are provided by the accompanying Samkhya yoga. 3.4 YOGA (tension, exercise) There is a practice of contemplation; its theoretical basis is Samkhya, but it also recognizes a personal God. An important element is training. Self-control, mastery of breathing in certain positions of the body, isolation of feelings from external influences, concentration of thought, meditation, the state of rejection - liberation from the body. Yoga is a set of religious and philosophical disciplines leading to liberation. The founder of the doctrine is considered Patanjali (who lived about 200 or 400 AD), who systematized the main methods in his "Yoga Sutra", the oldest written manual on yoga. Yoga sets as its goal the liberation of Purusha (achievement of moksha), and this requires spiritual discipline from a person. The system of self-perfection involves eight stages: 1. Abstaining from an unrighteous life (lies, covetousness, sex life). 2. Compliance with regulations - internal and external cleanliness. 3. Static exercises (postures-asanas). 4. Mastering harmonious breathing. 5. Direction of consciousness inward for the purpose of training physical. body to spirit. experience. 6. Focusing on the object. 7. Contemplation of the object. 8. Samadhi - a state of deep meditation (achieving superconsciousness). The meditative process itself represents the practical realization of the nature of reality, declared in the Samkhya philosophy. Personal God plays the role of a source of spiritual exaltation, for the proof of his existence is comprehended as intuitive cognition of the Higher Principle. At the same time, service to Ishvara is an integral part of the physical and mental training of a yogi.

3.5 MIMANSA ("clarification" of the Vedic text about sacrifices)

The main principles of the school are ritualism (orthopraxia), anti-asceticism and anti-mysticism. The central goal of the school is to clarify the nature of dharma, understood as the obligatory performance of a set of rituals performed in a certain way. The nature of dharma is not available, for reasoning or observation, and should be based only on the authority of the Vedas, which are considered eternal and infallible. The school had a huge impact on the formation of the social system of the Hindu society. A more interesting feature of the Mimams school is its unique epistemological theory of the inherent legitimacy of all knowledge as such. It is believed that all knowledge by virtue of the very fact of knowledge is correct (Satahpramanyavada). Thus, what requires proof is not true knowledge, but is mistaken for it. The followers of Mimamsa used this theory to substantiate the undeniable truth of the Vedas.

Ritualism is based on the authority of the Vedas, and therefore the Mimamsa school put forward the theory that the Vedas are not the works of any person and therefore are free from human errors. According to mimansa, the Vedas are eternal and exist independently; the written or spoken Vedas are only a temporary discovery of them through special prophets. To prove the validity of the Vedas, the Mimamsa school puts forward a carefully developed theory of knowledge, which, first of all, should show that the reliability of all knowledge is self-evident. When there are sufficient conditions, knowledge arises. When we read a geographical book, we gain knowledge about the countries described in it on the basis of authority. In each of the above cases, the knowledge received claims to be true, and we accept it without any objection. The authority of the Vedas is undeniable, What the Vedas prescribe to do is correct. What they prohibit is wrong. It is the duty of every person to do what is right and abstain from what is forbidden. Duty should be performed in the name of duty. The rituals prescribed by the Vedas should not be performed with the expectation of receiving any reward for it, but precisely because they are prescribed. Selfless performance of obligatory rituals, which is possible only with knowledge and self-control, gradually destroys karmas and makes possible the realization of liberation after death. The soul should be considered as an immortal, eternal substance, for if we allowed that the soul perishes with the death of the body, then the Vedic precepts requiring the performance of certain rituals to achieve bliss in heaven would be meaningless. The creators of the Mimansa philosophy, like representatives of the Jain school, cite a number of original arguments to prove the existence of an immortal soul, refuting the point of view of materialists who do not allow the presence of anything other than a body. However, they do not consider consciousness to be something inherent in the soul. Consciousness arises in the soul only when it unites with the body and when some object is in front of the organs of cognition (the five external senses and an internal organ called (manas). The liberated soul, which has left the bodily shell, does not have actually existing consciousness, but only The theory of knowledge of Mimamsa proceeds from the premise of eternity and immutability of Vedic knowledge: knowledge is self-evident and identical to self-consciousness. In other words, bare facts do not reflect true knowledge. So, there is a clear dualism of position. Reason exists outside of connection with the objects of study, and knowledge is not derived from the understanding of the results of the empirical process, but unshakable and immutable. Since the eternal truth cannot be revealed with the help of factual evidence, it is worth accepting it as it is displayed in the Vedas. Anything that goes beyond the prescriptions poses an obvious threat of aggravating karma and, accordingly, increasing suffering in the future. 3.6 VEDANTA (completion of the Vedas) Vedanta is the most important among the orthodox schools of ancient Indian philosophy. It is so firmly rooted in Indian culture that it is with it that the features, character and direction of development of all Indian philosophical thought are associated. Basic texts are the Upanishads (IX-V centuries BC), Bhagavad Gita (IX-VI centuries BC) and Brahma-sutra (V-II centuries BC). The central idea of \u200b\u200bVedanta - the idea of \u200b\u200bBrahman. Brahman reveals itself as an impersonal absolute spirit, a genetic and substantial beginning, as well as the final end of all that exists. All things come from it, they are supported by it and dissolve in it. “Truly from what these creatures are born, how the born ones live, what they enter when they die, then you strive to recognize, that is Brahman,” the Upanishads say. There is nothing like him and nothing different from him. Brahman is defined positively - as one, infinite, eternally existing, and negatively: not this, not this, not this ... As a transcendental (transcendental) Truth, it surpasses all our words, concepts, ideas. It is led to it, it is revealed by divine revelation and mystical intuition. Brahman is characterized by the unity of being, consciousness and nothing of equanimous calmness or bliss. The material world is the empirical manifestation of Brahman. The manifestation is untrue, only seemingly real, since it has no basis in itself for its existence. This is an illusion, maya. The whole and only reality of the existence of such a world is contained in Brahman. Only for ordinary consciousness and generally ignorance does the sensuously perceived world turn out to be real. “For one who has reached the state of truth and reality (ie Brahman), the entire visible world disappears,” says the Brahma-sutra. The manifestation of the creative energy inherent in Brahman is the periodic rebirth and death of the world. At a certain time in the next cycle, the world disappears in Brahman, in order to then be reborn from it again. By virtue of its essential identity with Brahman, the Atman is universal, imperishable, supersensible. It opens in the inner experience of a person, independent of external sensations, through a kind of intimate, hidden sense of the mind. As the empirical, or manifested, being of Brahman, the Atman is immanent (inherent in) each individual - as his vital breath. Comprehension of the substantial unity of Brahman and Atman frees a person from the fetters of the endless flow-cycle of life, makes him enlightened, genuine, free. In Vedanta, the concept of four main aspects of life is developed: kama, artha, dharma and moksha. Kama is sensual attraction and passion, the desire for pleasure, the desire for pleasure, in particular love. Artha - material wealth, benefit, benefit, acquisition of wealth, striving for worldly prosperity. The philosophical system of Vedanta (literally - the completion of the Vedas) is still very popular today. The key concept is considered Brahman - the ultimate truth, incomprehensible to the mind, but acquired in the process of prayer contemplation and deep meditation. The argumentation of Vedanta boils down to the following: Vedanta is a religious - philosophical system that unites many teachings, which, in turn, are distinguished by a wealth of ideas (sometimes contradictory) and views.

ANCIENT INDIAN PHILOSOPHY AND MODERNITY.

Despite its ancient origins, Indian philosophy continues to influence the minds of modern people. For example, the oldest sacred scriptures of the planet - the Vedas (dating back millennia BC) - contain knowledge that modern humanity for the most part cannot yet use. This knowledge is striking in its complexity and universality and affects literally all aspects of human life: physics, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, architecture, cosmology, medicine, technology, music, literature, and many others. Sometimes they even surpass modern scientific knowledge. Only in the last few decades have scientists begun to find confirmation of many previously thought mythological facts.

CONCLUSION

Despite the existence of many different schools, the views of which are very different from each other, each school tried to study the views of all others and, before coming to this or that conclusion, carefully weighed their arguments and objections. This character of Indian philosophy has led to the formation of a special method of philosophical consideration. This all-embracing character of Indian philosophy - the tolerance of some of its philosophical schools towards others - had the positive meaning that each philosophical system took on a grounded and complete form. If we open the vast works of the Vedantists, we will find there a careful and thoughtful consideration of the points of view of all other systems: carvaka, Buddhist, Jain, Samkhya, yoga, mimamsa, nyaya and vaisesika; likewise, the works of Buddhist or Jain philosophers deal with the views of other philosophical systems. Therefore, each system is stun! An error in the formula turns out to be encyclopedic in its approach to certain ideas. It is not surprising that many of the problems of modern Western philosophy have already been addressed in Indian philosophy. Moreover, local scholars, familiar only with Indian philosophy, are able to assimilate the most complex problems of Western philosophy with surprising ease.

Indian philosophy is truly "living fruits" that continue to nourish the world's human thought with their juices. Indian philosophy has maintained complete continuity. And no philosophy has had such a strong impact on the West as the Indian one. The main value of ancient Indian philosophy lies in its appeal to the inner world of man, it opens up the world of possibilities for a moral personality, and this is probably the secret of its attractiveness and vitality.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Philosophy: Textbook / Ed. V.D. Gubina, T.Yu. Sidorina, V.P. Filatov. - M .: Russian word, 1997 .-- 432 p. 2. Thompson M. Eastern Philosophy / Translated from English by Y. Bondarev.-M .: FAIR-PRESS, 2000.- 384s.: 3. Indian philosophy: an encyclopedia / otv. ed. M. T. Stepanyants; Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences - Moscow: Eastern Literature, 2009. - 950 p. Shokhin V.K . The first philosophers of India. Tutorial. - M., 1997 .-- 302 p.

4. Shokhin VK School of Indian philosophy. Formation period IV century. BC e. - II century. n. e. - M., 2004.

of Encyclopedias of wonders, mysteries and mysteries

YOGA is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy ("yoga" - from

sanskrit root "Yuj" - "to bind", "to connect", "to direct",

"focus attention", "use", "apply"). The main purpose of yoga

The union of the soul of an individual person (jivatma) with the Supreme universal

Spirit (Paraiatma). Yoga was systematized by Paganjali in his

the classical work "Yoga Sutra" (1 millennium BC), but its roots

goes back to the era of the creation of the early Vedas and Upanishads, which in turn

this has been passed down from generation to generation orally.

Patanjali's eight-step yoga system is called Ashgangi Yoga and

consists of:

1. Yama - general moral requirements.

2. Niyama - self-purification through discipline.

3. Asana - posture.

4. Pranayama - rhythmic breath control.

5. Pratyahara - distraction and liberation of the mind from the power of feelings and external

objects.

6. Dharana - concentration.

7. Dhyana - meditation.

8. Samadhi is a state of superconsciousness resulting from a deep

meditation, when the individual adept (sadhaka) merges with the object

meditation by Paramatma or the Universal Spirit.

The first stage of Atanga Yoga, called Yama, is essentially the great commandments,

true for all religions, countries and times. They are as follows:

1. Nonviolence (ahimsa) - not to cause suffering to any creature or thought

neither word nor deed

2. Truthfulness (satya) - to accurately express the tested, choosing such words,

which bring joy and benefit to the listener and in no way cause

pain (principle of non-violence).

3. Non-stealing (asteya) - not to appropriate what belongs to another neither

by deception, by force, or in any other way.

4. Chastity (brahmacharya) - avoid all conditions for action under which

lust is born. Family awareness and procreation are not prohibited, but

sexual intercourse should be solely for the sake of conceiving children.

5. Non-covetousness (aparigraha) - not to accumulate wealth and objects

enjoyment for yourself personally, as well as not accepting gifts.

Niyam, i.e. there are also five rules for individual behavior:

1. Cleanliness (Shaucha) - daily (morning and evening) physiological,

physical and spiritual cleansing of the body and environment.

2. Humility (santosha) - patiently, without complaint, fulfilling one's duty and

responsibilities - humility before fate.

3. Zeal or asceticism (tapas) - a conscious desire to achieve

final unity with the Divine and exclude all desires that stand on

the way to this goal. In doing so, deliberately expose yourself to physical

inconvenience, endure natural conditions, accustom yourself to various hardships,

perform various types of tempering and abstinence.

4. Self-education (svadhya) - independent study of spiritual

literature, frequent meditation on it, repetition of mantras (short prayers).

5. Devotion to God (Ishvara pranidhana) - dedication of one's actions and will

God, seeking protection from God and trusting only in him. The third step of yoga

is asasa, that is, a comfortable and motionless posture that can be mastered

relaxation of the whole body and concentration in the limitless. Asanas

perfected over the centuries so as to affect every

muscle, nerve and gland of the body. According to yogis, they help to become

free from physical ailments and mental irritations.

These first three stages described above are external search and are

the name is bahiranga sadhana.

Pranayama is the fourth part of Ashtanga Yoga, which consists in

conscious modification of the breathing process and control over it. Pranayama

consists of three parts: puraka (inhalation), rechaka (exhalation), kumbhaka

(holding your breath). Kumbhaka is given great importance, since according to theory

yogis life expectancy depends on the number of breaths taken,

therefore, to prolong life, you need to breathe more slowly or not breathe

at all (hold your breath). Moreover, the word "prana" does not only mean

"inhalation", "breath", but also "life", "energy", "force", therefore prana in the body

the individual is considered part of the cosmic breath of the Universal Spirit.

Pranayana practice is an attempt to harmonize the individual breathing with

space.

In the fifth stage, called Pratyahara, control is exercised over

feelings. All actions, internal and external, take place when consciousness

connects to nerve centers or organs through which a person

perceives the surrounding world. Meeting in life with blessings (good) and

pleasant (selfish) motives for action, a person often chooses

pleasant and unreasonable acts, leading, as a rule, to

disastrous consequences. When consciousness is subordinate to the will, it does not connect with

centers of perception, and therefore feelings and desires become

manageable. One who has attained the ability to connect and

to separate your consciousness from the nerve centers, learned Pratyahara.

Pranayana and Pratyakara help free the senses from being enslaved by objects

desires. These two stages are considered to be the inner search (antaranga sadhana).

The next part of yoga is called Dharana. At this stage, you need to learn

focus entirely on more than one object or task, ideally on this

stage, external and internal stimuli should be calmed as much as possible.

Concentration Exercises Guide Consciousness Inner Circle

psychic energy. This allows for a much finer

perception of reality. As you progress, the mind becomes more and more

restrained and purposeful.

When the mind is accustomed to stay focused on an object,

it acquires the ability, as it were, of a continuous flow towards

this object. Continuous Jarana is called Dhyana, or the seventh degree.

Yogi Patanjali. Body, breath, feelings, mind, reason and ego are all

unites in the object of contemplation.

When the power of Dhyana is so intense that it is possible to drop the outer part

perception and keep contemplation only on the inner sense, comes

the state of Samadhi is the last step and the ultimate goal of yoga, in which

consciousness rises above the limits of self-consciousness and there is a union with

By the Supreme Universal Spirit, during which a continuous

joy and peace.

Distinguishes between two states of Samadhi: sabical and nirvikal. At the initial

stage (sabical samadhi), consciousness mixes with the Cosmic Spirit,

the life force is drawn from the body of the yogi, seemingly motionless, frozen.

He is fully aware of the state of suspended "liveliness" of the body. When is the yogi

progresses to higher states - nirvikal Samadhi, then

it becomes possible to communicate with God without any fixation of the body and in its

ordinary waking consciousness. That is, in the state of subical Samaji, all

there is still some distance from the object of contemplation, in nirvikalpa

Sanazi is fully aware of his own identity with him.

Dharana, Dhyana and Sabikalna Samadhi (three degrees in mental effort

concentration) in relation to one subject constitute Samyama.

Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi bring yoga into the depths of his soul. The last three

steps help him to maintain harmony with himself and his Creator and

are called spiritual search (antaratma sadhana).

Based on Patanjali's classic eight-step system, yoga

developed in different directions, which led to a variety of schools and

currents. The most famous are: Raja Yoga, Hatka Yoga,

kundalini yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga, etc. Despite,

that all eight steps of Patanjali are the basis for any of the above

listed yogas, each of them puts more emphasis on different stages and

has its own subject of concentration. But these yogis do not contradict, do not exclude,

on the contrary, they complement each other. Therefore, it is advisable to practice

yoga exercises of various directions in a complex.

Raja Yoga is considered the highest of the yogas. Only through her can one reach

nirvikal Samadhi. This is the yoga of psychic perception. Its main goal is

cognize your inner nature, concentrating consciousness within yourself. So

her method is to focus on the inner world. According to the doctrine

raja yoga, the entire external world is only a gross form of the internal, or

thin. The outer world is the effect, and the inner world is the cause. Raja yoga

assumes to come from the inner world, to study the inner nature and

through it, manage both internal and external. Exercises in

raja yoga can develop psychic abilities, but this is not the goal of yoga,

but only a side effect. Only able to renounce the use of miraculous

ability achieves the goal of yoga - the perfect unity of the individual

consciousness with the Universal Universal Reason.

Hatha yoga is called a ladder for those who want to climb to the heights

Raja Yoga. In dealing with the physical side of life, Hatha Yoga presents

is the foundation for all other types of yoga. She is the system

health exercises consisting of asanas and pranayana. Asana practice

makes the body flexible, normalizes the work of internal organs, strengthens

nervous system. During the performance of asanas, the yoga body takes on a variety of

forms resembling certain creations of God from a simple plant to

modern sage, which makes you feel your own unity with

countless forms of manifestation of the Universal Spirit. Only after mastering

asanas, you can proceed to pranayama (breathing exercises). Prana in

the individual body (as noted above) is a part of the Universal Spirit.

Therefore, pranayama is aimed at harmonizing individual breathing with

Cosmic breath. Pranayana practice not only greatly improves

state of health, but also allow you to control your sensory

aspirations, help regulate and calm the mind, as well as concentration

him, which leads to Samadhi, i.e. union with the Cosmic Spirit.

Kundalii Yoga aims to awaken the highest divine energy in

human body. It is called "Kundalini". This word comes from

"kundala" meaning a ring or coil of a spiral. Resting energy

symbolized by a sleeping snake coiled into a spiral in three and a half turns.

The three loops represent the three states of mind (avastha): awake

(jagrita), dozing (swapna) and deeply sleeping (sushupti). There is and

the fourth state (turya), combining all the others, and it is depicted

the last half of the spiral. This state is achieved in Samadhi. IN

the usual state of Kundalini is in the lower Muladhara chakra. Chakras are

localized vital centers along the spine. Main chakras

eleven and the highest sahasrara is located in the nerve plexus in the brain.

Kundalini awakening is achieved by the will and mind to be accompanied by

appropriate exercises.

The awakened energy must be forced to rise along sushuma (channel in

spinal column) from mooladhara chakra to sahasrara. This is allegorical

a way of describing the sublimation of sexual energy. After passing

intermediate chakras, when the kundalini reaches the sahasrara, the yogi does not feel

your personality. He crosses the barrier of time and space and

becomes one with the universe.

Bhakti - Yoga is the path to Samadhi through love to God. This love

implies love for everything that exists in the universe, for

all this is nothing more than a manifestation of the Supreme. At the preparatory

step of great importance is the worship of a personal God, inherent in any

religion. When a bhakti yogi is freed from all attachments except

love of God, he has the right to say that all forms and symbols, as help to

the exercise of religion is useless to him. He doesn't notice the difference. IN

in people, in animals, in plants, in the sun, in the stars - in everything he sees

The Almighty, and he himself dissolves in the object of worship.

Karma yoga is considered the yoga of action, or rather, of labor (here the word "karma"

means work). The main idea of \u200b\u200bthis yoga is a person living in society,

must work, not for the sake of accumulating wealth, a career, or any other

own benefits, but for the sake of the work itself and the benefits that it brings

to others. The yogi must give up the results of his labor, that is, good

fulfill their duties, but not be attached to either the occupation or to

the material rewards that it brings. By selfless

labor and rejection of the fruits of their activities, liberation from

egoism, leading to the expansion of personality and awareness of the unity of the Universe.

Jnaka yoga is the yoga of the mind that treats religion as a science. Yogi not

has the right to believe contrary to reason, so he must reason. Based

the fact that knowledge of the whole is possible through its parts, you need to look for primary

elements, study them and try to deduce the basic principles. Catching up

detailed physiology of sensory, motor and brain centers, jnana yogis

tries to understand the mechanisms of perception. Realizing the limitations of knowledge

world with the senses, he tries through mental efforts to understand what is

in fact time, space and causality. By focusing on these

global problems, a way out of the narrow framework of individual

mind and transition to a new level of consciousness, making it clear the true essence of

a single Universe and dissolve your personality in the Ocean of Cosmic Reason.

All that has been written allows us to state that yoga is an ancient scientific and

systemic lifestyle practiced in order to successfully organize

all energies to the ability of a human being seeking to achieve

the highest ecstatic communion with the Cosmic Reality (or God).

India is an ancient country, about 8 thousand years old. An amazing people lived on its territory - the Indians. They were divided into several social classes. Where the priests played an important role. Although historians do not know who ruled such an amazing state. The Indians had their own language and writing. Their writings cannot be deciphered by scientists to this day. The ancient Indians presented to mankind such agricultural crops as cotton, sugar cane. They have tamed the largest animal in the world - the elephant. They revered and believed in different gods.

Orthodox schools of ancient Indian philosophy:

1.Vedanta - one of the six orthodox schools (darshan) in the philosophy of Hinduism. In fact, Vedanta is the general name for a number of philosophical and religious traditions in Hinduism, united by theme, subject, and partly by the founding texts and comments written to them, and shared by the proposed solutions. In addition to the Vedas and Upanishads, Vyasa's Vedanta-sutras are considered the authoritative texts in all directions of Vedanta, and in theistic schools - Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavata Purana. Vedanta is mainly devoted to the philosophical interpretation of the teachings of the Aranyak and Upanishads.

Vedanta, like the Vedic scriptures on which it is based, mainly focuses on self-awareness - the individual's understanding of his original nature and the nature of absolute truth - in its personal aspect as Bhagavan or in its impersonal aspect as Brahman. Vedanta, which is understood as "ultimate knowledge" or "the end of all knowledge", is not limited to any particular text or texts, and Vedantic philosophy does not have a single source. Vedanta is based on immutable, absolute, spiritual laws that are common to most religions and spiritual traditions of the world. Vedanta, as ultimate knowledge, leads to a state of self-awareness or cosmic consciousness. Both historically and in modern contexts, Vedanta is understood as an entirely transcendental and spiritual state, and not as a concept that can be comprehended simply with the help of the material mind.

2.Mimansa - one of the orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. Another name is purva-mimamsa (an exact translation of "first mimamsa" or "first research", in contrast to the Vedanta, called uttara-mimamsa, or "last research"). Basic principles of the school - ritualism (orthopraxia), anti-asceticism and anti-mysticism. The central goal of the school - an explanation of the nature of dharma, understood as the obligatory performance of a set of rituals performed in a certain way. The nature of dharma is not available for reasoning or observation, and should be based only on the authority of the Vedas, which are considered eternal and infallible. Purva-mimamsa denies the attainment of moksha ("liberation") as the goal of life, and also denies the existence of God, the creator and ruler of the universe. The school had a huge impact on the formation of the social system of the Hindu society.

3.Sankhya - the philosophy of Indian dualism, founded by Kapila. There are two principles in the world: prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit). The goal of Sankhya philosophy is to distract spirit from matter.

4.Yoga - in a broad sense, meaning the totality of various spiritual, mental and physical practices developed in different directions of Hinduism and Buddhism and aimed at controlling the mental and physiological functions of the body in order to achieve an individual's elevated spiritual and mental state. In a narrower sense, yoga is one of the six orthodox schools (darshan) of the philosophy of Hinduism. The original goal of yoga - change in the ontological status of a person in the world. The main directions of yoga - this is raja yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga and hatha yoga. In the context of the philosophy of Hinduism, yoga is understood as the system of Raja Yoga, set forth in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and closely related to the fundamental principles of Samkhya. Yoga is discussed in various scriptures of Hinduism such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita and Tantra. The ultimate goal of yoga can be very different.: from improving physical health to achieving moksha. Outside of India, the term "yoga" is often associated only with hatha yoga and its asanas - physical exercise, which does not reflect the spiritual and mental aspects of yoga. One who studies and practices yoga is called a yogi or yogi.

5.Vaisheka - one of the six main theistic schools of Indian philosophy (Mimamsa, Vedanta, Yoga, Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisesika). It was founded by the sage Canada (III-II centuries BC), his real name is Uluka. Vaisesika gets its name from the word visesha, which means singularity. The nickname Canada means the eater of atoms. The impulse of the Vaisesika system is its hostility to Buddhist phenomenalism. While recognizing the Buddhist point of view on the sources of knowledge: perception and inference, Vaisesika at the same time believes that souls and substances are immutable facts. She does not associate herself with theological problems.

3. Unorthodox schools of ancient Indian philosophy (Buddhism, lokayata).
Buddhism - a religious and philosophical doctrine (dharma) about spiritual awakening (bodhi), which arose around the 6th century BC. e. in ancient India. The founder of the doctrine is considered Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha Shakyamuni. The followers of this doctrine themselves called him the word "Dharma" (Law, Teaching) or "Buddhadharma" (Teaching of Buddha). The term "Buddhism" was coined by Europeans in the 19th century.

It is believed that this is one of the oldest world religions, recognized by a wide variety of peoples with completely different traditions. "Without understanding Buddhism, it is impossible to understand the great cultures of the East - Indian, Chinese, not to mention the cultures of Tibet and Mongolia, permeated with the spirit of Buddhism to their last foundations." After several years of observing his consciousness, Buddha Shakyamuni came to the conclusion that the cause of people's suffering is their own actions, and to stop suffering, to achieve nirvana, you can practice self-restraint and meditation. Buddha argued that his teaching is not a divine revelation, but received by him through meditative contemplation of his own spirit and all things. Teaching is not a dogma, and the results depend on the person himself.

For two and a half thousand years in the process of spreading, Buddhism has absorbed many different beliefs and ritual practices. Some followers of Buddhism emphasize self-knowledge through meditation, others - on good deeds, and still others - on worshiping Buddha. Differences in ideas and rules in different Buddhist schools force "to recognize as 'Buddhism' any teaching that was considered Buddhist tradition itself." But they are all based on the following doctrines:

Four noble truths;

The doctrine of causal origin and karma;

Anatmavada doctrine (principle of non-essence, "no-soul";

Kshanikavada doctrine (doctrine of instantaneousness);

Buddhist cosmology.

All Buddhists believe that these principles were proclaimed by the Buddha himself, but their interpretations can be very different.
Lokayata.
Lokayata is the materialistic teaching of Ancient India. The Lokayat school is considered atheistic. This is one of the most controversial areas of Indian philosophical thought.

Lokayats in the early period of Indian philosophy were called professional debaters, many of whom were interlocutors of Buddha Gautama. The art of lokayata was one of the disciplines taught in 5th century brahmana schools. BC e. and later. Lokayats undertook to prove that everything exists and nothing exists, that everything is one and everything is multiple, that the crow is white because its bones are white, and the crane is red because it has red bones. In the classical period of Indian philosophy, lokayata was identified with carvaka. The second name of the school is associated either with the words charu and waka, the combination of which literally means "beautiful speech", or with the name of the philosopher Charvak, who is believed to be a skeptic and materialist, the author of the Brihaspati-sutras (c. 600 BC e.). Others consider the founder of the teachings to be a semi-legendary sage named Brihaspati. There is another etymological version, according to which materialists have long been called the word "carvaka" because they preached the doctrine of "eat, drink, be merry" ("charv" - to eat, chew). Lokayata belongs to the category of nastika, that is, a teaching that denies the authority of the Vedas.

Buddhism is a religious and philosophical teaching (dharma) about spiritual awakening (bodhi), which arose around the 6th century BC. e. in Southeast Asia based on the ideas of Buddha Shakyamuni.

Jainism is a religious and philosophical doctrine that arose in India around the 6th century BC. e., which denies the authority of the Vedas and the superiority of the hereditary caste of priests.

As a result, systems arise that defeat them based on the materials of the sacred texts. Within Brahmanism there are 6 "darshan" (modes of view), which are all considered an equal form of interpretation of the truth.

Mimamsa ("clarification" of the Vedic text on sacrifices) deals with the explanation of the ritual, but by its methods can be attributed to atheistic pluralistic systems,

Vedanta (completion of the Vedas) in the Brahma Sutra, based on the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, teaches about the emergence of the world from Brahman; individual souls through knowledge or love of God - bhakti - automatically attain salvation, attain union with God without merging with him. Influenced by the idealism of late Buddhist philosophy, Shankara (about 800 AD) gives the texts a new interpretation, which regards the old teaching about the real transformation of Brahma only as a lower stage of truth, as an appearance of truth; in fact, all diversity is an illusion (maya), individual souls are identical to the unchanging Brahma.

Sankhya ("reasonable weighing", or "enumeration") preaches atheistic pluralism: primordial substance is only apparently connected with a kind of soul-spirit; overcoming this illusion guarantees liberation,

Yoga (tension, training) is the practice of contemplation; its theoretical basis is Samkhya, but it also recognizes a personal God.

Nyaya (rule, logic) - the doctrine of the forms of thinking, which developed a five-term syllogism.

Vaisesika merged into one system with yoga, which sought to establish the differences between everything that opposes us in the external and internal world. Vaisesika developed the doctrine of categories and atomistics; being theistic, she saw the liberation of man in the separation of the soul from all material and its transformation into an organ of thought.

Jainism and Buddhism are non-theistic creeds. While the former recognizes eternal spiritual monads and material entities, the latter denies the existence of an unchanging substance. Personality and the world it knows are born due to the interaction of naturally occurring transient factors - dharmas. The recognition that there is no immutable individual, but only a stream of interacting dharmas, is a prerequisite for attaining nirvana. The extreme pluralism of early Buddhism, the pluralism of the Hinayana, or "little vehicle," is opposed to the monism of the Mahayana, or "great vehicle." According to the "middle teaching" of Nagarjuna (1st-2nd centuries), dharmas do not possess true being, for they are transient; only the incomprehensible "emptiness" accessible only to contemplation is real. Samsara and nirvana from the highest point of view of reality are one and the same. In the later teachings of Asanga and Vasubandhu (I-IV centuries) on the "oneness of consciousness", Buddhism approaches Vedanta in that it considers the spiritual as a finite being, perceived through yoga, when the external world is cognized as a projection of consciousness.

Yoga is a concept in Indian culture, in a broad sense, meaning a combination of various spiritual, mental and physical practices developed in different directions of Hinduism and Buddhism and aimed at controlling the mental and physiological functions of the body in order to achieve an elevated spiritual and mental state by an individual. In a narrower sense, yoga is one of the six orthodox schools (darshan) of the philosophy of Hinduism. The original goal of yoga is to change the ontological status of a person in the world.

The nyaya system (Skt. "Law, rule") is one of the six main theistic schools of Indian philosophy (mimamsa, vedanta, yoga, sankhya, nyaya, vaisesika). This is a realistic philosophy (the theory according to which things, objects of the external world, exist independently of any cognition, from the attitude to the mind), based mainly on the laws of logic. Its basic text is the Nyaya Sutras.

Vedanta (Skt. "Ending of the Vedas") is one of the six orthodox schools (darshan) in the philosophy of Hinduism. In essence, Vedanta is the general name for a number of philosophical and religious traditions in Hinduism, united by theme, subject, and partly by the founding texts and comments written to them, and shared by the proposed solutions. In addition to the Vedas and Upanishads, Vyasa's Vedanta-sutras are considered the authoritative texts in all directions of Vedanta, and in theistic schools - Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavata Purana.

Initially, this name referred to the philosophical texts adjacent to the Vedas - Brahmans, Aranyaks and Upanishads, which are an explanatory and additional part of the four Vedas. Subsequently, these ancient Vedic texts served as the basis for the orthodox (astika) school of Indian philosophy, which became known as Vedanta. Vedanta is also called uttara-mimansa, that is, the second, later, or highest mimansa, in contrast to another school of Indian philosophy - purva-mimansa - the first mimamsa. Purva-mimansa is usually called simply mimansa and focuses on interpreting the meaning of the Vedic fire sacrifices and the mantras used in them, as set forth in the Samhitas of the four Vedas and in the Brahmanas. Vedanta is mainly devoted to the philosophical interpretation of the teachings of the Aranyak and Upanishads.

The Vedantic tradition in Hinduism interpreted the Upanishads and explained their meaning. Vedanta, like the Vedic scriptures on which it is based, mainly focuses on self-realization - the individual's understanding of his original nature and the nature of the Absolute Truth - in its personal aspect as Bhagavan or in its impersonal aspect as Brahman. Vedanta, which is understood as "ultimate knowledge" or "the end of all knowledge", is not limited to any particular text or texts, and Vedantic philosophy does not have a single source. Vedanta is based on immutable, absolute, spiritual laws that are common to most religions and spiritual traditions of the world. Vedanta, as ultimate knowledge, leads to a state of self-awareness or cosmic consciousness. Both historically and in modern contexts, Vedanta is understood as an entirely transcendental and spiritual state, and not as a concept that can be comprehended simply with the help of the material mind.

The Vaisesika system (Skt, "excellent, outstanding") is one of the six main theistic schools of Indian philosophy (Mimamsa, Vedanta, Yoga, Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisesika) .. It was founded by the sage Kanada (III-II centuries BC. .), his real name is Uluka. Vaisesika gets its name from the word visesha, which means singularity. The nickname Canada means the eater of atoms.

The impulse of the Vaisesika system is its hostility to Buddhist phenomenalism. While acknowledging the Buddhist point of view on the sources of knowledge: perception and logical inference, Vaisesika at the same time believes that souls and substances are immutable facts. She does not associate herself with theological problems.

General characteristics of ancient Eastern philosophy.

Philosophy as a theoretical discipline about the world and man appears practically simultaneously in the West and in the East. The formation of Eastern philosophizing takes place in two traditions - Chinese and Indian.

Eastern thought is in many ways similar to ancient thought. Comparing Eastern philosophy with Western, one can consider them philosophizing of various types. Unlike Western (antique), Eastern philosophical thought is not characterized by a complete rejection of the mythological tradition. Using logic and reasonable argumentation to explain the universal, the Eastern tradition does not reject the truths reflected in the myth, but develops and complicates them. The structure of the philosophical text is also specific in the Eastern tradition. Any philosophical monument is multi-layered. It contains a layering of names, images, ideas and concepts. It is the work of not one author, but of an entire school, while the time of its creation is measured in centuries.

Orthodox and unorthodox schools of ancient Indian philosophy: principles, ideas and categories.

Prephilosophical knowledge in India was transmitted in the Vedas. The approximate dating of the most ancient parts of the Vedic corpus dates back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Vedas are collections of texts - fragments of ancient myths, sacrificial formulas and incantations intended for cult use by brahmans (priests).

The Vedas consist of four separate corpuses: Rig Veda (collection of hymns), Samaveda (collection of chants), Yajurveda (collection of sacrificial formulas), Atharvaveda (collection of incantations).

At the end of the II millennium BC. e. the Upanishads appear "are actually philosophical texts aimed at finding new knowledge. Already in the Upanishads, the main themes of Indian philosophy are formed: the idea of \u200b\u200bthe unity of Brahman and Atman and the doctrine of karma (fate) and rebirth.

Brahman is incorporeal, omnipotent, infinite, eternal and incomprehensible. The manifestation of Brahman is Atman. The "World Soul" (Atman) is identical to the individual human soul. The real goal of human life is to destroy the causes that prevent the liberation of the atman from the outer covers, physical and spiritual sheaths. Samsara - a chain of dependent rebirths - is determined by karma, i.e. the cumulative result of the thoughts, words and actions of a person.

From the VI century. BC e. the time of classical philosophical systems begins. It is customary to distinguish between orthodox systems of thought, which recognize the authority of the Vedas as Revelation, and unorthodox systems, which deny the uniqueness of the authority of the Vedic texts. Buddhism and Jainism are ranked as unorthodox systems. The six most influential classical orthodox systems are Nyaya and Vaisesika, Sankhya and Yoga, Vedanta and Mimamsa.

Unorthodox teachings of Indian classical philosophy: Jainism, Buddhism.

The doctrine of Jainism (599-527 BC) originated in the mainstream (from Sanskrit. "Ascetics" or "wandering hermits." The doctrine of Jainism develops a number of ideas of the Upanishads. Thus, the concept of rebirth of the soul leads to the conclusion about the existence of a soul in everything that exists in the world: animals and insects, plants and leaves. The good goal is to liberate the soul and achieve the status of a perfect person. For this, a person must lead a virtuous life.

The philosophy of Buddhism (I millennium BC) goes back to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (560-480 BC) (Buddha) or "the enlightened one". Buddhism is formed on the basis of the positions expressed by this thinker. The years of life of Siddhartha Gautama are usually determined within the framework of 560-480 years. BC e.

Buddha considered only one truth categorical: the world is arranged in such a way that a person in it is a suffering being. Therefore, all there is to know about the existence of the world and man is that they are based on suffering. Suffering is the ultimate reality of existence. The basis of Buddhist doctrine is four "noble truths". The first, "the truth of suffering," is the truth about the universality of suffering that permeates the entire bodily and mental existence of man.

The second truth, "the truth of the origin of suffering," proceeds from the fact that suffering is conditioned by desire: the desire for pleasure, the desire for existence and the desire for destruction. Therefore, suffering is birth, old age, illness, death, connection with what is undesirable, separation from what is desirable, failure to achieve everything that you want to achieve.

The third truth ("the truth of the cessation of suffering"): suffering can be stopped by freeing himself from desire. A person, continuously improving karma, can interrupt the chain of rebirth and achieve liberation from suffering - nirvana (a state of complete detachment from the world around).

The fourth truth, "the truth of the path," says that the path to the end of suffering is eightfold. Eight stages lead from the realization of the illusory nature of one's own self through merciful deeds, improvement in morality, meditation, which allows one to achieve the state of enlightenment (bodhi), which leads to nirvana.

Ideally, all this is feasible only in renunciation of the world as a complete rejection of murder, lies, theft, drinking alcohol, participating in entertainment, using money.