Vaisesika is one of the very oldest of the six orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy. This system was found by the great sage Kanada also named Uluka. It is associated with the Nyaya system and has the same end in view, namely, the liberation of the individual self. It represents a pluralistic realism and is usually held to be an atomistic, metaphysical theory. It accepts only two independent sources of knowledge, perception and inference. It brings all objects of knowledge, i.e. the whole world…
Read moreVaisesika is one of the very oldest of the six orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy. This system was found by the great sage Kanada also named Uluka. It is associated with the Nyaya system and has the same end in view, namely, the liberation of the individual self. It represents a pluralistic realism and is usually held to be an atomistic, metaphysical theory. It accepts only two independent sources of knowledge, perception and inference. It brings all objects of knowledge, i.e. the whole world under seven categories, namely, Dravya, Guna, Karma, Samanya, Visesa, Samavaya and Abava. And the atomic theory of the Vaisesika explains the order of creation and destruction of non-eternal objects. It is an early attempt at an atomic theory of the universe and consequently does not mention ‘God’, but later commentators felt that the atoms by themselves could not have created an orderly universe so they postulated a ‘God’ regulating the activities of the atoms. This paper will give a brief survey of the atomistic pluralism of Vaisesika Sutras.
