Darshanas – Six Classical Schools of Indian Philosophy

The word darshana means viewpoint or way of seeing.

Within Indian philosophy, there are six classical schools known as the āstika darshanas: orthodox schools defined by their acceptance of the Vedas, the oldest collection of Sanskrit texts, as an authoritative source of knowledge. Each school also accepts the existence of Atman, the eternal Self.

These six schools are not separate paths, they are different philosophical lenses through which thinkers have explored the nature of reality, consciousness, and liberation. Knowing they exist helps you understand where the concepts you'll encounter in yoga (the gunas, the mind, the Self) actually come from:

Samkhya: A dualist framework

Samkhya: A dualist framework exploring consciousness (Purusha) and matter (Prakriti). The earliest of the six schools, and the direct philosophical foundation of classical yoga.

Yoga

Yoga: Emerges from Samkhya and adds practice: meditation, breath, and contemplation; as the path toward liberation.

Nyaya

Nyaya: A school of logic and epistemology, exploring how we come to know what we know.

Vaisheshika

Vaisheshika: An empiricist school concerned with atomism and the categorization of reality.

Mimamsa

Mimamsa: Focuses on Vedic ritual, duty, and right action (karma).

Vedanta

Vedanta: Built upon the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras, Vedanta is the most developed and best-known of the six schools. Rather than focusing on ritual, it centers on jnana (knowledge), meditation, self-discipline, and self-knowledge while exploring metaphysical concepts such as Atman and Brahman.

Its authoritative texts are the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. Over time it branched into many sub-schools, ranging from theistic dualism to non-theistic monism; which is why you'll encounter Vedanta interpreted in many different ways across yoga traditions.