ACTIVITY 4

1. Hinduism is a term used to designate a body of religious and philosophical

beliefs indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is one of the
world’s oldest religious traditions, and it is founded upon what is often
regarded as the oldest surviving text of humanity: the Vedas. It is a religion
practiced the world over.
2. It refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional
classification divides orthodox (astika) and heterodox (nastika) schools of
philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes
the vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the
premises of brahman and atman; and whether the school believes in afterlife
and devas.
3. The six orthodox schools are called as shatdarshanas and include nyaya,
sankhya, yoga, vaishesika, purva mimamsa and Uttara mimamsa (Vedanta
philosophy). Most of these schools of thought believe in the theory of karma
and rebirth.
4. The vaishesika darshana is known for its atomism. According to vaishesika,
all material objects of the world are composed of parts and are subjects of
the world are composed of parts and are subject to creation and destruction.
These smaller parts can be further divided into still smaller parts. But this
cannot go endlessly.
5. The sankhya is a jnana yoa-route to salvation through knowledge only. Yoga
is a dhyana yoga-meditation and asceticism. Patanjali’s criticism of sankhya:
metaphysical knowledge alone will not save us. Literal meaning of sankhya
is “discrimination” between purusha and prakriti so as to show the liberation
of purusha.