[Advaita-l] yoga in advaita vedA.nta - nyAya - and OUR six systems

[Siva Senani Nori]

> > however, it is certainly true that certain *practices*
> > may be borrowed from other darshana-s, if necessary,
> > provided they do not conflict with our siddhAnta. for
> > instance, aShTA~Nga yoga has been traditionally
> > integrated within advaita though the siddhAnta of yoga
> > (sA~Nkhya) is certainly not acceptable to advaita.

More than yoga, the heaviest usage of another 'darSana' seems to be that of
nyAya. Not only advaitins but other vedAntins as well, establish their
sidddhAnta using the methods of nyAya. So much so, the term 'nyAya-SAstra' is
much more widely used than 'nyAya-darSana'. However what is studied is indeed
the darSana itself; otherwise the stipulation that one should necessarily study
uttara-mImAm.saa after nyAya would not be made.
 
> On the advaita-vedanta.org website Vidyasankar states the following:
> 
> Quote
> -----------
....
> interesting observation in this connection is that advaita vedAntins
> have completely internalized yoga practice as an aid to meditation and
> to realize the non-dual brahman."
> ------------
> Unquote

My impression was that of the shaDdarSanas, only uttara-mimAmsaa is extant
currently in the sense of acceptance of the siddhAnta; but neither the percepts
nor the methods of the other five darSanas seem to be dead: nyAya is used to
establish the thesis; yoga as a means; vySeshikaa is so interwined with nyAya
that navyanyAya actually is the amlagamation of them; and sAm.khyaa has left
its imprint on the other five darSanas starting from the classification itself.

So, vedAntins would always be the best proponents of (some aspects of) the
other five darSanas (if advaitins are famous for using yoga, Bengal, esp.
navadvIpa, is famous for nyAya) and I daresay we would not find anybody but
vedAntic Hindus. At least, I have not come across or know of anybody (as in
authors, swAmijis, or other great men) who claims to be a believer in the other
five darSanas. Like Sri Aravinda or Sri PrabhupAda, the modern teachers seem to
build upon one or the other interpretation of the vedAnta, but not go back to
the other five systems.

However, non-believers or the post-religious seem to be growing, though even
these do not subscribe to the cArvAkan motto of 'riNam kuru ghritam piba'
(borrow money and drink ghee).

In sum, it is best to think of the six darSanas as our ancestors' different
approaches to arrive at the Truth and the last one - vedAnta - being the most
robust, tested, and proven one which freely draws upon the techniques and
tenets of the other five. They are all ours and admit of no differentiation in
ownership.

Senani

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