Hinduism

Darshanas

There are six orthodox (āstika) schools of thought called darśanas. Each darśana accepts the Vedas as authoritative and the premise that ātman (soul, eternal self) exists. The six darshanas are:

• Sāṃkhya, an atheistic and strongly dualist theoretical exposition of consciousness and matter.
• Yoga, a school emphasising meditation, contemplation and liberation.
• Vedānta, the last segment of knowledge in the Vedas, or jñānakāṇḍa. Vedānta came to be the dominant current of Hinduism in the post-medieval period.
• Nyāya or logic, explores sources of knowledge. Nyāya Sūtras.
• Vaiśeṣika, an empiricist school of atomism
• Mīmāṃsā, an anti-ascetic and anti-mysticist school of orthopraxy