The six philosophical systems from the Vedas

Originally, there was an unified system of understanding of the Vedas, but with time, scholars started disagreeing, and six separate systems emerged. Which are them?

Jul 25, 2025

On the Vedanta Sutra 1.3.31, Vyasadeva mentions:

madhv-ādiṣv asambhavād anadhikāraṁ jaiminiḥ

This can be translated as: "Jaimini is of the opinion that devas do not engage in madhu-vidyā and other forms of Vedic meditation because it is not possible for them to do so."

Here, the opinion of Jaimini is mentioned. Who is Jaimini, and why is he mentioned here?

In His purport to SB 1.1.7, Srila Prabhupada explains that:

"Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a natural commentation on the Brahma-sūtra, or the Bādarāyaṇi Vedānta-sūtras. It is called natural because Vyāsadeva is author of both the Vedānta-sūtras and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or the essence of all Vedic literatures. Besides Vyāsadeva, there are other sages who are the authors of six different philosophical systems, namely Gautama, Kaṇāda, Kapila, Patañjali, Jaimini and Aṣṭāvakra. Theism is explained completely in the Vedānta-sūtra, whereas in other systems of philosophical speculations, practically no mention is given to the ultimate cause of all causes. One can sit on the vyāsāsana only after being conversant in all systems of philosophy so that one can present fully the theistic views of the Bhāgavatam in defiance of all other systems."

The six philosophical systems that Srila Prabhupada mentions here are:

1- The Nyāya system, by Gautama Ṛṣi,

2- The Vaisesika system, by Kaṇāda Ṛṣi,

3- The philosophy of Sāṅkhya, by the atheistic Kapila,

4- The system of mystic yoga, by Patañjali,

5- The philosophy of Karma-mīmāṁsā, by Jaimini,

6- The philosophy of impersonalism, propounded by Aṣṭāvakra and later Sankaracarya.

Different philosophies that come from India can be divided into two groups. Astika (those that follow the Vedas) and Nastika (those that reject the Vedas).

Different from nastika philosophies like Buddhism, Jainism, and the atheistic empiricism of the followers of Charvaka (philosophies that reject the Vedas), the sad-darshanas, or the six systems of philosophy mentioned here by Prabhupada, are considered astika philosophies because they all accept the Vedas as authoritative.

Originally, these six philosophical systems were different parts of a unified system of understanding of the Vedas, but with time, the scholars started disagreeing, and the systems became separated, with none of them having a complete view of the goal of life.

The resultant six philosophical systems are predominantly atheistic, studying different aspects of the material nature separately from the Supreme Lord. Logic, meditation, and so on are part of our spiritual studies and practice, but when disconnected from Krsna they become just materialistic philosophies that have no purpose in bringing one back to Godhead.

It seems that these six systems also become separated in other cycles of creation of the universe, serving different classes of materialistic persons. Just like Lord Shiva comes as Sankaracarya to establish the Mayavada doctrine and thus bewilder the atheists, different philosophers propound these different philosophical systems at different times for different purposes.

So, what do these six schools teach?

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1- The Nyaya system deals with reasoning and logic, setting up rules of philosophical debate, identifying subjects for discussion, etc. The main concern is in establishing the conditions for obtaining correct knowledge, and the means of receiving knowledge, analyzing the nature and source of different types of knowledge to determine their validity or non-validity, and so on. Logic has a very important role in the study of the Vedanta-sutra, for example, since it is full of logical arguments that lead us to a conclusive understanding of the Upanisads. However, when logic is taken separately, however, it becomes just a tool for debating and exerting one's own ego.

2- The Vaisesika system, propounded by philosophers like Gautama and Kaṇāda, studies the material world in great detail, determining its causes and effects in order to destroy material suffering. They conclude that ignorance is the root cause of all misery, and believe that one can attain liberation only by cultivating the right understanding of reality. The main focus in this school is on studying the cause and effects of the material creation, and especially the material elements. Their conclusion, however, is that the atomic combination of material elements is the original cause of creation. This theory, called Paramāṇuvāda, is similar to what is believed by modern physicists.

3- The Sāṅkhya system is an analytic study of the material elements. Although it bears the same name as the ancient system introduced by Lord Kapila, the son of Devahuti (narrated in the 3rd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam), which has existed since the beginning of the current day of Brahma, the modern system was propounded by another Kapila. While the original Sāṅkhya system taught by Lord Kapila studies the material elements with the ultimate purpose of ascending to a platform of devotional service, the system propounded by the atheistic Kapila discards the existence of God and concludes that since the material world is ultimately illusory, the causes of this material manifestation are also illusory, and thus the ultimate goal is a form of voidism.

4- The process of mystic yoga is offered in the Vedas as a bona fide process of self-realization. Krsna himself describes the system of asthanga-yoga in the Bhagavad-Gita. Originally, yoga means to link our consciousness with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, reviving our original spiritual identity. The system that is counted amongst the six philosophical systems is the patanjala-yoga, propounded by Patañjali in his Patanjala-yoga-sutra. This system is focused on examining the nature of the mind, its workings, the impediments it creates, the causes of material suffering, and so on. The ultimate goal in this system is kaivalya or impersonal liberation.

5- The system of Karma-mīmāṁsā was propounded by Jaimini for common people, as a philosophical school that stresses fruitive activities. In this system, the results of one's material activities are supreme, and if there is a God, he is more or less like an order supplier, who delivers the results of one's karma. According to this system, one should just follow moral principles and perform pious activities, and thus be happy in this world by receiving the results of one’s good karma.

6- The last system is the interpretation of the Vedanta propounded by impersonalists such as Aṣṭāvakra and more recently by Śaṅkarācārya. They reject the idea of the Absolute truth being ultimately a person and accept the impersonal Brahman effulgence as the cause of everything. According to their theory, the material manifestation is temporary and unreal, and only the Brahman effulgence is reality. Just like in the patanjala-yoga system, their ultimate goal is impersonal liberation, merging into the light of the Brahmajoti. The most dangerous concept in this philosophy is the theory that when God comes to this world as an incarnation, He accepts a material body created by the three modes of material nature. This idea that Maya is greater than God made their philosophy known as "Mayavada". Lord Caitanya condemned this philosophy as most offensive. The Bhagavad-Gita also states that when the Personality of Godhead descends in a human form, fools and rascals deride Him.

Apart from these six, there is the philosophy of Brahma-mīmāṁsā, or Vedānta, propounded by Srila Vyasadeva, which brings the ultimate conclusion of the absolute truth. Vyasadeva appears at the end of Dwapara-yuga to restore the correct understanding of the Vedas, which at the time had beem covered by these different philosophies.

In the Bhagavad-Gita (15.15), Krsna mentions how he personally comes as Vyasadeva to compile the Vedas and establish the Vedanta school at the end of Dwapara-yuga: "I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."

In his purport to the same verse, Srila Prabhupada, speaking about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, mentions:

"He is worshipable not only as the impersonal Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the localized Paramātmā, but as the form of the incarnation of the Vedas as well. The Vedas give the right direction to people so that they can properly mold their lives and come back to Godhead, back to home. The Vedas offer knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Vyāsadeva is the compiler of the Vedānta-sūtra. The commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra by Vyāsadeva in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the real understanding of Vedānta-sūtra. The Supreme Lord is so full that for the deliverance of the conditioned soul He is the supplier and digester of foodstuff, the witness of his activity, and the giver of knowledge in the form of the Vedas and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the teacher of the Bhagavad-gītā. He is worshipable by the conditioned soul. Thus God is all-good; God is all-merciful."

Mayavadis claim to be Vedantists, but they don't understand the correct conclusion of the Vedanta philosophy. Being misguided, they think that Vedanta means the interpretation of Sankaracharya. The correct interpretation of the Vedanta Sutra is given in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the commentary given by the author himself, Srila Vyasadeva. The Bhagavatam concludes that Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the perfection of life is to attain pure love for Him.

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