DARSANA. SANSK. Demonstration ; a system of doctrine or philosophy, of which six schools are recognised by the Hindus :— 1. The Sankhya philosophy of Kapila was dual istic, teaching the distinction of soul and matter.
2. The Yoga or Patanjala system taught the practice of abstraction, or Yoga. - Logic or dialecties has two parts, viz.: 3. The Nyaya, as taught by Gautarna or Aksha pada ; and 4. Vaiseshika, founded by Kanada or Kanabh aksha.
5. The Purva Mimansa philosophy, by Jaimini, treating of the purport of the ceremonies of the Vedas. It is commonly called the Mimansa. - 6. The Uttara Mimansig-1 ACedanta, by Veda Vyasa or Badarayana, inculcating the unity of spirit and matter.
The principal doctrinea of the Uttara Mums* are that God is the omniscient and omnipotent cause of the existence, continuance, and dissolu tion of the universe. It is supposed to have been founded three or four centuries before Christ. The Nyaya and Vaiseshika recognise a supreme being. The Yoga is theistical, and Sankhya athe istical. All have the samo final object, the emanci pation of the soul from future birth and existence, and its absorption into the supreme soul of the universe.
The Sankhya systein was taught by Kapila. Its principal doctrine is that rest from transmigration is to be obtained by. true knowledge, and that true knowledge consists in regarding man and tho world as altogether worthless and perishable. Kapila added little or nothing about the eternal reality behind these transitory things, and this important portion of the scheme was completed by Patanjali, forming the second or Yoga system of philosophy. Patanjali's four chapters are appended in the best manuscripts to the Sutras (or leaves) of Kapila, and form together the work called Sankhyapravrtchana.
The third philosophic system is the Nyaya of Gautama, which again was supplemented by the Vaiseshika, or fourth system of Kanada. These
two daraanas both occupy themselves with elabo rate investigations into the mental constitution of man and the laws of logic, as means for the attainment of true knowledge. Lastly, the fifth and sixth systems are called the Purva Mimansa and the Uttara Mimansa. The first originated by Jaimini, and the second by the eminent sage Vyasa. It is this last system, the Uttara Mimansa of Vyasa, to which the title of Vedanta is applied; the word meaning, the ultimate aim of the Vedas.' All the other systems of philosophy recognise the Vedas as sacred ; but the two Mimansas treat them as absolute revelation, and are in fact commentaries and interpretations of their earlier and later portions.
Tho Vedanta simply teaches that the universe emanates in successive developments from Brahma or Paramatnia, the supreme soul ; that man's soul is identical in origin with tho supreme soul ; and that liberation from transmigration will be obtained so soon as man knows his soul to be one with the supreme soul. The Vedanta. system represents the religion of Hindu philosophy, or rather the religion of philosophers. To suppose that men who accepted the Sankhya or 1\ yaya systems would therefore take no interest in the Vedanta, would be somewhat like supposing that if a man studied Aristotle he would necessarily despise the Psalms. The great Hindu theologian, Sankaracharya, author of the poem Atina-Bodha, was au enthusiastic Vedantist.
vt.Darsana. with lay Hindus generally means per formance of religious duties, visiting temples, seeing or reverencing idols.