"The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next", says Henry Ward Beecher a great writer. Usually philosophy is treated as statements so absurd. however,Philosophy is the study of elements, powers, or causes and laws that explain the facts and existences, it is subjected to the influence of race and culture and is driven by a quest for facts.

Every country, every religion has it`s own philosophical thoughts. Indian philosophy on the contrary, is slightly different from the West, or any other part of the world. It includes both orthodox (astika) systems, namely, the Nyaya, Vaishesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva mimamsa, and Vedanta schools of philosophy, and unorthodox (nastika) systems, such as Buddhism and Jainism, which have been concerned with various philosophical problems. Indian philosophy is concerned with various topics, which form a significant part of it. These are: nature of the world (cosmology), the nature of reality (metaphysics), logic, the nature of knowledge (epistemology), ethics, and religion.

Significance of Indian philosophy:
When philosophers of the world were grappling with problems, Indian thinkers were advancing novel formulations and argumentations. Some problems were overlooked by the Western philosophers and taken up for judgments by the Indian thinkers. Similarly, knowledge of Western philosophy turned out to be advantageous to Indian thinkers.

Vedic hymns, Hindu scriptures dating from the 2nd millennium BC, are the oldest extant record from India. The Upanishads (Hindu philosophical treatises) contain one of the first conceptions of a universal, spiritual reality, about nature, life, mind, and human body and not to forget, the social philosophy.

Characteristics of Indian Philosophy:
Indian philosophy offers points related to similarities and illuminating differences. Indian philosophies contain a diversity of views, theories, and systems. Acceptance of the authority of the Vedas characterizes all the orthodox (astika) systems, but not the unorthodox (nastika) systems, such as Carvaka (radical materialism), Buddhism, and Jainism. The Vedas could be cited to corroborate a wide diversity of views.

The logical systems-Nyaya, Vaishesika, and Purva-mimamsa -are only very remotely related. Also, both the philosophies and other scientific treatises, including even the Kama-sutra ("Aphorisms on Love") and the Arthashastra ("Treatise on Material Gain"), recognized the same ideal and professed their efficacy for achieving it. When Indian philosophers speak of intuitive knowledge, they are concerned with making room for it and demonstrating its possibility, with the help of logic-and there, as far as they are concerned, the task of philosophy ends. Indian philosophers do not seek to justify religious faith.

The three basic concepts of Indian philosophy are: the self, or soul (atman), works (karma, or karman), and salvation (moksa). All of these are to some extent, interrelated. Indian philosophers have not developed formal logic.

Historical Development and Background of Indian Philosophy:
S.N. Dasgupta, a 20th-century Indian philosopher, has divided the history of Indian philosophy into three periods: the pre-logical (up to the beginning of the Christian Era), the logical (from the beginning of the Christian Era up to the 11th century AD), and the ultra-logical (from the 11th century to the 18th century). The pre-logical stage covers the pre-Mauryan and the Mauryan periods (c. 321-185 BC) in Indian history. The logical period begins roughly with the Kusanas (1st-2nd centuries AD) and finds its highest development during the Gupta era (3rd-5th centuries AD) and the age of imperial Kanauj (7th century AD).

Indian thoughts developed in its early pre-logical phase. Later there was a rise of protests in the unorthodox schools of Jainism and Buddhism. They protested against the Vedic religion and the theory of Atman in the Upanishads. Sometimes new ideas were absorbed and orthodoxy was modified and sometimes the old orthodox ideas remained engraved in the minds of thinkers. There also existed the two unorthodox schools of yadrchhavada (accidentalists) and svabhavavada (naturalists), who rejected the supernatural. Kapila, the legendary founder of the Samkhya School, supposedly flourished during the 7th century BC. Pre-Mahavira Jaina ideas were already in existence when Mahavira (flourished 6th century BC), the founder of Jainism, initiated his reform. Gautama the Buddha (flourished 6th-5th centuries BC) apparently was familiar with all of these intellectual ideas and was as dissatisfied with them as with the Vedic orthodoxy.

For the first time, a centralized state was brought forward in the Maurya period. This was the period in which the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana were initiated, though their composition went on through several centuries before they took the forms they now have. Manu, a legendary lawgiver, codified the Dharma-shastra; Kautilya, a minister of King Candragupta Maurya, systematized the science of political economy (Arthashastra); and Patanjali, an ancient author or authors, composed the Yoga-sutras. The Bhagavad gita--the most famous work of this period--symbolized the spirit of the creative synthesis of the age.

Schools of Indian Philosophy
During the period of Geeta, there emerged many schools of thought, or `Darshanas`, as they call them. Of these six of the schools became very famous. They are Gautama`s Nyaya, Kaanada`s Vaiseshika, Kapila`s Samkhya, Patanjali`s Yoga, Jaimini`s Purva Mimasa and Badarayana`s Uttara Mimamsa (or Vedanta).

Classical Indian Philosophy
Indian philosophy consist in several different soundings in various of the classical Indian "darsanas" with particular attention to the inter-traditional standards of reason and argument that were systematized -- chiefly under the influence of the schools of Nyaya, Purva Mimamsa, and Buddhist Epistemology -- from roughly the sixth century onwards. In considering these issues, significant attention will be given not only to works that exemplify the modern study of classical Indian philosophy, but also to primary sources in translation.