Indic Thought Models
Research Team:
Dr. Vaishnavi Nishankar, Dr. Suryanarayana Jammalamadaka, Dr. Sai Susarla
Based on Insights of Prof. Shrinivasa Varakhedi
Background
Model based reasoning is the hallmark of all sciences. A model is a compact representation of a real-world system that makes it amenable to explain, predict and control the system. A model consists of concepts and their relationships. Abstraction and classification are the techniques used to extract concepts from the system.
However, deriving the concepts is non-trivial. A system can be viewed in multiple ways resulting in a variety of models. To arrive at a model that represents the system accurately to answer specific types of questions, we need a suitable viewing methodology.
Shaastras provide such models of real-world phenomena, but the concepts they embed are derived using standard perspectives common across all shaastras. These perspectives are provided by Vedic darshanas. Understanding the darshanas enables one to understand the abstractions of shaastric models accurately. We call these perspectives as thought models. There are 4 thought models: Nyaaya-Vaiseshika, Sankhya-Yoga, Vyaakarana, and Mimaamsa.
Our ultimate aim is to transform shaastras into deployable models which can in turn be used to develop real-world applications in wellness, jurisprudence, governance, architecture and psychology. To develop such models, one needs to understand the fundamental thought models of Vedic knowledge.
This project extracts the thought models from 4 main darshanas, separating their perspective from content.
These thought models can then be taught to groom the next generation of shaastra experts to recontextualize bhaaratiya vijnaan as new shaastras.
To illustrate what we mean by perspective of darshanas, let us use modelling of a car as a running example.
A car can be described anatomically as an assembly of parts connected by relations. This is the nyaaya-vaisheshika view.
A car can be described transformationally as an engine to transform energy from chemical to rotational. This is the saankhya view of how a tattva manifests in various forms.
A car can be described functionally, e.g. as a room, a means of transport, a workstation etc. This is the vyakarana view, i.e., a successively refined hierarchy of concepts represented by words and sentences.
Finally, a car can be described instructionally as a series of actions that construct a car from raw materials. This is the mimaamsa view of the world as a sequence of actions or karma.
