RBSE VU Samanya Darshan study plan

Map the Vedic corpus: distinguish Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Samhita by content and function, and state what each contributes to later philosophical vocabulary

Explain the shift from Samhita hymn and Brahmana ritual exegesis to Aranyaka and Upanishadic inquiry, naming at least three ideas that survive that transition

Summarise the central Upanishadic teachings on Brahman, Atman, maya, avidya and mukti using at least six mahavakyas as anchors

Compare the accounts of creation and cosmic order (rita, tapas, hiranyagarbha) across at least three Vedic and Upanishadic passages

Produce a one-page Sanskrit-term glossary covering 30 terms from this domain with one-line definitions

Trace the structure of Vedanta as prasthanatrayi and explain why the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita are jointly authoritative

Reconstruct Shankara's Advaita: nirguna Brahman, maya, adhyasa, two levels of reality, and the jnana path to moksha

Contrast Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita on saguna Brahman, cit and acit as modes, and the role of bhakti and prapatti

Contrast Madhva's Dvaita on fivefold difference, the independence of God, and the graded hierarchy of souls

Write comparative paragraphs on how the three schools handle the same contested sutra or Upanishadic text

State Charvaka's epistemology (perception as the only pramana), its metaphysics and its ethics, and explain the internal debates over inference and the soul

Enumerate the nine tattvas of Jainism and explain the mechanics of bandha and moksha through asrava, samvara, nirjara

Apply anekantavada, syadvada and nayavada to a concrete disputed claim to show how the sevenfold predication works

Reconstruct the Four Noble Truths, pratityasamutpada and the anatta doctrine, and explain how Buddhism dissolves the self without denying continuity

Compare the three schools' positions on karma, rebirth and liberation in a single table

List and define the sixteen padarthas of Vaisheshika and explain how dravya, guna and karma relate

Explain Vaisheshika atomism (paramanu, dvyanuka, tryanuka) and its account of creation and dissolution

Reconstruct Nyaya's four pramanas, with the five-membered syllogism (panchavayava) worked through on a fresh example

Explain Nyaya's theory of error (anyathakhyati), the tests of prama, and the role of tarka in removing doubt

State the main points of the Nyaya-Vaisheshika synthesis and one classical objection to it

Explain Samkhya's dualism of purusha and prakriti, the three gunas, and the evolution sequence of the twenty-five tattvas

Distinguish kaivalya in Samkhya from Patanjali's eight limbs and the role of ishvara in Yoga

Define and differentiate pramana, prama and prameya, and evaluate the coherence theory, correspondence theory and pragmatist theory of truth

Analyse the mind-body problem as a metaphysical question, contrasting dualism, identity theory and behaviourism

Practise formal logic: translate arguments into categorical form, test validity by Venn diagram, and name common fallacies

Explain Purva Mimamsa's commitment to the eternal Veda, the apaurusheyatva of scripture, and the nature of dharma as vidhi and nishedha

Outline Kumarila and Prabhakara positions on svatah pramanya and on the validity of knowledge

Summarise Plato's theory of Forms and the divided line, and Aristotle's four causes, hylomorphism and virtue as a mean

Compare Plato and Aristotle on knowledge, universals and the good life

Explain how Augustine and Aquinas reconcile Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine, including Aquinas on natural law and analogy

Reconstruct Descartes' method of doubt, cogito, and the proofs for God's existence and the real distinction of mind and body

Explain Spinoza's substance monism, attributes and modes, and Leibniz's monads and pre-established harmony

Reconstruct Locke's rejection of innate ideas, the tabula rasa, primary and secondary qualities, and the limits of knowledge

Trace Berkeley's idealism and Hume's fork, causation as custom, and the problem of personal identity

Explain Kant's Copernican revolution, synthetic a priori, and the phenomena-noumena distinction as a reply to both camps

Distinguish normative ethics from meta-ethics and applied ethics, and state the core claims of utilitarianism, Kantian deontology and virtue ethics

Apply each of the three theories to one contemporary issue and identify the strongest objection to each

Explain Indian ethical concepts such as rita, dharma, yajna, ahimsa and nishkama karma and their place in the purusharthas

Define key value terms (freedom, justice, equality, value pluralism) and argue a position on one applied dilemma

Run two timed full-length mock papers under exam conditions and review every error against the syllabus