Forum Philosophicum

Volume 12, Issue 1, Spring 2007

Proof for the Existence of God in Classical Indian Philosophy

Both in the East and in the West, there is, apart from the religious approach to God, also a purely rational one. Although in India philosophical speculation on God was mostly inextricably bound to religion, there have also been purely rational developments in Indian Theodicy. This is the case above all in the Nyāyavaiśeṣika system, where we find a purely rational and logical approach to the question of the existence and nature of God. It is the specific contribution of the Nyāyavaiśeṣika system to have developed a purely logical and rational argument for the existence of God. My purpose here is to take this proof in its developed form, as it is found in Gaşgeśa, and investigate its philosophical and logical implications.