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NYAYA-VAISEȘIKA
263 of these terms as understood in the Nyāya-Vaišeşika. But in the later works treating of the doctrine, they come to be identified with the same as defined in the Sankhya-Yoga. We shall, therefore, defer the explanation of these terms to the next chapter, merely remarking now that they respectively represent the negative and positive sides of ethical training. Love and hate are found to a greater or less extent in all men; and together with their causes-pleasure and pain--they are reckoned as specific qualities of the self in its empirical condition. All voluntary activity is traced to these sources so that the view which the Nyāya-Vaiseşika takes of conduct may be described as hedonistic. Only we must not forget that it regards the desire to avoid pain to be as strong a motive in prompting the will as the desire to obtain pleasure. The selfish activity (pravstti) to which narrow love and hate give rise leads in its turn to pain and pleasure, and they again to likes and dislikes. Thus life, as it is commonly led, moves in a vicious circle in which no point can be regarded as the beginning. By restraining man from indulging in certain activities and by encouraging him to cultivate certain positive virtues, the training implied in yama and niyama helps him to break away from this circle and pursue undistracted the path by which he may reach the ultimate goal of life.
The nature of the goal is determined by the pessimistic attitude of the doctrine towards life as a whole. The doctrine does not deny the reality of pleasure as a positive experience3; but pain is equally real, and the two, in its view, are so inextricably connected with each other that avoiding pain necessitates avoiding pleasure as well. Further, it believes that pleasure in life is so uncertain and pain so much predominates over it that it is not worth one's while to strive to secure it. All pleasure again being transient-lasting only for two instants, like jñāna continuous pleasure means ----- 1 effort. Hence the ideal of life is represented as
or 'escape. It is negative and consists not in the See NSB. IV. ii. 46; Vācaspati: Tātparya-tika, IV. ii. 46; Nyayakandali, p. 278. · Karikāvali, st. 146 ff.
3 NS. I. i. 9; IV. i. 56.
