Philosophy took precedence over Religion in India and there have been many philosophies in course of time, and finally the six famous came to hold: Mimamsa, Purva and Uttara the latter also known as Vedanta; Samkhya and Yoga; and Nyayan and Vaisheshika, Religious practices developed around one or the other at times modifying them to suite their ends. Gods did not hold so supreme a place in Indian thought-systems, and another concept, that of Atman and Brahman, regarded as a unique invention of Hindu genius by Western thinkers of modern times, which made the subjects more speculative and meaningful than the relatively simplistic God concept.
