Like Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Mīmāṁsā was “realistic” in the sense that it acknowledged the basic materiality of the universe, and the existence of an eternal soul (ātman) in each person.•From Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Mīmāṁsā accepts five categories for investigating reality (substance, quality, action, universals or sāmānya, and non-existence). Mīmāṁsā rejects “combination” (samavāya) and “individual type” (viśeṣa).