Mimamsa interpretation of Vedic Injunctions (Vidhi)
by Shreebas Debnath | 2018 | 68,763 words
This page relates ‘According to the Shabdaparokshatvamanahkaranatvavada’ of the study on the Mimamsa theory of interpretation of Vedic Injunctions (vidhi). The Mimamsakas (such as Jaimini, Shabara, etc.) and the Mimamsa philosophy emphasizes on the Karmakanda (the ritualistic aspect of the Veda). Accordingly to Mimamsa, a careful study of the Veda is necessary in order to properly understand dharma (religious and spiritual achievement—the ideal of human life).
Chapter 9.3i - According to the Śābdaparokṣatvamanaḥkaraṇatvavāda
[Full title: Niyamavidhi in Śravaṇa according to the Śābdaparokṣatvamanaḥkaraṇatvavāda]
Some other philosophers think that śravaṇa can not lead to brahmajñāna. It produces indirect knowledge about Brahman. But the mind purified by manana and nididhyāsana becomes the producer of the direct knowledge of Brahman. Words assist the mind. So, in this theory words are secondary and the mind performs the main function.
The mother Veda herself declares,
‘manasaivānudraṣṭavyam’[1]
(The soul or Brahman should be known by the mind only).
In the commentary of the ‘Śrīmadbhagavadgītā’ Śaṃkara wrote ‘śāstrācāryopadeśa (janita)-
śamadamādisaṃskṛtaṃ mana ātmadarśane karaṇam”[2]
(The mind purified by the knowledge of sacred books, by the advice of a teacher and by pacification [śama] and self-restraint [dama], becomes the unique cause of realization of the self).
But śravaṇa is the generator of certain and indirect knowledge. So, niyamavidhi is there in śravaṇa and this injunction is admitted in it for the accomplishment of that certain and indirect knowledge of Brahman.
This view is also rejected. Because the mind as the unique cause acknowledged by the Āchārya is a secondary cause but the primary unique cause is the meaning of the Vedas (vedārtha), i.e. the vedic sentences such as,
‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’
(I am Brahman) etc.
The meaning of the Vedas appears only in that mind which is purified by renunciation, pacification, self-restraint etc.
This can be supported by the explanation of the clause ‘vijñāya prajñāṃ kurvīta’[3] given by Śaṃkara—
“tam īdṛśam ātmānam eva, dhīro dhīmān vijñāya upadeśataḥ śastratas ca, prajñāṃ śāstrācāryopadiṣṭaviṣayāṃ jijñāsāparisamāptikarīm, kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ—evaṃ prajñākaraṇasādhanāni sannyāsa-śama-damoparati-titikṣā-samādhānāni kuryāt ityarthaḥ”
(A wise person who is firmed in Brahman, should attain his wisdom from his teacher and from the sacred treatise. His wisdom leaves no question to be answered. In another words, he should maintain or perform the means of the production of knowledge, such as renunciation, pacification, self-restraint, abstaining from enjoyment [uparati], forbearance or endurance [titikṣā], profound meditation [samādhi] etc.)
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad—4.4.19
[2]:
Śāṃkarabhāṣya on Śrīmadbhagavadgītā—2/21
[3]:
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad—4.4.21.