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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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Advaita or non-dualism is in agreement with Mimamsa up to a point. It
accepts Vedic karma as well as the six pramanas (perceptions or sources
of knowledge) defined by Kumarilabhatta. Sankara's non-dualism,
Ramanuja's qualified non-dualism, and Madhva's dualism are all Vedantic
doctrines and all three are not against Vedic rituals. While non-dualism
accepts all the six pramanas of Mimamsa, qualified non-dualism accepts
only three-pratyaksa, anumana and the Vedas. I will explain these terms
when I deal with Nyaya.
The three leading Vedantic teachers (Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva),
do not completely reject Mimamsa, but the paths they have cut out go
beyond the mimamsic view: devotion in the case of Visistadvaita and
Dvaita and jnana in the case of Advaita.
Mimamsa is called karmamarga since it teaches that karma is all. But
karma here does not have the same meaning as in Vedanta which speaks
of the three paths- karma, bhakti and jnana. In Vedanta karma is not
performed for the sake of karma and is not an end in itself, but
consecrated to Isvara without any expectation of reward. This is also
karmamarga or karmayoga. It is this view of karma that the Lord
expounds in the Gita. In the karmamarga of mimamsakas there is no
bhakti. But, all the same, the Vedic rituals create well-being in the
world,
lead to a disciplined and harmonious social life and bring inner purity
to
the performer. Mimamsa holds karma to be a goal in itself; Vedanta
regards it as a means to a higher end. |
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