Mimansha

Hinduism is a socio-cultural practice comprising Puranas (myths) and Darsana (philosophy). The root of the word Darshan is Drish (to see) and Darshana means ‘looking at things’. In Hinduism, the myths and philosophies are always blended. Some of the Myths induced philosophy and at the same time Philosophical Doctrines influenced the creation of new myths (at an early stage of development of the Sanatan Cult/Hinduism).
There exist six individual philosophical doctrines in Hinduism. These are,
1. Nyaya,
2. Vaiseshika,
3. Yoga,
4. Sankhya,
5. Purba Mimansha and
6. Uttar Mimansha.
The Nyaya Doctrine was developed by Rishi Goutama and he wrote a book called ‘Nyayasutras’. It is believed that Nyayasutras existed much before Gautama, but he was the first philosopher who compiled and edited the Sutras in his works. The first critical analysis of the Nyayasutras was given by Vatasyayana in the fourth century. The Vaiseshika Sutras were given by Rishi Kanada and his sutras were first analyzed by Prasastapada in Bhasya (language) in the 5th century. The authoritative works of Vaiseshika are Kiranvali of Udayana and Kandali of Sridhara. It is often considered that both Nyaya and Vaiseshika belong to the same doctrine, as both dealt with reality of various objective knowledge. The philosophers of these doctrines explained the whole universe but there was no mention of God itself. They, however, identified Atman or God in Self. The philosophers of Nyaya and Vaiseshika believe that the ultimate goal of life is Mukti, which can be compared with Samadhi, Nirvana and Fana Billah of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic Sufi doctrines respectively. The Sankhya, an important and influential doctrine of Hindu philosophy, recognizes the authority of the Vedas and the Upanishads. It was developed by Rishi Kapila. The thoughts of Kapila were recorded in Sankhya Sutras and in Ishwar Krishna’s Sankhya Karika (5th century). According to Sankhya doctrine, the universe is a duo of Paurasha and Prakriti, where the Paurasha is soul and Prakriti is nature with all of its active and dynamic forms. The Paurasha exists without any sense or feeling of pain, pleasure or desire, whereas Prakriti along with its space, time, activities and results, is always dynamic and fertile. The Gunas (qualities) of Prakriti are Sattva (refinement), Tamas (grossness) and Rajas (activity). According to the philosophers of this doctrine, human beings are made up of
1. Paurasha,
2. Antasharira (a subtle body) and
3. Lingasharira (gross body).
The Purva Mimansha philosophy is dedicated to finding out the truths about Brahmanas, which precedes the Upanishad (the 101 philosophical sections of the Vedas). The original works of this doctrine is Mimansha Sutras written by Jaimini in the 3rd century. The philosophers of this doctrine believe that revelation can be proven by logic and thus they put more emphasis on Dharma as a social and religious activity. The Purva Mimansha lost its importance at a later stage. The Uttar Mimansha is totally based on the Upanishads and often called as Vedanta philosophy. Badrayana’s work Vedanta Sutras details the Uttar Mimansha philosophy. Muni Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and Purana, compiled the Vedas. Shankaracharya of the 10th century was a celebrated commentator of Vedanta and he also advocated for Advaita or absolute monism. Advaita philosophy says—‘nothing exists other than God and Nirguna Brahma (God) is the Supreme Being’. All the objects other than Brahma is only Maya (illusion), which are created by ignorance.. The Vedanta philosophy recognized the importance of knowledge to touch the sphere of God and suggested that one could possess the divine light by detaching oneself from pleasure oriented world affairs and by adopting Vedanta ways of life. At a latter stage, Ramanuja gave a new interpretation of the Vedas as Vishistha Advaita and commented—‘there are three realities, God, Soul and Matter’.