Concept of Sruti and Smrti in Indian Philosophy

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| | | | Contents Introduction 3 1. Sruti 3 1.1 Nature of Sruti 4 1.2 Vedas 4 1.2.1 Classification of Vedas 4 2. Smrti 6 2.1 The authority of Smrti 6 a) The Epics 7 b) The Puranas 7 c) The Vedangas 8 d) Dharmasastras 9 3. Manu’s statement on the dignity of Sruti and Smrti 9 Conclusion 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 THE CONCEPT OF SRUTI AND SMRTI Introduction Indian philosophy consists of an extraordinary diversity of philosophical thinking, starting from rank empiricist materialism to the transcendental absolute idealism, covering all the intermediate shades of thinking. To the ancient Indian mind, concepts were more interesting and important than personalities limited by time and space. The Hindus have been treading the path of religion for scores of centuries. Throughout this period, countless earnest souls have reached the goal of religion by realizing God. Hindu sages discovered many methods of reaching perfection in this land. This is why the Hindu Shastras, unlike the Scriptures of other religions, are many in number and variety. Moreover, the need of explaining religion to different classes of people gave rise to different classes of Shastras. 1. Sruti The name Sruti, stems from the Sanskrit root sru (to hear), meaning “that which was heard,” corresponds to the idea of revealed teachings that is found in other religions. Along with the Vedas, the Brahmanas and the Upanishads comprise the sruti of Hinduism. This class of scripture is revered as apaurusheya, or “not of human origin.” They are thought by Hindus to be even more imperishable than the deities, for while the deities may come and go the sruti is eternal, infallible, and absolutely basic to a valid concept of reality, including human life. In one version the sruti reveals the knowledge (Vedas, from the root vid, means “know” which has been revealed
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