| That is why we say
that the Veda is eternal and impersonal. The knowledge of Brahman that we derive from it
reaches its consummation in the individual spiritual experience of all men who have gone
through the necessary discipline. Thus the ultimate ground of Hindu religious belief is
not merely the arbitrary authority of a sacred book or a piece of historical evidence or an
individual utterance, but facts of spiritual experience which could be
ascertained by any man. While the first four
Darsanas are systems of philosophy which are only superficially based on the Veda, the
fifth, namely, Mimamsa, accepts in its entirety the authority of the Veda, but it has no
correct idea of the relative importance of its various parts. We have al ready seen that
according to the subject matter the Veda is generally divided into (1) Karma-Kanda, (2)
Upasana-Kanda and (3) Jnana-Kanda. |
