The Mīmāmsā View of Karma and the Summun Bonum of Human Existence
The Mīmāmsā View of Karma and the Summun Bonum of Human Existence

Summary/Abstract: The article reviews the Mīmāmsā areas of philosophical investigation and its basic presuppositions. The focus of the article is on Dharma, which is the main purusārtha (the goal of human existence) according to Mīmāmsā, and karma (Vedic ritual) as the main means of attaining the former. The article gives an account of the Mīmāmsā view of the Veda and the classification of the Vedic texts, the linguistic speculations of the Mīmāmsā and related issues. It is attempted to prove that Mīmāmsā, particularly in its early form, is oriented towards svarga (heaven) and is not appreciative of moksa (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth) which clearly distinguishes it from Advaita Vedānta. The difference between the two schools of Mīmāmsā, the Bhātta and the Prābhākara, in their attitude to such concepts as jñāna (knowledge of Self), apūrva, kārya (duty) etc. is highlighted. The close alignment of Mīmāmsā with another Orthodox school of Indian philosophy, Nyāya-Vaiśesika, in the area of metaphysics is aptly demonstrated. The article is supplied with multiple references to the works of such luminaries of Mīmāmsā as Jaimini, Śabara, Kumārila, Prabhākara, Śālikanātha and some later thinkers, exploring almost two thousand years-long history of this school of Indian thought, revealing its inner dynamics and tracing the evolution of its key notions and concepts.

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