Talk:Mimamsa-Karmamarga:No Concept of God in Mimamsa

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

Why should Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda have sought a debate with Maṇḍana Miśra, the Mīmāṃsaka? (A Mīmāṃsaka is an adherent of Pūrvamīmāṃsā. We Uttaramīmāṃsaka-s are called Vedāntin-s.) It was Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda who revivified the Vaidika Dharma and re-established it on a firm footing. Why, then, should such a preceptor have been critical of Mīmāṃsā, which is an Upāṅga of the very Veda-s we promote?

Before answering this question, we must consider the goal of any Śāstra or system, whether it be Mīmāṃsā or anything else. Any discipline, to repeat what I said before, must have the ultimate purpose of leading us towards Īśvara. I further observed that even subjects like grammar, lexicography, and prosody had such an end in view, and that was the reason why they were included among the Caturdaśa-Vidyā-s.

Now, what is the concept of God like in Pūrvamīmāṃsā?

We must here consider how Vedānta or Uttaramīmāṃsā views Īśvara, for it is the system to which Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda gave his wholehearted support and which he also commented upon. After all, it is Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda who chiefly matters to us. And to him, it is that Vyāsa’s Brahmasūtra matters most. What does this text have to say about Īśvara?

The Brahmasūtra declares: "Kartā Śāstrārthavattvāt." It means Īśvara is the creator of the cosmos. Even adherents of other religions call God Kartā. But Īśvara is more than a Kartā and has one more function. We do good and bad—good actions and bad actions. It is Īśvara who vouchsafes us the fruits of such actions: "Phalam ata upapatteḥ." Īśvara is the Phaladātā (giver of the fruits of our actions) of our Karma. We do good and evil with our Manas (mind), Vāk (speech), and Kāya (body). The Lord is witness to all this, and he dispenses the fruits of our actions. These are the two characteristics (Lakṣaṇa-s) of Īśvara according to Uttaramīmāṃsā.

What does Pūrvamīmāṃsā say about Īśvara?

Both Sāṅkhya-s and Mīmāṃsaka-s belong to the Vaidika system. But the Sāṅkhya-s believe that Īśvara is not the Kartā or author of the Jagat (universe). "Īśvara is pure knowledge (Jñāna)," they say. "This cosmos is Jada (insentient), made of earth and stone. What constitutes Jñāna cannot be the cause of Jada matter. To believe that Īśvara is the author of the universe is not right." Such is the Sāṅkhya view. Supporters of Sāṅkhya describe Īśvara, who is unattached to the universe and is pure Jñāna, as Puruṣa. It is this Puruṣa that Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda calls the ultimate Nirguṇa-Brahman (the Brahman without attributes). However, he criticizes the Sāṅkhya concept, maintaining that the Nirguṇa-Brahman itself becomes the Saguṇa-Brahman of Īśvara to create the world and to engage itself in other activities.

To Mīmāṃsaka-s, only such rites matter as are enjoined upon us by the Veda-s. They are silent on the question of Īśvara and of who created the world. However, they are emphatic on one point—that Īśvara is not the one who dispenses the fruits of our actions. They don't quarrel on whether or not Īśvara is the Kartā of the universe. They declare: “It is wrong to claim that Īśvara gives us the fruits of our actions according to whether they are good or evil. He is not the one who metes out the fruits of our actions. It is the Vaidika works performed by us that decide the fruits to be earned by us.”

So, adherents of both Sāṅkhya and Mīmāṃsā, in their different ways, reject the view of the Veda-s and the Brahmasūtra that Īśvara possesses the two Lakṣaṇa-s mentioned earlier. The Mīmāṃsaka-s believe that Īśvara doesn't dispense the fruits of our actions because, according to them, the Vaidika works we perform give rewards on their own. We earn merit or demerit according to how the Veda-s and Śāstra-s view our actions. So it is our Karma that brings its rewards or retribution, as the case may be—not Īśvara.

Among the Darśana-s that accept the Veda-s, Sāṅkhya and Mīmāṃsā alone hold the view that Īśvara is not the creator of the world, and that he does not award the fruits of our actions.