[Advaita-l] Apoureshyatva - Faith or Logic?

[Rajaram Venkataramani]

Thank for bringing the focus back.

On Tuesday, June 26, 2012, Vidyasankar Sundaresan wrote:

>
>
> Whether evolution theory in biology is correct or not, whether theories of
> linguistic evolution are correct or not and whether the universe began with
> a big bang or a whimper - none of these is relevant to veda apaurusheyatva.


> All I wanted to say to Rajaram was (a) that veda apaurusheyatva is to be
> taken as a given (in my opinion) and no proof need be established for it,

RV: But mimamsakas and vedantins tried to provide logical arguments in
favour of apaureshyatva. They did not ask us accept it on faith or as a
given. They tried to reason why Vedas are apaureshya. They don't tell us
why only sruti is apaureshya and not any sentence. Or I don't understand
their logic correctly. But there was definitely an effort to prove it.

> and consequently, (b) if one wants to establish a proof and then concludes
> that a proof is not possible, citing evolution of species and languages as
> a
> reason for giving up is flawed as a reason. If one so wishes, one could
> easily accommodate any theories of origins of the universe, formation of
> livable planets, specie and language evolution (not just the currently
> accepted ones) within the ambit of how and when the apaurusheya veda
> has come to us in its present form and structure. That is all.

RV: Such an exercise will be like the Intelligent Design of the church.
Vedas hold a position on the origin of the inverse, life and languages.
Science holds a different position. We cannot say both are equally valid
and pair them up.