Srauta-Smarta

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Sruti-Smriti - Srauta-Smarta from Hindu Dharma

 

To discriminate between Sruti and Smrti is not correct. Sruti, Smrti

and the Puranas, all three belong to the same tradition. Sankara is

said to be the abode of the three("Sruti-Smrti-Purananam alayam").

If the three were at variance with one another how can they exist in

harmony in the same person?

 

Those who follow the tradition of Acarya are called "Smartas". The

word "Smarta" literally means one who adheres to the Smrtis. To say

that the Acarya descended to earth to uphold the Vedas and that

those who follow his path are Smartas implies that the Vedas and

Smrtis are one.

 

The rites that are not explicitly mentioned in the Vedas but are

dealt with in the Smrtis are called Smarta karmas and those that are

explicitly mentioned are called Srauta karmas. This does not mean

that the Smarta rites are in anyway inferior to Srauta. The

householder's Smarta works include such an important rite as

aupasana; equally important are the domestic rites like sraddha and

the seven pakayajnas. Vedic mantras are chanted in all these. Those

who composed the Smrtis and laid down the performance of such rites

must have been fully aware of the spirit of the Vedas. It is not

proper to think that the Smrtis are inferior to the Vedas or that

the Puranas are inferior to the Smrtis. We must learn to take an

integrated view of all of them.

 

In Puranas the Vedic truths are illustrated in the form of stories.

The Smrtis bring the Vedic dharmas and karmas in the form of

instruction and injunctions and tell us how the rites are to be

performed.

 

The sages had intuitive knowledge of the Vedas. As mentioned so

often they did not compose them - they saw them. There was no

intellectual effort on their part in this. "Srutim pasyanti munayah"

(The sages see the Vedas). They used their intelligence to examine

what they saw and, remembering it all, derived from the Vedas the

duties and rites for various castes. This they gave us in a codified

form called Smrti. As I said before "Smrti" means memory. For the

sages the Vedas constituted an experience that just happened to

them. The Smrtis or the dharmasastras are derived from their memory

of it. "Samskara-janyam jnanam Smrtih", the Nyaya-sastra define

Smrti thus. It means that Smrti is knowledge derived from Samskara.

Here "Samskara" means "atindriya". But what exactly is it?

 

We go to Kasi and worship at the temple of Visvanatha there. Many

days after our return home, we go to the local temple which has a

sanctum of "Kasi Visvanatha". At once we remember the experience we

had of seeing the deity Visvanatha at Kasi. In between for many

days, that is between our visit to Kasi and to the local temple, we

had no memory of this deity. We come across so many people every day

but we hardly think of them later. But, when we happen to see them

subsequently, we tell ourselves: "Ah, we must have seen them before

somewhere. " In between there was no memory of the people. This "in

between state" is called "samskara" or "atindriya". In that state

there is an impression of our experience within us. When this

impression manifests itself as an "_expression" we have "Smrti" or

memory. All told, Smrti is the result of our experience and samskara

an impression of that experience within us.

 

The experience constituted by the Vedas and manifested as the memory

is the Smrti or Dharmasastra. Smrti does not become Smrti without

its Vedic root. Are not the Vedas the"experience" that is the source

of the Smrtis? Without such a source the name suggesting "notes of

memory" would be meaningless. How can we describe as notes of

remembrance" anything that is new and is not founded on something

prior to it?

 

There is no second opinion regarding the fact that what is

called "Srauta"(directly mentioned in the Vedas) is wholly

authoritative. But what is not directly mentioned in Sruti but

included in Smrti - that is Smarta - is not to be taken to be less

authoritative. Smarta never contradicts Srauta. In some matters

Smritis may go beyond Sruti, but that too is fully authoritative

being based on the inner spirit of Sruti. Just as the Sthala Puranas

fill in the gaps in the major Puranas and the epics, so the Smrtis

speak of what is left out in the Vedas. We use terms "Sruti pramana"

and "Smrti pramana"(the authority of the Vedas and the authority of

the Smrtis), but making such a distinction does not mean that we

should treat Sruti and Smrti different or that we should think that

the one is inferior to the other.

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part15/chap8.htm