Shruthi and Smruthi Differences

[kisalipa]

Swami replied: Shruti means the Veda, which is spoken by God and heard by sages (Shruyate iti). Smruti means that which is written or spoken by divine people through whom also the same God speaks. Since the same God is speaking in both cases, there should be no contradiction between shruti and smruti. If there is contradiction, shruti prevails over the smruti (shrutireva gariyasee) because the sages were holy and sincere unlike the other people, who speak whatever they like and say that God spoke through them! The smruti always should follow shruti (shruterivaartham smruti ranvagachchat). Since, the same concept spoken by shruti is recollected in smruti, smruti means recollection of shruti (smaryate iti). You can differentiate shruti and smruti superficially since shruti is marked with three types of accents of pronunciation of sound (Anudaatta – stressing downwards, Udaatta – stressing upwards and Swarita – stressing upwards twice). All the other literature without such marks of sound can be treated as smruti. Some scholars confine the word smruti to ethical scriptures only (like Manu Smruti, etc.). Puraanam is the word used to the books, which describe the life histories of devotees, human incarnations, energetic incarnations, etc. The word puraanam can easily come under the category of smruti since puraanam also does not contain the marks of sound. Therefore, the concluding classification of shruti and smruti is simply to treat the scripture with the sound marks as shruti and treat all other scriptures without sound marks as smruti. In deeper level, there is no difference between shruti and smruti because both are spoken by God only and both are correlated with each other in the deeper essence without any trace of contradiction. We can treat shruti as text of the original concepts heard as spoken by God, which are completely theoretical. The same concepts are recollected when you study the life histories of devotees in smruti. Example: Shruti says that none and nothing can be even equal to God, not to speak greater than God (natat samaschaabhyadhikashcha…). This concept is recollected when we read the practical behaviour of the devotees in their life histories. Hence, the concept heard in shruti is recollected in smruti. When the concept is the same, there is no question of contradiction between shruti and true smruti. If there is a contradiction, the smruti is false and is to be rejected. The Gita is also considered as smruti because there are no sound marks marked in the verses of the Gita. Based on this single point, the Gita is also called as smruti.
Otherwise, the Gita is also shruti because the same God who spoke the Veda to sages also spoke the same Veda to Arjuna in the form of the Gita. The differentiation of shruti and smruti based on the sound marks is only external and superficial. Such difference is not at all important. You have to see the difference only in the level of the concept that is related to the knowledge coming from the meanings of the words of Veda. The Veda itself means knowledge (the root word ‘vidul’ means knowledge). Therefore, the Veda is always true knowledge. Smruti is also true knowledge in view of the inner level of meaning of words of the Veda. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Veda or true knowledge or true smruti is based on the concept of the knowledge that is derived from the right interpretation. Whether the interpretation is right or wrong is again decided by the logical analysis (yukti) that is verified by the experience (anubhava) of scholars or majority. Here, the word majority does not mean simple number of heads. It should be taken as the number of the heads of realized scholars only among whom only the word majority is confined. However, the final judgement is given by the sharp analysis (yukti) alone, which is described as the filtering process of truth from false (sadasat viveka) as spoken by Shankara. Rama is the human incarnation in the smruti called the Ramayanam and Hanuman is the successful spiritual devotee in it. Krishna is the human incarnation in the smrutis called the Bhagavatam and the Bharatam. Gopikas are successful spiritual devotees in the Bhagavatam. Arjuna is also a successful devotee in the Bharatam except that Arjuna did not believe Krishna completely and failed by just very narrow marginal gap. Arjuna was born as a hunter in the next birth and proved his full devotion to energetic incarnation called as Lord Shiva. In the last birth, Arjuna was born as Swami Vivekananda and got established in the devotion to the human incarnation called as Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to get the final salvation since a human being can get salvation only through its relevant form of God, which is the human incarnation. Hence, shruti can be called as the text of theoretical knowledge containing valuable concept-gems, which can be sold to get the currency called salvation and the process of the sale is the smruti involving practical implementation of theoretical knowledge in the life.
At The Lotus Feet of JagadGuru Dattaswami!!!