Verifiability (परीक्षणम्)

Verifiability (परीक्षणम्)

Verifiability (Samskrit : परीक्षणम्) means that anyone studying an article can personally check that the information presented there is coming from a reliable source. Dharmawiki accepts and references published works, original research is not within the scope of Dharmawiki. Content presented on this site refers to concepts that have been previously published and discussed in scholarly circles rather than the personal beliefs or experiences which have not been validated. Here we discuss "verifiability" in two contexts. One is with respect to the textual references or citations given to original sources on the site and the other is consideration of Vedas as the primary pramanas for the mankind.

Verifiability (परीक्षणम्) in Bharatiya tattva shastras has been referred to extensively in discussions about Pramanas. Since the time of systematization of various darshana shastras we have come to accept 'Prathyaksha (Perception)' which is physical verifiability and then Anumana (Inference) followed by Shabda Pramana, which is a Vedic text. Thus Vedas are our Pramanas for the present concepts. This shows our ancients were not blindly accepting any point of view, but they were discussed and debated extensively among scholars of those days, from which evolved the whole shastra itself.

Now from the point of view of the Western philosophers Shabda pramana is discounted, if it is textual kind of teaching then it becomes dogma. However, in Sanatana Dharma the vedic texts are a form of Pratyaksha Pramana, but of higher sober physical verifiability. It is not the property of the Rshis, the are the mantradrashtas to whom the Vedas were revealed. One can explain/describe about sweetness of sugarcane, but the experience is person. Similarly Vedas describe about the various aspects of Brahman, and it is up to every individual to seek that experience to be revealed to him. Abrahmic concepts rest on belief, whereas the Vedic paths rest on experience. The mantras stood the test of time and experience of sadhakas and are not just a belief system. So essentially they are not an imposition of the persons mind but can be personally verified.

This is explained taking music for example. Music is not verifiable in terms of your physical ears. Good music is delightful and the bliss that one gets out of it cannot be verified. It is an experience. Experience has to be tallied with experience only, not a textbook of logic or any other action. In Kathopanishad, Yama instructs Nachiketa that even the words are limited when it comes to experience.