Purva Mimansa

The Mimamsa philosophy is also very ancient, and the Mimamsa Sutra by Jaimini was written about the 4th century BC. This text begins with the subject of dharma, which the Vedas consider the means most conducive to the highest good. Dharma transcends sense perception, because the senses only perceive what exists in the present; dharma in the Mimamsa philosophy has a metaphysical reality that carries into the future.
The soul also transcends the body, senses, and mind, being omnipresent, eternal, and many. In Mimamsa the soul is the agent that causes all movement of the body. Like in Vaishesika, salvation occurs when the fruits of all good and bad actions are exhausted, and the generation of new effects is stopped. However, in Mimamsa Vedic prayers, rituals, and sacrifices are emphasized as the means of achieving this. Women as well as men were allowed to perform sacrifices, but Sudras were still forbidden. In the ancient Mimamsa philosophy the experience of happiness in heaven was the ultimate goal.
Mimamsa is based on the revelation in the Vedas, which are considered as eternal as the world. The metaphysics of this ethics even comes close to replacing God as the source of all action that governs the universe. Essentially everything is determined by character (dharma) or lack of it through the law of karma or action with its consequences. Not only is the soul as the agent of action real, but the action itself is a spiritual reality that transcends space and time, determining the nature of the universe. This unseen force is called apurva, which means something new, extraordinary, or unknown.
Thus dharma or action (karma) supports the universe. If it is ethically right, it produces enjoyment; if it is wrong, then suffering is experienced. This force (shakti) of dharma or karma is extraordinary and unseen. The universe, being eternal, is not created by this force, but it is shaped by it. A unity to this universal force is posited to control and guide individuals in a single cosmic harmony.
Yet humans are free and determine their own destiny by their actions. The karma from past actions does not limit free choices but is like capital that can be spent in various ways as it is resolved. The soul usually carries a mixture of good and evil consequences, and these may cancel each other. Obligations are actions which must be performed, or one gets demerit, though there is no merit for doing them. Prohibited actions if done also cause demerit, but if avoided likewise do not give merit. Optional actions may produce merit or demerit according to their consequences. Focusing primarily on the spiritual effects of rituals, the Mimamsa philosophy relies on the Dharma Sutras for guidance in worldly ethical questions.
The Vedanta school complements Mimamsa's focus on the Vedas and sacrifices by illuminating the knowledge of the Upanishads as the "end of the Vedas," which is what Vedanta means. The Vedanta Sutra, written between the 500 and 200 BC by Badarayana, is also called the Brahma Sutra since it discusses knowledge of Brahman (Spirit) and sometimes Shariraka Sutra because it concerns the embodiment of the unconditioned self. The Vedanta Sutra attempts to clarify the meaning of the Upanishads and is rather terse, but it has been made famous by the commentaries written by the great Vedanta philosophers of the middle ages - Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva.
If the way of action derives from the Mimamsa theory of karma, Vedanta suggests a way of knowledge by the soul of Spirit. The first chapter of the Vedanta Sutra describes Brahman as the central reality and creator of the world and the individual souls. The second chapter answers objections and explains the world's dependence on God and its evolution back into Brahman. The third chapter suggests ways of knowing Brahman, and the fourth chapter indicates the rewards or fruits of knowing this Spirit.
Badarayana is traditional in that he believed knowledge comes from scripture (sruti) and other authorities (smriti), though sruti as revelation is identified with perception and smriti as interpretation with inference. Scripture refers to the Vedas and smriti to the Bhagavad-Gita, Mahabharata, and Laws of Manu. Reason for Badarayana must conform to the Vedas, but it is nonetheless subordinate to intuitive knowledge, which can come from devotion and meditation. Brahman as Spirit is considered the light of the soul, which is also eternal, though Brahman is distinguished from the intelligent soul and the unintelligent material things.
As in Mimamsa individuals are responsible for their own actions and thus determine their own happiness or suffering. The soul is affected by pleasure and pain, but the highest Lord is not. Injunctions and prohibitions exist because of the connection of the soul with the body. Ethical action helps the soul attain a body fit for knowledge of Brahman, which then may be attained through service, renunciation, and meditation. Meditation on the highest yields unity with the infinite and knowledge of Spirit (Brahman), enabling one to stop producing karma and end the cycle of karma and reincarnation.
Badarayana combined earlier views of Brahman as indeterminate intelligence and a definite personal Lord. While developing itself in the universe, Brahman is still transcendent. Though Brahman is in individual souls, it is not polluted by their defects. Human purpose comes through knowledge of Brahman, which also results in bliss and the nullification of works (karma). To obtain knowledge one must be calm and in control of the senses. Works can be combined with knowledge, but those performing them must not be overcome by passion. Knowledge may also be promoted through special acts such as prayer, devotion, and fasting. Meditation, though, should focus not on symbols of the soul but the reality. Through immobile meditation, thoughtfulness and concentration are increased, and meditation needs to be practiced up to death. By resolving karma through knowledge, oneness with Brahman is attained. At death the liberated soul is released from the body and does not return to another.

Introduction:
The word “Mimamsa” mean “Investigation, inquiry or Discussion”. It’s basically the proper way of interpretation of Vedic text, that also the earlier portion of Vedas, so it is also called Purva Mimamsa. It is also known by Dharma Mimamsa because it is an inquiry to an Dharma established by Vedas. Another name for it is Karma Mimamsa i.e. it describes the importance of sacrificial activities in attaining the pure Dharma as the good.
It is one of the school of thoughts with in Hindu Philosophy. We have other schools of thoughts with in Hindu Philosophy namely : Vedanta, Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Samkhya and Yoga.
Mimamsa explain how a human being can achieve the mysterious, transcendent power produced by a correctly performed sacrificial ritual, not through the action of gods. The results of the sacrifice often come after the death of the person performing the ritual.
“Theory of Karma” is guided by Mimamsa Philosophy. “Karma” means “deeds”, “act” or “work”. Mimamsa is one of the school of thoughts with in Hinduism which gives importance to ‘theory of Karma’. This theory states that good actions produce good fruit, evil actions produce evil fruits. Every journalist seems necessary to be guided by karmayoga which holds that “when duty is performed in a spirit of dedication to god it becomes the cause of emancipation.”
“Morality, fair play, ethics and justice are the basis of karmayoga” (Bodhi pp 30). This is the evidence that why both western and eastern world have given so much importance to fair play as canon of a journalism.
Application dimension of Mimamsa Ethics:
As said by Chanakya, the practical use of Mimamsa is: it does good to mankind, makes one’s intelligence, Buddhi, settled in the midst of pleasure and pain and makes one expert, visarada, in wisdon (prajna), in speech (vakya) and in action (kriya)”. So developing a code of ethics for journalist and other media professionals based particularly on Mimamsa Philosophy seems not only rational, it also seems more practical.
Here, i claim that the present insecurity among the media professionals in Nepal, where media professionals are being attacked, would have been prevented if everybody had understood the ethics of Mimamsa and applied in their professional deeds.
Here, we can say that the (Vakya) language used in media outlet also determines the ethical standards of media. For example when a journalist is reporting about physically impaired person, using the words like ‘Andho’, ‘Bahiro’ or ‘Langado’ is unethical. Instead we can be ethical by using words like ‘Dristibihin’ for blind person.
Mimamsa will take a journalist action of exposing the name of culprit ethical if the culprit involvement in the crime is confirmed. As said earlier ‘ evil action will produce evil fruits’, culprit should be punished for his/her crime or harm deed to other. But what Unethical media do it just publish the name of the suspects and create the environment of hostility with the third party, followed by attack in the media.
Conclusion:
Hence we can maintain the ethical standards of media through the proper use of our language and action according to the Mimamsa Ethics.