________________
104 Śramaņa, Vol 58, No. 1/January-March 2007
recognition of tyāga or nivṛtti (willing disownment) over and above bhoga or pravṛtti (enjoyment). If the moral order is well dharmic, mind seems to have been well conscious of the autonomy of morality and, in that connection, is not prepared to make any compromise with the demand and expectation from theological source. The Pūrva Mīmāṁsakas, for instance, move to the extent of boldly asserting that deities or divine beings are controlled by rules, or principles (mantrādhīna devatāḥ).
Even the agamic sources which are considered as earlier to Vedic (Nigamic) sources do subscribe to the acceptance of moral order despite their giving importance to a theistic model and thereby introducing devotion (bhakti). The Jaina and the Bauddha traditions even if have made significant departure from the early Vedic insistence on the performance of sacrifices, rites and rituals do not at all oppose the concept of ṛta and equally accept the moral axiom which for them overrides the theological or theistic presumption. The concept of divinity and the element of devotion to the theistic Lord (Ïśvara) are, no doubt, found to have occupied a major portion in the later epic, smṛti and purāņic sources; but, it needs to be also noted that theistic and spiritualistic emphasis have never sacrificed the moral foundation which somehow or other is found to be inbuilt in the dharmic tradition in India.
It is, with this background, it seems better in looking to the other important concept, darśana which is operated along with dharma. Unlike religion and philosophy here in the Indian context, one finds the use of the concepts of both dharma and darśana as not so much opposed to each other. The relation between the two is rather complementary. It is, of course, true that during the medieval age of western intellectual history, philosophical discussion was found to be subservient to theology. It was advanced to defend and establish the theological claim but for that, the whole age has been decried as the dark age and philosophy has been said as handmaid of theology during that period. It is not faith but reason
