View source for Three kinds of evidences

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{{terms|"three different types of evidences"|"three evidences"|"three kinds of Vedic evidence"|"three kinds of evidence"|"three kinds of evidences"}}
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[[Category:Three Kinds of Evidences|1]]
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" class="section" sec_index="2" parent="compilation" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta"><h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
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<div id="CC_Adi-lila" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" text="CC Adi-lila"><h3>CC Adi-lila</h3>
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<div id="CCAdi61415_0" class="quote" parent="CC_Adi-lila" book="CC" index="850" link="CC Adi 6.14-15" link_text="CC Adi 6.14-15">
<div class="heading">"The Sāṅkhya philosopher accepts three kinds of evidences, namely direct perception, hypothesis and traditional authority."
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:CC Adi 6.14-15|CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">"The Sāṅkhya philosopher accepts three kinds of evidences, namely direct perception, hypothesis and traditional authority. When such evidence is complete, everything is perfect. The process of comparison is within such perfection. Beyond such evidence there is no proof. There is not much controversy regarding direct perceptional evidence or authorized traditional evidence. The Sāṅkhya system of philosophy identifies three kinds of procedures—namely, pariṇāmāt (transformation), samanvayāt (adjustment) and śaktitaḥ (performance of energies)—as the causes of the cosmic manifestation."</p>
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<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="Sri_Isopanisad" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Sri Isopanisad"><h3>Sri Isopanisad</h3>
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<div id="ISOIntroduction_0" class="quote" parent="Sri_Isopanisad" book="OB" index="1" link="ISO Introduction" link_text="Sri Isopanisad Introduction">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidence: pratyakṣa, anumāna and śabda.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:ISO Introduction|Sri Isopanisad Introduction]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There are three kinds of evidence: pratyakṣa, anumāna and śabda. Pratyakṣa means "direct evidence." Direct evidence is not very good because our senses are not perfect. We are seeing the sun daily, and it appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far, far larger than many planets. Of what value is this seeing? Therefore we have to read books; then we can understand about the sun. So direct experience is not perfect. Then there is anumāna, inductive knowledge: "It may be like this"—hypothesis. For instance, Darwin's theory says it may be like this, it may be like that. But that is not science. That is a suggestion, and it is also not perfect. But if you receive the knowledge from the authoritative sources, that is perfect. If you receive a program guide from the radio station authorities, you accept it. You don't deny it; you don't have to make an experiment, because it is received from the authoritative sources.</p>
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonBG2812LosAngelesNovember271968_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="42" link="Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968" link_text="Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences accepted by the learned scholars in Vedic culture.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968|Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There are many Upaniṣads, they are called Vedas. Upaniṣads are the headlines of the Vedas. Just like in a chapter there is a headline, similarly these Upaniṣads are the headlines of the Vedas. There are 108 Upaniṣads, principal. Out of that, nine Upaniṣads are very important. So out of those nine Upaniṣads, Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, Taittireya Upaniṣad, Aitareya Upaniṣad, Īśopaniṣad, Īśa Upaniṣad, Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, Kaṭhopaniṣad, these Upaniṣads are very important. And whenever there is argument on some point, one has to give reference from these Upaniṣads. If one can give reference from the Upaniṣads, then his argument is very strong. Śabda-pramāṇa. Pramāṇa means evidence. Evidence... If you want to gain in your case... Just like you have to give very nice evidence in a court, similarly, according to Vedic culture, the evidence is pramāṇa. Pramāṇa means evidence. Śabda-pramāṇa. There are three kinds of evidences accepted by the learned scholars in Vedic culture. One evidence is pratyakṣa. Pratyakṣa means direct perception. Just like I am seeing you, you are seeing me. I am present, you are present. This is direct perception. And there is another evidence which is called anumāna.</p>
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<div id="LectureonBG213NewYorkMarch111966_1" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="58" link="Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966" link_text="Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences, pratyakṣa, anumāna, and aitihya. Out of these three evidences, this aitihya evidence, just like we are taking instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, sound, sound vibrated by the greatest personality, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, that sort of pramāṇa is acceptable. That is the best.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966|Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Now, now, this, in these days of scientific advancement you take a dead man. You sit down. Now, we shall see how the soul transmigrates from this body to another. You cannot see. You cannot see. Our eyes are not qualified to see it. Therefore the all the senses, they should be spiritualized. If we want to see the spirit whole... The Lord is spirit whole. We cannot see even the spirit part. Our, our... We are very much proud of our senses, but our senses are so imperfect that... Now I see with my eyes, but I cannot see my eyelid. You see? The eyelid is always attached with my eye, but I cannot see. So our power of using the senses, that is very limited. So we should not depend only on the senses. Pratyakṣa. It is called pratyakṣa-anumāna. There are three kinds of evidences, pratyakṣa, anumāna, and aitihya. Pratyakṣa means that you can directly perceive. That is called pratyakṣa. And anumāna. Anumāna means you can conjecture, make an..., "It may be like this. It may be like this. Perhaps it is like this." This is called anumāna. And the other evidence is aitihya. Aitihya means to take evidences from the authority. So according... Out of these three evidences, this aitihya evidence, just like we are taking instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, sound, sound vibrated by the greatest personality, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, that sort of pramāṇa is acceptable. That is the best. This is the best way of acquiring knowledge. Because so far direct evidence is concerned, it is impossible. Because our senses are so imperfect, we cannot have anything. We can, we can have some direct experience of certain things, but not for all, especially for these spiritual things which is beyond our experience.</p>
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<div id="LectureonBG22025SeattleOctober141968_2" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="83" link="Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968" link_text="Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences. Pratyakṣa, direct sense perception, and śabda-pramāṇa, evidence from the Vedic statement, and anumāna, aitihya, historical or hypothesis. So out of all evidences, the evidence which is called, derived from Vedic statement, that is accepted as most authoritative.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968|Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">That is the eternal relationship. These are confirmed in Vedic literature just like Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad. The system is whatever is mentioned in the Vedas, that is authoritatively accepted. That is the Vedic understanding. If there is some evidence in the Vedas... Just like in law court, if there is some section in the lawbook, then the lawyers, the judge, accept it. "Yes, it is like this." Similarly knowledge. Vedas means knowledge. So perfect knowledge is there. Therefore if the evidence is there in the statement of Vedas, that is the proof. Śabda-pramāṇa. There are three kinds of evidences. Pratyakṣa, direct sense perception, and śabda-pramāṇa, evidence from the Vedic statement, and anumāna, aitihya, historical or hypothesis. So out of all evidences, the evidence which is called, derived from Vedic statement, that is accepted as most authoritative. Therefore Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, they are Vedas. There is statement that two birds are sitting on the same tree. The tree is compared, the body is compared with the tree. And two birds, namely the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa, and the living entity, individual soul, they are sitting together. And one is eating the fruit of the tree and the other is simply witnessing. This is our position. The other friendly bird, Kṛṣṇa or Supersoul, is giving us opportunity to act with this body as I like. He's giving us opportunity. Kṣetra-jña. I am the proprietor of this body. I have been allowed to utilize this body as I like. And the facility is given by the Supersoul.</p>
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<div id="LectureonBG226HyderabadNovember301972_3" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="92" link="Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Hyderabad, November 30, 1972" link_text="Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Hyderabad, November 30, 1972">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences: direct perception, and evidence from the Vedas, and evidence from history. Aitihya. Pratyakṣa, aitihya, śruti.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Hyderabad, November 30, 1972|Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Hyderabad, November 30, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Our process is descending process. We are not trying to understand by the ascending process. Inductive or deductive. We accept the statements of the Vedas. Therefore we haven't got to make much effort to understand a thing. Veda-vacana, śruti, śruti-pramāṇa. There are three kinds of evidences: direct perception, and evidence from the Vedas, and evidence from history. Aitihya. Pratyakṣa, aitihya, śruti. Three kinds of evidences. So pratyakṣa and aitihya is neglected. According to our Vedic system, śruti-pramāṇa, if it is statement, the statement is there in the śruti, in the Vedas, then we accept. We have got a society in India. They call veda-pramāṇa. "We cannot accept without it is not mentioned in the Vedas." That's a, that's nice. But there is another class who are described in the Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṇa Himself: veda-vāda-ratāḥ. They are simply unnecessarily fight on the basis of so-called Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge must be understood from the guru. That is injunction.</p>
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<div id="LectureonBG74NairobiOctober311975_4" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="268" link="Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975" link_text="Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975">
<div class="heading">According to Vedic system, there are three kinds of evidences: direct, and pratyakṣa... Pratyakṣa means direct. And then aitihya and śruti.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975|Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There are two kinds of knowledges: by practical experience, direct perception, and by hearing from authority, aitihya. According to Vedic system, there are three kinds of evidences: direct, and pratyakṣa... Pratyakṣa means direct. And then aitihya and śruti. Śruti. Śruti means hearing from the authority. Just like here we see that there is mind. Everyone knows mind, but it is confirmed by the śāstra because we are hearing from Kṛṣṇa which is called śruti.</p>
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<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonSB6146SanDiegoJuly271975_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="678" link="Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- San Diego, July 27, 1975" link_text="Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- San Diego, July 27, 1975">
<div class="heading">According to Vedic principles, there are three different types of evidences. Everything must be proved by evidence. So these are primarily three evidences. Pratyakṣa, direct perception, pratyakṣa; anumāna; and śruti.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- San Diego, July 27, 1975|Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- San Diego, July 27, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Pratyakṣa, anumāna, and śruta. According to Vedic principles, there are three different types of evidences. Everything must be proved by evidence. So these are primarily three evidences. Pratyakṣa, direct perception, pratyakṣa; anumāna; and śruti. Anumāna means I cannot see directly, but by the symptoms I can imagine. That is anumāna. Just like I have seen that in the month of April, May, June, we can get mangoes. That is our direct experience. So similarly, we can say, in the month of January, we can say that "In the month of April, May, June, we shall have mangoes." In the January there is no mango. But because I know, I experienced in my last April, May, June, so similarly, this intuition is nothing but experience of my last life. That is called intuition. The rascals, they say that there is no experience. Whatever life we have got just now, here experience. No. The intuition... Just like a dog's cub born, it is also trying to find out milk from the body of the mother, and exactly in the same place putting his mouth. Or human child also. This is last experience. That proves that life is continual. Just like I came here about two, three years ago? So I immediately, while getting down, I immediately understood, "Oh, the same house." So this is called intuition, means past experience.</p>
<p>Then the most authentic evidence is śruti, out of three evidences, the śruti, hearing from the authority. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam ([[Vanisource:BG 4.1 (1972)|BG 4.1]]). So Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa is the authority, best authority, supreme authority. So we can understand from His speech that in the sun planet there is a king whose name is Vaivasvata.</p>
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Lectures" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures"><h3>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonCCMadhyalila20318329NewYorkDecember221966_0" class="quote" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" book="Lec" index="92" link="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.318-329 -- New York, December 22, 1966" link_text="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.318-329 -- New York, December 22, 1966">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences. Out of that, śruti-pramāṇa, evidence from higher authorities, that is the first-class evidence. What are those evidence? Pratyakṣa, aitihya and śruti.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.318-329 -- New York, December 22, 1966|Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.318-329 -- New York, December 22, 1966]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Now, we have got evidence from the Vedic literature. But the other party, they have no evidence. They are simply speculationist. We can give some evidence. The Vedas are accepted by ācāryas, and they are following, and they are getting the result. So therefore, śruti-pramāṇa. Śruti-pramāṇa. There are three kinds of evidences. Out of that, śruti-pramāṇa, evidence from higher authorities, that is the first-class evidence. What are those evidence? Pratyakṣa, aitihya and śruti. Pratyakṣa means direct perception. Direct perception, that is evidence. People with poor fund of knowledge, they want direct perception of everything. That is not possible. Direct perception of everything is not possible. Therefore aitihya. Aitihya means historical, historical, paramparā, hearing, traditional. And the next first-class evidence is śruti. Śruti means to hear from the authority. That is śruti.</p>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="TownHallLectureAucklandApril141972_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="108" link="Town Hall Lecture -- Auckland, April 14, 1972" link_text="Town Hall Lecture -- Auckland, April 14, 1972">
<div class="heading">There are three kinds of evidences. First evidence is direct perception—I see personally. And then historical evidence, and then śabda-pramāṇa.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Town Hall Lecture -- Auckland, April 14, 1972|Town Hall Lecture -- Auckland, April 14, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There are three kinds of evidences. First evidence is direct perception—I see personally. And then historical evidence, and then śabda-pramāṇa. Śabda-pramāṇa means evidence from the Vedas. Out of three kinds of evidences, the śabda-pramāṇas, or the evidences received from the Vedas, that is accepted. So for spiritual advancement especially we have to accept the Veda-pramāṇa, or evidences given in Vedic literature. So this disciplic succession, as Gosvāmī Hanumān Prasād said, that is essential. That is the Vedic injunction.</p>
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<div id="Philosophy_Discussions" class="sub_section" sec_index="13" parent="Lectures" text="Philosophy Discussions"><h3>Philosophy Discussions</h3>
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<div id="PhilosophyDiscussiononBertrandRussell_0" class="quote" parent="Philosophy_Discussions" book="Lec" index="20" link="Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell" link_text="Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell">
<div class="heading">So out of these three kinds of evidences, śabda-pramāṇa, veda-pramāṇa, is perfect.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell|Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: So pratyakṣa is third-class knowledge, according to Vedic system. Pratyakṣa is third-class knowledge. Or fifth-class knowledge. There are stages of knowledge-pratyakṣa, parokṣa, aparokṣa, adhokṣaja, aprakṛta-(indistinct)—that when you come to the standard of aprakṛta knowledge, that is perfection. So pratyakṣa knowledge, direct perception, is fifth-class knowledge, and according to Vedic system, pratyakṣa, aitirya, and śabda... Pratyakṣa, direct perception; (Sanskrit), (indistinct); and śabdha. Three. So out of these three kinds of evidences, śabda-pramāṇa, veda-pramāṇa, is perfect. So if pratyakṣa knowledge is perfect, then why a child, a boy, is sent to school? To hear from the teacher. That is śabda. That is śabda. If pratyakṣa, direct perception, would have been perfect, then there was no need of sending these boys to school to hear from the teacher. But this is very scientific, śabda-pramāṇa.</p>
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="MorningWalkMay191975Melbourne_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="80" link="Morning Walk -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne" link_text="Morning Walk -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne">
<div class="heading">Vedic literature there are three kinds of evidences. The most powerful evidence is śruti.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Morning Walk -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne|Morning Walk -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: Therefore you have to believe only. You have to accept what Bhāgavata says. That is your business. Not to try to make an experiment. That is not possible. It is already experimented, and the mature knowledge is stated there. You have to accept, that's all. Śruti-pramāṇa. Śruti means Vedas. Evidence... Vedic literature there are three kinds of evidences. The most powerful evidence is śruti. If it is stated in the Vedas, that is first-class evidence. Therefore whatever we say, immediately quote some Vedic version, that is the way of understanding. Kṛṣṇa says, Vyāsadeva says, Parāśara says, that's all. We don't require much proof. This is the first-class proof, when you find the statement corroborated by the Vedas. And śruti, smṛti. Smṛti means literature written according to the Vedic version. Śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi (Brs. 1.2.101). Purāṇādi is itihāsa, history. And another pramāṇa is anumāna. And anumāna means "by right person." Thinking that it may be like this, anumāna. That is called anumāna.</p>
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<div id="MorningWalkJuly111975Chicago_1" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="139" link="Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago" link_text="Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago">
<div class="heading">Pratyakṣa, anumāna, śruti. out of these three kinds of evidences, śruti-pramāṇa is accepted as supreme, neither anumāna nor pratyakṣa.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago|Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: ...logic also it is admitted that inductive logic is imperfect; deductive logic is perfect. (break) ...logic means śrota-panthā, paramparā, śruti, Vedic language, śruti. Śruti pramāṇa. Pramāṇa means evidence, and śruti means Veda. Pratyakṣa, anumāna, śruti. Pratyakṣa means direct, direct evidence, and anumāna, hypothesis. That is Darwin's theory, something like that. And śruti, Vedic. So out of these three kinds of evidences, śruti-pramāṇa is accepted as supreme, neither anumāna nor pratyakṣa. Pratyakṣa, you are seeing the sky, but you cannot say the length and breadth. You cannot say. You are seeing daily. If you say, "I have got this telescope," so that is an imperfect. and how you can see with your eyes directly, direct sense perception? Hypothesis, anumāna, guessing, that is also not perfect. And śruti, we take śruti from the perfect person, Kṛṣṇa. He says, aham evāsam agre: "Before the creation I was there." We take simply.</p>
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