Arsha Pramana is the realized statements of the seers and sages. The word arsha is derived from rishi, which means a sage. Arsha means pertaining to a sage or belonging to a sage. Pramana is a technical term in Hindu logic. It means the evidence that gives infallibility or validity to a statement. There are three main pramanas recognized by all Hindu philosophers. They are – pratyaksha (sense experience), anumana (inference) and shabda ‘what is said, declared, or accepted by experts, authorities and authentically knowing persons.’ The last is accepted as a pramana, i.e. a prama (source of true knowledge), because of the reliability and the sound knowledge of the sages. Most of our important, influential and strongly held beliefs arise from arsha pramana.
For instance, our belief in God, rituals, devotion, the
highest good, the ultimate, absolute truth, moksha or mukti (emancipation), the
nature of sadhana (discipline) to be adopted for reaching the goal of emancipation,
etc., are based on arsha pramana and derive from them their strength and
validity. There is no sense experience or inference to support these beliefs.
Arsha pramana is more commonly called shabda pramana, agama pramana or aptagama
or apta vacana. Apta is a person who knows correctly and also has the capacity,
and the ability to transmit that knowledge to us without any mistake or
distortion.
Sabda (word) of an expert, a person who really knows, is enough
for most of us to take what he says to be true. Thus, arsha pramana is granted
credibility and authenticity which is not usually questioned. An actual sense
experience may sometimes be illusory as in the case of a dream experience or a
mirage. Inference, similarly, may be based on an unwarranted conclusion. But
most of us are very much inclined to take the words of sages to be always true
and beyond doubt. This is very clearly seen in our religious and spiritual
beliefs. They are supposed to be based on the strongest foundation, that of arsha
pramana.
It is unique in the history of Hindu religion that the truth
of the words of the Vedic sages is validated by a succession of saints down the
ages. Sri Ramakrishna and Maharshi Ramana, for instance, in the last two
centuries, have shown through their lives, the validity of the words of the
ancient seers.