296. identity
Second, Indic tradition teaches that works should always be read in their entire
context. This is the metavalue of contextuality. The Mimamsa interpreter Jaimini
said something like this in the third akhyanaof his Jaimini Sutras. Four out of six
principles he enunciated for applying mantra to distinct situations involve looking
at the context. One of them particularly stresses context:asamyuktam prakarnat, iti
kartavya arthivat [mantra],“If a mantra is not correlated to something else, it be-
comes correlated by context” (Jaimini Mimamsa Sutra3.3.11). Jaimini teaches that
if we are to understand Vedic instruction properly, we must look at nearby sen-
tences, nearby paragraphs, as well as what might be assumed by the readership and
authorship of a given text.
Jaimini’s principles suggest a group of practices that we should all adopt in acts
of literary interpretation. As we read together pluralistically, following the first
principle, we must see any given statement in relation to the utterances that sur-
round it. What do neighboring sentences tell us about the overall meaning of a
given statement? Are other interpretations offered by the same author, to which we
should be paying attention? If so, then these must bear on assessment of the work
at hand. If a non-Hindu is speaking, are there clear signals to the reader that certain
interpretations are not views that Hindus themselves might hold? Do we find simi-
lar signals when a Hindu of one persuasion is speaking to another? In our own acts
of constructing meaning on the basis of the signals we are sent, are we doing our
best to be fair—to consider not just a single statement but its intent and the context
in which it is set? In Jaimini’s terms, are we paying attention to the surrounding sen-
tences? Finally, we must ask ourselves whether claims are made about the relative
truth of any given interpretation. If so, is the author honest about that truth?
There is an important further consideration. Jaimini extends the idea of contex-
tual reading beyond the domain of the text itself. He teaches us to look at the human
context, to consider who the participants are in any particular debate. He argues that
a person’s name, role in the community, and prior record of good deeds have a great
deal to tell us about how we must receive what they say. We ought to follow Jaimini
in doing each other the honor of taking the whole person into account when we read
together pluralistically.
Third, the Indic tradition teaches the principle ofupaya,or learning in stages.
This is the metavalue of incrementalism. Upayais heavily stressed in the Buddhist
tradition, but it also provides a clear pedagogical modus operandi in the ancient In-
dian educational system as a whole. Similarly, when we construct curricula of our
own, we should pay attention to sequence. We may well begin with basic texts and