Samayasara

SR No.: 001607
Original Sutra Author: Kundkundacharya
Author: Hiralal Jain, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith
Publication Year: 1944
Total Pages: 370
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Religion, & Philosophy
File Size: 8 MB

Page 147

18
SAMAYASĀRA
when talking to a foreigner to converse with him only through his own foreign language, in order to make him understand what he wishes to communicate to him. This is given as a justification for adopting the vyavahāra point of view which is recognised to be different from and inferior to the pāramārthika point of view. This distinction between the Paramārthika Naya and the Vyavahāra Naya, the two intellectual methods of approach towards the comprehension of reality, is adopted by the Jaina metaphysicians as a very important one. Our author adopts these two methods throughout the work as the occasion demands. Since Jaina metaphysics assumes the reality to be a complex entity it is bound to adopt both these points of view. The ultimate reality must be subjected to an intellectual analysis and the constituent elements so obtained must be selected and emphasised according to the interest of the student and also consistent with the purpose of the discussion. The variations in the context and the intellectual aim will naturally determine the nature of the descriptions adopted with reference to the reality studied. The method of selective description to suit the purpose of the context is the method adopted by the ordinary man who is engaged in his pursuit in life. Since the method is determined by a purpose of practical interest, the investigation will be relevant only to that purpose and the conclusion obtained must be therefore partial since it is not concerned with other aspects of the reality which are left out as of no concern, being irrelevant to the purpose on hand. This process of investigation goes by the name of the Vya vahāra Naya or the practical point of view as contrasted with the other method, Pāramārthika Naya. The term Paramartha refers to the ultimate and implies a philosophical attempt to probe into the inner core of reality with the object of comprehending the intrinsic nature of reality, whole and complete. It is also called Niscaya Naya, real point of view, since it is not concerned with the various aspects, partial and purposive, relevant only to the practical man and not to the philosopher. This distinction between the pāramrārthika view and the vyavahāra is also adopted by Sankara in his Bhāşya on the Vedānta Sūtras. Since Sankara came several centuries after