Jaina Theory of Multiple Facets of Reality and Truth

SR No.: 001746
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Nagin J Shah
Publisher: B L Institute of Indology
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 168
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Nyay
File Size: 12 MB

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Jaina Theory of Multiple Facets of Reality and Truth free from attachment to views. He achieves freedom from attachment by accepting all views. While the transcendentalist sees peace in the Absolute which transcends allantinomies of intellect, the Jaina empiricist finds it in the fact of relativity of knowledge and consequent revelation of the manysidedness of Reality which contains all antinomies, all pairs of contradictory characteristics—the one leading to spiritual mysticism, the other leading to intellectual toleration.
The present work is a collection of papers on anekāntavāda, read in the Seminar organised by B.L. Institute of Indology in the year 1990. Of them the two-one by Prof. K.C. Bhattacharyya and the other by Prof. A. Uno—, though not written for the Seminar are included in the work owing to their great importance.
Prof. B.K. Matilal's article "Anekanta: Both Yes and No?" is very important in several ways. It takes us to the new understanding of the theory and problems concerned with it. Prof. Matilal explains the sense in which the Jaina position Everything is non-one-sided' is metametaphysical, points out the affinity of anekāntavāda with vibhajyavāda, shows how both the Buddhist and the Jaina avoided two extremes, and extensively demonstrates how the charge of irrationality and unintelligibility against the Jaina theory of anekānta has been averted and answered by the powerful Jaina philosophers with the help of clear enunciation of the method of saptabhangi (sevenfold predication) as well as the doctrine of nayavāda (standpoints). His explanation of the Jaina answer to the opponents' criticism is highly illuminating as it takes into account various pertinent views of modern logicians. He observes that the Jaina theory of anekāntavāda does not involve the rejection of the law of contradiction though it does not comply with the law of excluded middle. His interpretation of 'inexpressible (avaktavya)' in the fourth mode of the sevenfold predication is philosophically important and interesting. The whole article is gripping. Prof. K.C. Bhattacharyya in his fascinating article "The Jaina Theory of Anekānta" opens up new vistas to philosophical understanding of the theory of anekānta. He elucidates the theory with novel concepts and terminology, brings out important implications, raises interesting questions and answers them intelligently, explains Jaina Realism in the context of Hegelian and Nyāya standpoints, observes that Jaina