Studies in Jainism

SR No.: 002008
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: M P Marathe, Meena A Kelkar, P P Gokhle
Publisher: Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publication Puna
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 284
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Religion
File Size: 16 MB

Page 11

nately, she could not attend the seminar and so there was no discussion on the article.
One of the important features of these proceedings is that it is bilingual. Dr. Sagarmal Jain's article on Astikā ya is written in Hindi. He has tried to re-understand the concept of Astikāya. He also raises the problem as to why Kala cannot be Astikāya. I would like to suggest that scholars should consider the concept of Astikā ya on the background of what Kant called schemata. The categories, the forms of intuition and the manifold of sense are in a way abstractions and they cannot become concrete and real unless they are seen as a whole on the background of space and time. The concept of Astikāja is similar. The concept of Jiva, for example, will have to be distinguished from that of Jivā stikā ya. The concept of Jiva is neither in space nor in time, it would be in Plato's World of Ideas'. But Jivästikä ya should have spatial and temporal existence. The macroscopic Jivci should be distinguished but not separated from Pudgalas. The case of Dharmā stika ya or Adharmāstikā ya would be similar. These realities should be connected with micro-space and micro-matter. Dr. Nagin Shah's article on space and time, like the article of Dr. Sagarmal Jain, is equally rich in content. He does suggest to an intelligent reader the different possibilities concerned with Lokākasa and Alokākasu. The concept of Alokākāśa seems to be very important. Is it merely a concept or is it something real bevond Lokākāśa or is it only that part of Lokākāśa which is not filled in with any kind of substance ? Dr. Shah tries to give an answer, “Has Alokākāśa any form ? No, it has no form. But it may be conceived as having the form of the parabola". (p. 63 ) Dr. Naginbhai's proposition is very interesting. But no philosophical proposition can be stated to be correct, with certainty.
The second part is concerned with Jaina Logic and epistemology and consists of important papers of Jaina authorities like Darbarilal Kothiya, Kailashchandra Shastri and also of modern scholars of Jainism like Dr. V. K. Bhardwaj, Prof. M. P. Marathe and Prof. Sangamlal Pandey. Prof. Sangamlal Pandey tries to understand that Syadvāda is concerned with many-valued logic. Dr. Bhardwaj says that Syadvada cannot be identified with logic of possibilities. I have a feeling that many a time similarities of different doctrines act as obstructions in seeing