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Brief Outlines of Jainism
explanatory to show how karmic bondage and
freedom from that takes place.
Theory of Relativity & Doctrine of Syadvad.
The most important and unique contribution, which Jainism has made to the world of thought is its theories of "Nayavad" and "Syadvad".
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Syadvad is the synthesis of Nayavad. The word "Naya" means stand point. As Acharya Shri Siddhasen points out, 'Reality' is very complex as it has many aspects. He says, "Anekatmakam Vastu Gocharaha": अनेकात्मकम् वस्तु गांधहः । ie "A thing has many aspects." It has also many relations with other objects which influence it. Human knowledge being limited it is not always possible to comprehend all these aspects and relations for arriving at the final judgments. Many a times we do find that what is true from one stand point may not be true from a different stand point. Nayvad therefore teaches us not to be rigid or fanatic about any point of view. It thus teaches us to be tolerant of other and even contrary viewpoint.
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