Samayasara

SR No.: 006764
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: A Chakravarti
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith
Publication Year: 1989
Total Pages: 370
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Agam, & Canon
File Size: 20 MB

Page 107

INTRODUCTION
89
to any class of objects constituting the Reality. This Dravya is defined thus : Gupa-paryayavat Daravyah-that which has characteristic qualities and that which is undergoing constant modifications is what is called Dravya. The general illustration of a dravya given in textbooks is the substance, gold. This dravya-gold-has got its characteristic quality of yellowness, brilliance, malleability, etc., and it may be made into several ornaments. One ornament of gold may be changed into another ornament if the owner 80 desires. The changing form in to which this substance, gold, shall be constituted is its mode. The substance, gold, out of which these ornaments are made is the Dravya and the characteristic attributes of yellowness, etc., constitute its Guna. Here also the conception of Dravya is peculiar to the Jaina Darśana, and to a very large extent differs from the conception of Dravya found in the other Non-Jaina Darśanas. The substance and qualities cannot be separated. Dravya and Gupa are inseparable and yet the substance is not the same as its attributes nor the attributes same as the substance, though it is a fact it is the substance that manifests this nature through its attributes. Substance without attributes and attributes dissociated from the underlying substance would all be meaningless abstractions. Gupa cannot exist apart from the Dravya nor the Dravya apart from the gupas. A real Dravya is that which manifests through its Gupas and real gupas are those that have their roots in the underlying Dravya. Gupas which are not based upon the underlying Dravya, whose manifestations they are, would be merely sensory illusions having no claim to the status of reality. Hence in the world of reality there can be no separate existence either of Dravya or Guņa from each other. It may be clearly seen that according to Jaina Darśana, the systems which speak of a real existence without Gunas, Nirgupa or of Gunas existing separately from the substance till they are brought together by a third entity called Samavāya, are erroneous philosophical views not corroborated by facts of reality. As we shall see later on, according to this conception even Cetana or Soul or Atmă cannot separate its quality of Cetana or consciousness but some other philosophical systems do maintain that the Cetana quality and Atamadravya are two different entities occasionally brought together by extraneous circumstances. These two doctrines as to the nature pertaining to reality-Sat, and Dravya lead us to the consideration of fundamental and logical doctrine which is also peculiar to Jainism.
Asti-Nasti Vada--According to this logical doctrine every fact of reality is capable of being described in two logical propositions-one affirmative and the other negative. This paradoxical logical doctrine of Asti-Năsti Vada has perplexed many non-Jaina thinkers including even the great philosopher Sankara. Apparently this conception will be meaningless. How could the same fact be described by two contradictory logical propositions ? How can we say that it is and at the same time it is not? Because Asti-Năsti literally means the thing is and is not. If we remember the two previous