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Metaphysical Basis of Anekānta
2.1 Jain Concept of Reality : A Critical Study
'The Jaina metaphysics is a realistic and relativistic pluralism. It is called anekāntavāda or the doctrine of the manyness of Reality. Matter (pudgala) and spirit (jīva) are regarded as separate and independent Realities. There are innumerable material atoms and innumerable individual souls which are all separately and independently real. And each has got an infinite number of characteristics of its own’. A thing possesses innumerable positive and negative characters. It is not possible for us, ordinary people, to know all the qualities of a thing. We can know only some qualities of some things. To know all the aspects of a thing is to become omniscient. Therefore the Jaina-s say that he who knows all the qualities of one thing, knows all the qualities of all things, and he who knows all the qualities of all things, knows all the qualities of one thing". Human knowledge is necessarily relative and limited and so are all our judgments. Mahāvīra propounded that our conduct and behaviour are conditioned by our metaphysical speculation. The incentive for social change emerges from a deep and sound metaphysical theory, which requires proper
Here the term, “Reality' refers to the Jaina concept of entities, objects, so a
capital R is used throughout. ? Anantadharmakam vastu. anantadharmātmakameva tattvam. Anyayoga, .p.22. • Ācārānga Sūtra. Ed. Yuvācārya Mishrimalji 'Madhukar'. With original
Text, Hindi version, Notes, Annotation and Appendices. Beawar: Shri Āgam Prakashan Samiti, 1998, 3.74.
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