Outlines of Jainism

SR No.: 007012
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: S Gopalan
Publisher: Wiley Eastern Private Limited New Delhi
Publication Year: 1973
Total Pages: 216
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 9 MB

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JAINISM
of it in the list of categories itself may be. Garbe observes : "Difference (viseșa), the fifth category... holds an important place in the Vaiseṣika system inasmuch as, by virtue of it the difference of the atoms renders possible the formation of the universe. The name, therefore, of the entire system, Vaiśeṣika, is derived from the word for difference (viseṣa)."'5
The Vaiseşika's fundamental position is that no entity constituting Reality can be conceived of without understanding the visesa rooted in it. Differentiating one entity from all the others itself is possible because of its visesa or particularity. The introduction of the concept of intimate relation (samavāya) by the Vaiśeşika philosopher distinguishes the system itself from the Buddhist philosophy which holds on to the view-point of 'total difference'. This is evident from the unique and discrete particular doctrine (svalakṣaṇa-vāda). Samavāya is a synthesizing principle and does not enjoy the status of introducing changes between the relata. As such, the emphasis on difference is maintained and identity is kept at bay.
Dvaita view: The emphasis on the principle of difference in the Dvaita system is apparent from the division of categories into the Independent (svatantra) and the Dependent (paratantra). God is the only independent substance and the individual souls and the material world are dependent on Him. The whole tenor of the Dvaita view is that the individual soul (and the world) are different from the Supreme Lord and, understanding the situation of fundamental difference between the individual soul and God is the essential preliminary for realizing mokṣa. The ātman is said to be 'not that', and the māhāvākya signifies essentially the distinction that exists between the individual soul and the universal soul. The importance attached to difference in the Dvaita system is pointed out by one of the exponents of the system who writes: "An individual or an object is what it is in virtue of its difference from other objects belonging to the same class or genus and difference ipso facto from members of another class or genus. Whether the linguistic medium is used or not, whether there is outward expression or not, difference is the essential constituent of an object or individual. An object is what it is only on account of its difference from other objects. In accordance with the pragmatic purpose of the subject,
5 Article on Vaiseṣika, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol 12, p. 570