Multidimensional Application of Anekantavada

SR No.: 014009
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sagarmal Jain, Shreeprakash Pandey, Bhagchandra Jain Bhaskar
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1999
Total Pages: 552
Language: English, Hindi
Classification: Seminar & Articles
File Size: 9 MB

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Multi-dimensional Application of Anekāntavāda
a Pramāna.
It is the expression of the speakers or intuition and is concerned with a single aspect of an object. In fact it is neither a Pramāņa (way of knowing), nor a appramāņa (way of not knowing) but aspect of a Pramāņa itself. That is why it is called Pramāņa Prabhāva, a growth of Pramāņa.
Every single statement is a Naya. So Nayas are infinite as there is no limit to the numbers of particular statements. Such Nayas are called Vyāsa or Distributive Nayas. Differentiated from them are Samāsa or collective Nayas that throws light on the well-classified sets of statements. According to Umāsvāti such Nayas are five. They are Naigama, Sangraha, Vyavahāra, Rjusutra and Sabda. Other Jaina thinkers have added two more Nayas to this list. The additional Nayas are Samabhirūdha and Evaṁbhūta, which are regarded by Umāsvāti as the kinds of sabda Naya itself. So far the sake of brevity it is useful to deal with five Nayas, especially, in the context of other darśanas that they are usually classified under the Nayas.
The Jaina philosophers have applied the doctrine of Nayas in evaluation of their rival systems of philosophy. They have argued that Nyāya Vaiseșika is the illustration of Naigama, Advaita Vedānta and Sāṁkhya that of Sarigráha, Cārvāka Darśana that of Vyāvahāra, Buddhism that of Rjusūtra and so on. As Nayas they rightly represent the different aspects of the reality what they positively stipulated in correct. So they are called correct Ekānta. But when they attempt to eliminate other darśanas or Nayas on the authority of their positive stipulation they commit a fallacy that is called Durnaya or Nayābhāsa, the fallacy of inclusive predication. Then their Ekānta goes wrong and needs to be corrected by another relevant Ekānta that is presented by a rival school of their philosophy. In this way every Ekānta has a limited scope. It is only relatively true so when it claims the absolute truth for itself it becomes false, as there is no absolute truth. All truths are relative only. The relativistic character of a particular stipulation is made clear by adding the word Syāt at its beginning. The Jainas have thus developed Saptabhariginaya and applied it to various darśanas. Samantabhandra, for example says in his Āptamimāṁsā 'that