$JES 904 Compendium of Jainism (Jain Academic Bowl Manual 3rd Edition)

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 95

PHILOSOPHY
B11 - Anekantaväda I - Theory of Multiplicity
These principles translate into three practices:
• One should not kill • One should not trample other's thoughts
• One should not trample the natural world If we truly adopt these three ideas then there will be:
• No acts of war • No economic exploitation
• No environmental and ecological destruction In conclusion, we can say that following these principles can:
• Establish universal friendship and peace through nonviolence
Establish true social equity based on non-acquisitiveness and non-possession Reconcile differences between diverse religious faiths, political parties, and communal and
racial factions through the philosophies of pluralism non-absolutism and relativism. • Promote ecological conservation through the values of self-restraint, an austere lifestyle, non
possessiveness. 03 How to know a Substance? To know a substance, there are 4 different categories, which are described in the scriptures.
• Characteristics (Lakshana) of a substance • True Knowledge (Pramana) • Partial point of view (Naya)
• Analysis of truth (Nikshepa) 1. Lakshana (Characteristics of a Substance)
One should know the characteristics of a substance. The characteristic (Lakshana) should be such that it is present only in the substance and not in any other substance. For example, when wesay that the soul is formless, this is not its absolute characteristic because there are other substances like medium of motion, medium of rest, space, and time, which are also formless substances. Nevertheless, if we say that the soul's characteristic is to know then it becomes a true characteristic. Every soul starting with the lowest form (Nigod) to the highest form (Siddha) has characteristics of knowledge. Touch, taste, smell and color are all characteristics of matter because none of the other five substances have these characteristics. Thus, a peculiar characteristic present
in only one substance and not in any other substance is known as its true characteristic. 2. Pramana (True Knowledge)
Pramana is a valid knowledge of the self and non-self without limitations. It views an object in its entirety and accepts agreeable things while discarding the disagreeable. To know a substance from all angles is called the organ of knowledge, or true knowledge. On the rise of true knowledge doubt, illusion, and ignorance are removed and a nature of a thing is understood rightly to a considerable extent. The knowledge that allows one to differentiate and to make decisions about the self and others (Sva and Para) is called the organ of knowledge or true knowledge. The organ of knowledge consists of several different and apparently opposite points of views. Thus with the organ of knowledge, one gets equanimity, and becomes tolerant of different points of views. The perception, which grasps the nature of a thing in a proper and fuller form, is called the organ of knowledge. Pramäna knowledge is gained by direct (Pratyaksha) or indirect (Paroksha) means. Indirect Pramana is gained by sensory organs and by reading and listening to discourses. Thus Mati Jnän
Compendium of Jainism - 2015
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