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

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

Page 96

PHILOSOPHY
B11 - Anekantaväda I - Theory of Multiplicity
and Shruta Jnän are examples of indirect Pramana and Avadhi Jnän, Manaha Paryava Jnän and
Keval Jnän are examples of direct Pramana. 3. Naya (Partial Point of View)
Any knowledge, which is true only for a given situation or from a given point of view is called Naya (a partial point of view). The thought activity, which grasps only one aspect of an object with the aid of scriptures, is called a partial point of view. Thus any statement made from one point of view can never be true from all aspects. The language to express this obvious paradox is known as Syädväda in Jain scriptures. Thus Syädväda is a theory of conditional predication and relativity of propositions and judgments. Emphasizing the limits of ordinary knowledge, Jainism developed the theory that truth is relative to the perspective Naya from, which it is known. Furthermore, because reality is many sided and particular knowledge is true only from a limited perspective, all knowledge claims are only tentative (Syät) just as in, "X may be Y," rather than "X is Y." This is known as the Syädväda (theory of relativity) or Anekantaväda (theory of multiplicity of viewpoints). Thus, doctrine of Syädväda or relativity states that the expression of truth is relative to different viewpoints. What is true from one point of view is open to question from another. Absolute truth cannot be grasped from any one particular viewpoint. Absolute truth is the total sum of individual partial truths from many different viewpoints, even if they seem to contradict each other. Like the blind men, each person perceives things from their own perspective. These perspectives are determined by many factors, including socio-cultural conditioning, particular place, time, circumstances, hopes, fears and, of course, subject to the limitation of our sensory perception, and reasoning power. When it is understood that knowledge is limited by the particular perspective from which it is achieved, it becomes easy to see that claims of knowledge are conditioned by the limitation of the perspective that it assumes and should always be expressed as only tentatively true. Just as the blind men should have been more circumspect, saying for example, "Standing here, feeling the object with my hands, it feels like a winnowing fan. This elephant may be looking like a winnowing fan." We must understand that any claims of knowledge should be asserted only conditionally. A deeper understanding of Anekäntaväda and Syädväda provides great insight into the problems of human interactions that cause conflict, grief, envy, and hatred. It teaches us to be tolerant towards other viewpoints. This allows us to live in harmony with people of different thinking. Similarly, it is highly applicable in understanding social problems and national strife. More importantly, these doctrines also provide ways of resolving global differences and conflicts. Total knowledge or organ of knowledge (Pramana Jnän) is the sum total of all partial points of view. Thus to understand a substance in its fullest form, one must have knowledge of all partial points of view including seemingly opposite partial points of view. Just as Pramana is pure knowledge, so also Naya is pure knowledge. The former grasps the entire thing, while the latter grasps only one of its many aspects. There are several different classifications of partial points of view given in scriptures. The detail on
this can be found in the next chapter. 4. Nikshepa (Analysis of Truth)
Analysis of truth can be done with precision and clarity in different ways. A substance has various attributes. Keeping those attributes in mind, a substance can be divided into different ways. Language is a means of communication. All practical exchange of knowledge has language for its main modality. When it is embodied in language, intangible knowledge becomes tangible and hence conveyable. Language is made up of words. The same word is employed to yield several meanings depending on the purpose or context. Employment of a word to express different meanings is done at least in four different ways. These four ways are known as Nikshepa.
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Compendium of Jainism - 2015