Ahimsa and Jainism

Author(s): Vijayvallabhsuri
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi

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Upanishads—adopt either the theory of creation, or of evolution, or of illusion to explain the origin of the world. Whatever they resort to a simple substance or substances, intelligent, or unintelligent, is or are postulated as the origin or cause of whatever there exists. Of the primal substance or substances there is no cause or origin. Early Greek philosophers—Thales and others considered the riddle of existence solved when the original material had been stated, out of the modifications of which all things consist. How the original simple substance converted itself into complex substances no philosopher explains. The Jain position in this matter being peculiar, it will be necessary to take a more extended survey of philosophy.
One of the functions of philosophy is to advance from the known to the unknown. The procedures adopted are two-induction and deduction The induction process is understood as that by which a general law is inferred froni particular facts; the deductive process as that by which a particular fact is inferred from a general law which is assumed to be universally true. Smith, Scott, Williams and others died in the past, therefore all men are mortal; this is induction. All men
are mortal; Wilson is a man; therefore Wilson