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66/3, cis-fighter 2013
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Today's global intercultural context has made possible free discussion among religion and culture. It attempts to overcome contingency, asymmetry of placing one culture to a monolithic position for the sake of equality and hoping to contribute to a common global discourse and conversation of humankind that extends beyond the narrow limits of the east-west dichotomy. Thus cultures and philosophies may be viewed reciprocally as no culture is the perfect fulture for the whole of humankind. In Sutrakrtanga, it is said" those who praise their own faiths and ideologies and blame those of their opponents and thus distort the truth with remain confined to the cycle of birth and death. 12
All cultures cannot be brought under the one framework by making oe as a paradigm. Doing so would be case of absolutism. Jain Philosphy of anekanta emphatically say that truth is multidimensional and it can be correctly known by having a non-absolutistic view point. Thus anekantvada theory approves pluralism, diversity and difference as values. All these differences have their own relative importance. In this era of cultural crisis, this thoery becomes more relevant becuase cultures want to be free from the bond of universalism. The most recent address by the spiritual leader Dalai Lama is, "We are seeking political freedom to preserve our culture and environment and are oppsoed to cultural genocide". 13 For the preservation of each and every culture anekanta must be applied be developing an inclusive outlook towards the other religion or cultures.
Thus it is concluded that The problem of "other" whether it is religious, cultural or national is most dangerous on the face of humanity today. Until an inclusive outlook and intercuturality not develoed, the global harmony is impossible. The Jain theory of anekanta through ages has been exhibiting an inclusive outlook as proves the Jain History and literature. In the present it holds its utmost imporance in the promotion of interculturatiy as it asserts that difference does not necessarily mean distnace and unity does not necessarily mean uniformty. It works with the eternal
