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absolute (nirpekṣa) truths. Moreover, he says that, bereft of absolute, how can relative truth exist? This question was raised against anekānta but anekānta is also anekāntic. So C.D. Sharma in his book 'A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy' says, the difficulty is that the nayas have not been woven together. The non-absolutism is the only thread, which can weave them together. In the absence of absolute, this synthesis is an impossible for Jainism. Even Jains accept the absolute truth. Mahāprajña says, without absolute truth, we cannot attain the relative truth. Due to misunderstanding of the nature of the theory, the above statements are made.
Ācārya Mahāprajña cited an example of relativity through an instance of teacher and the student. The teachers told the student, shorten the line drawn on the black board without erasing any part of it. Now how is it possible to make it short and yet not rubbing a part of it? The student was intelligent, he drew a longer line thus making the original line appear shorter. Jain philosophy contends that no philosophic proposition can be true, if it is only unconditionally asserted.' 4.3 Elements of Anekānta' in Western Philosophy and Post
Modern Philosophy
... It is due to one-sided prejudiced mind set, one misunderstands others' viewpoints and behaves otherwise. In the world of western philosophy, there occurred a paradigm shift from philosophizing the metaphysical concepts and epistemological aspects to the new horizon of problem of
Mahāprajña. Jain Darśana Aur Anekānta. Ed. Muni Dulharaj. Churu:
Ādarśa Sahitya Sanga Publication, 2000, p. 29. ? Chandradhar Sharma. A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1991, p. 57. Matilal, Bimal Krishna. The Central Philosophy of Jainism (Anekāntavāda). Ed. Dalsukh Malavania, Nagin J. Shah. Ahemedabad: L.D. Institute of Indology, 1981, p. 61.
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