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Jaina Theory of Many-sidedness of Reality and Truth ( Anekantavada)
Nagin J. Shah
Jainism is one of the important systems of Indian philosophy, and Anekānta. vāda is regarded by scholars as the central philosophy of Jainism. Anekāntavāda is the theory of many-sidedness of reality and truth. It presupposes the theory of standpoints or partial truths ( Nayavāda ). Anekāntavāda investigates how each of the views contains some truth. As a result, it arrives at the conclusion that different systems of philosophy are partially true, hence none of them is wholly true, and that if each of them would see thiogs from the opponent's viewpoint as well as its own there would be perfect harmony all round.
Nayavāda and Anekantavada
According to Jaina philosophy a real thing or object ( vastu ) has infinite characters ( ananta-dhramātmaka ), implying thereby that it possesses even opposite characters. A real thing is therefore manysided ( anekāntātmaka ). Again, the Jaina thinkers maintain that both substance ( dravya ) and mode ( paryāya ) constitute the nature of a real thing, and further they relate permanence (dhrauvya, nityatva ) to substance and origination-destruction (utpada-vyaya ) to modes. Therefore, a real thing has two opposite characters permanence and change. Again, they tell that a real thing is constituted of general features and particular features. Hence has two opposite characters-universality and particularity, or similarity and dissimila. rity, or the one and the Many. Thus, ontologically, a real thing is a veritable confluence of opposites.
A real thing is not merely a mixture of the opposites. It is not a mixture of sub. stance and mode but something sui generis (jātyantara ). Substance and mode are so blended as to present a real thing sui generis which is, therefore, not vitiated by the defects of the two taken singly and separately, at the same time they are never found outside a real thing, nor one without the other. Similar is the case with universal and particular of a real thing. Thus, a real thing is a unique synthesis of opposites.
We ordinary mortals can attend to one aspect or character of a real thing at a time and consequently can have the knowledge of only one aspect or character of a real thing. And our concentration on one aspect or character is conditioned by our purpose, intention etc. Such partial knowledge of only one aspect or character is called naya", and a judgement based on such partial knowledge is also called naya. A naya is defined as a particular opinion or a viewpoint-.a viewpoint which does
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