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faina Theory of Manysidedness of Reality and Truth ( Anekantavada )
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not rule out other different viewpoints and is, thereby, expressive of partial truth about a real thing-as entertained by a knowing agents. A viewpoint ( naya ) can prevent itself from lapsing into dogmatic absolute assertion and becoming thereby a pseudo-viewpoint ( durnaya ), by qualifying itself with a word 'syāt' ('from a particular standpoint', 'in a certain sense') expressing conditionality, thus keeping open the possibility of other different viewpoints. Thus the doctrine of naya is the doctrine of Relativity of Knowledge and of Conditioned Judgement. Our knowledge or judgement is true only in reference to the standpoint adopted and the aspect of a real thing considered. The doctrine means that Reality is conveyed to the mind differently from different viewpoints. Or, it means that mind approaches Reality differently from different viewpoints. As we look at Reality from different angles or view points, our descriptions of it differ. All these descriptions are partially true, for none of them presents the whole truth. The various non-Jaina systems of philosophy represent partial aspects of Reality and hence they are partially true. The nayas ( viewpoints ) are not subjective but objective. They have as their objects different aspects of Reality. The doctrine of naya analyses a real thing into different aspects from different standpoints. Jaina theoreticians have attempted to find out philosophical viewpoints and to classify them on different principles of classification.
The next step is to effect synthesis of these different philosophical views of partial truths into the whole concrete truth. To assign them their proper place in the whole truth and synthesise them into the whole truth is the task of Anekāntavāda at epistemological and logical level. Anekāntavāda integrates nayas into a consistent and comprehensive synthesis. The Jaina Anekānta philosophy emerges as the whole synthetic concrete truth from the mutual conflicts of the abstract partial truths represented by the several philosophical schools. In this sense, Jaina Anekānta philosophy becomes Philosophy of philosophies. For presenting a synthesis of all possible philosophical views on a particular point or character (dharma ) the Jaina thinkers have devised a methodology of Saptabhangi (the seven-fold predication or seven-fold judgement). Let us take the point or character of existence. Regarding it, the following seven views are possible. They are :
(0) From a certain viewpoint, x exists. (ii) From a certain viewpoint, x does not exist. (iii) From a certain viewpoint, x exists and does not exist. (iv) From a certain viewpoint, x is inexpressible ( with regard to existence-non
existence characters ). (v) From a certain viewpoint, x exists and is inexpressible. (vi) From a certain viewpoint, x does not exist, and is inexpressible. (vii) From a certain viewpoint, x exists, does not exist, and is inexpressible.
These are the seven avayavas ( constituent parts ) of the whole synthetic com. prehensive statement ( vākya ) on a particular point or character,
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