Basic Principles Of Jainism

Author(s): Narayan Lal Kachhara
Publisher: Narayan Lal Kachhara

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fermentation when it is not possible to say that the liquid is either nira or an intoxicating drink (sindi). The only reasonable reply would be: "I cannot say". It is inexpressible and the quality of the liquid becomes indescribable. To return to our example, it is an attempt to present the states of "being" and "non-being" in the jar simultaneously.
The remaining three mode are derived from combining the three primary concepts in such a way that these three, combined with the four modes hitherto expounded, exhaust all the possible or alternative aspects of truth concerning the object in question.
The fifth mode is a combination of the first and the fourth predicates. It predicates the two attributes of existence and inexpressibility simultaneously. "May be, the jar is and is inexpressible'; that is, the two predicates are presented together, "Being" refers to its existence while "inexpressibility" refers to the changing modes of the substance with reference to its dravya, rupa, kala and ksetra. The sixth mode is viz., syadnasti cha avaktavyam. "The jar is, the jar is not with reference to another substance' but when both are simultaneously predicated, the concept becomes inexpressible. This is again an instance of simultaneous predication of three concepts. The seventh predication relates to simultaneous assertion of existence, nonexistence and inexpressibility. The jar exists with reference to its dravya, ksetra, rupa and kala and it does not exist with reference to the four attributes of some other substance. When the two are combined in predication, they become inexpressible. This is formed by the combination of the third and the fourth predications.
It may be of interest to cite another illustration given by Mahalanobis while dealing with the theory of Syadvada: Consider tossing of a coin and suppose it turns up "head". We may say 1) "It is head" (now). This also implies, 2) "It is not head" (on some other occasion). The third category follows without difficulty, 3) "It is and it is not" which is a synthetic predication based on both 1) and 2). The fourth category predicates that the position is still indeterminate. Consider the throw of a coin. It has possibility of head (it is) and not head (it is not) sometimes head and sometimes not-head; the combination of both the possibilities of "it is" and "it is not" is another indefinite or indeterminate form. 5) The fifth category of knowledge in Jaina logic predicates the existence of indetermination (which we may perhaps interpret, in modern language, as the assertion of the existence of the probability field). 6) The sixth category denies the existence of a probability field; while 7) the seventh category covers the whole range of possibilities mentioned in the other six categories.
Certain ideas of Syadvada seem to have close relevance to the concepts of probability which can supply a convenient background to the foundations of statistics. The difference between Jaina avaktavya and the concept of probability lies in the fact that the latter has definite quantitative implications. The concept of numerical frequency ratios distinguishes modern statistical theory from the Jaina theory of Syadvada. At the same time it is of interest to note that 1500 or 2500 years ago Syadvada seems to have given the logical background of statistical theory in a qualitative from. The emphasis given by the Jaina philosophy on the relatedness of
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