Book Title: Comparative Study Of Jaina Theories Of Reality And Knowledge
Author(s): Y J Padmarajaiah
Publisher: Jain Sahitya Vikas Mandal

Previous | Next

Page 144
________________ 124 JAINA THEORIES OF REALITY AND KNOWLEDGE ontology postulates a reality which is immensely complex or manifold. Correspondingly, the anekanta epistemology postulates a theory of manifold methods of analysis (nayavada) and synthesis (syädvāda) by means of which the complex reality can be apprehended by the mind. Besides these methods the anekanta epistemology postulates what is generally described as a theory of the ways of knowing (pramāņas). The ways of knowing are broadly classified by the Jaina thinkers into two categories, viz., pratyakṣapramāna and parokṣapramāņa. The former is the direct or immediate way of knowing and the latter is the indirect or mediate way of knowing. Each category is subdivided into further stages or divisions. It is impossible to deal with all the problems connected with the anekanta ontology and epistemology within the moderate compass of this work. In the case of the epistemological discussions, for instance, our attention is largely confined to a critical exposition of the two major methods of knowledge, viz., nayavāda and syādvāda, omitting, almost entirely, any elaborate references to the two ways of knowing, viz., pratyakṣapramāna and parokṣapramāṇa, as well as to the several problems therewith connected. Even in the case of the treatment of the anekanta ontology, our attention is mainly focused on the examination, the elucidation and the illustration of the most fundamental ontological presupposition, viz., the co-ordinate concept of identity-in-difference. The entire anekanta ontology is only an elaborate structure built up on this basic presupposition. The several topics dealt with in the various chapters like those on the Relations,

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446