Epitome of Jainism

Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 39

( x ) at some length, the psychology and philosophy of the matter and form of this mithyatva. A little reflection will be sufficient, we belive, to convince an impartial student of the history of Indian schools of thought that the theory of Mayd resolving into aváran and vikshepa , as interpreted by Shankar and others of his line of thinking, is but a distorted shadow of the Jain theory of mithyátva. For, to deny Maya, therefore, of any positive entity and to posit it at the same time as the great impediment in the way to the true selfrealisation is to be guilty of substantializing He abstraction. In order to escape from this difficulty, Ramanuja, another interpreter of the Vedânta Sutrus, had to draw inspirations from the teachings and writtings of the Jain sages, and, in consequence, had to fall back upon the Jain doctrine of Unity in Difference or the Theory of Bhedabheda vad, the legitimate outcome of the Syadvad or the dialectic method of reasoning giving a more comprehensive view of thought and Being. It is true that Ramanuja speaks of Bodhầyana as his authority for the enunciation of the doctrine of Unity in