First Steps to Jainism Part 2

Author(s): Sancheti Asso Lal, Manakmal Bhandari
Publisher: Sancheti Trust Jodhpur

Page 72

Chapter 4
The Central Philosophy of Jainism-Anekantavad The Doctrine of Non-one-sidedness
We take up this subject with some hesitation-it may be admitted in advance. The subject of Anekantavada or the Doctrine of Non-onesideness is very difficult (to explain) and yet not so difficult. It is very complicated as well as very simple. It is a matter of common, everyday experience and yet so remote that it defies easy understanding.
2. At the same time the subject is so important that it has been rightly called the central philosophy of Jainism. It is one of the most significant contributions of Jain thinkers to the realm of intellectual and philosophical deliberations; just as the Jain concept of non-violence and Karamvada are pacesetters in the field of human progress in ethical and metaphysical fields. An attempt is, therefore, being made to deal with the subject in simple language so that the student of Jainism may take first steps on this road and if his interest is aroused, this attempt shall be considered successful. For those so interested there is no dearth of literature on this subject, as for the last 2500 years, since Lord Mahaveer, a great many savants have examined this subject exhaustively and enriched its knowledge with their contributions.
3. What is Anekantavad - It is difficult to find a complete and exactly equivalent English term. As such this can be treated as a terminus technicus. However, it has been variously called as the Philosophy of Non-absolutism (Satkari Mookerjee), the Theory of the many sided nature of reality, the Philosophy of integration, the Theory of inter-mixture, the Philosophy of harmonizing-together (Hari Bhadra) and Theory of manifoldness. These nomenclatures throw considerable light on the various aspects of the theory of Anekantavada. However, one term which encompasses the meaning almost completely and can be called an equivalent is "Theory of Non-one-sidedness" used by Dr. B. K. Matilal (from whose lectures published by L. D. Institute Ahmedabad considerFor Private & Personal Use Only