Hetubindu Tika

Author(s): Dharmakirti Mahaswami, Archatt Bhatt, Durvek Mishra Pandit, Sukhlal Sanghavi, Jinvijay, B Bhattacharya
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

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XV
. . Whatever might be the form of the debate (kathā) but it could be fruitful only if it was guided by certain principles. And accordingly some such principles were evolved, both spontaneously and intentionally, from the discussions of the seekers of truth. Similarly, the problems of the validity of knowledge and the number of organs of knowledge also cropped up. And consequently, on the one hand, the Science of Organ of Knowledge (Pramăna-vidyā) was gradually evolved, and, on the other, its accessory-the Science of Reasoning (Nyāya, Tarka or Anviksiki)-was developed. Both these Sciences were applied in the spiritual as well as the practical (known as secular or bhautika) fields of enquiry. There were numerous subjects of enquiry and, moreover, there were different views of the same subject as also the numerous schools of interpretations of the different aspects of the same enquiry as well as its subject matter, It is because of this that there was spontaneous growth of a number of systems of the Science of Organ of Knowledge and the Science of Reasoning.
The inherent credulous tendency of the human mind finds satisfaction in the preservation of whatever it receives by inheritance or from the environment. But there are exceptions to this general tendency, because sometimes we find persons who deeply penetrate into the thoughts that they inherit and oftentimes, as a result, stand against the irrational elements and put forward a new way of thought in opposition, The background of a creative thought is primarily constituted of the purity of the intellect, the strength of reasoning as well as the strength of character. When the intellect and the reason strike at the root of the dogmatic faith, the immediate natural reaction of the latter is to adopt an attitude of indifference towards them or even to disparage them. There was such stage in the history of Indian culture as well, It is due to this that we find the unanimous denunciation of the Science of Reasoning in the ancient literature of Brāhmanism, Buddhism and Jainism, But this stage does not last long, and ultimately, both faith and reason, being the inalienable constituents of life, support each other and delimit the sphere of their application in a manner which avoids mutual conflict. It is this that is called the stage of the synthesis of faith and reason. It is this synthesis that has been known as the combination of the doctrines of non-reason and reason(ahetuvādahetuvada) in the S'āstras (systematic works). And ultimately, all the systems of thought accepted these two doctrines with proper delimitation of the scope of their application. When at this stage of synthesis, the dogmatic minds began to respect the Science of Reasoning, the latter began to thrive by leaps and bounds. Consequently, the Science of Reasoning was studied by the students of every branch of knowledge, spiritual or secular, and naturally new works on the Science were composedEvery system of thought had to contribute its own, sooner or later, to this Science. The earliest contribution to the Science of Organ of Knowledge and the Science of Reasoning is mainly due to the
1 H. I. L., p. 36.. 2 Cf. Sanmati, 3, 43-45.