ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 298

4.2.b
The Concept of Naya in Jainism
Dr. Anekant Kumar Jain
1. Introduction This complex universe comprises of infinite realities. Each reality characterized as substance in Jainism, is endowed with infinite attributes and their modes. Further there are infinite substances grossly grouped in six classes. It is impossible for an ordinary human being to cognize /know simultaneously all the modes and characteristics (such as one and many, similar and dissimilar, eternal and ephemeral, determinate and indeterminate, prior and subsequent, cause and effect, good and bad, beautiful and ugly etc.) of even one substance, what to talk of the entire universe. Thus the cognition of one even substance by an individual J va (self /soul) and presented by its limited intellect can never be a whole view. It is always partial. Further it is a relative view - as per the beliefs, prejudice, mood and purpose of the one experiencing it and narrating it. This is so deu the substance being constantly going through transformation in its attributes. This is known as Naya (doctrine of viewpoints). Even though there can infinite viewpoints, yet they are summarily grouped in seven types or modes of predication.
2. The Concept of Naya Different thinkers have taken different views and perceptions about the universe, reality, and the ultimate end. The philosophical standpoints propounded by them are nihilism, monism, dualism, materialism, atheism, and the like. Each 'isms' expresses only one aspect of manifoldness; and in turn, there can obviously be various viewpoints. According to Jain Philosophy, each view is true from a particular stand-point of the speaker and none of them is complete. This perception or conception of grasping a particular standpoint at a given situation is presented through the concept of Naya in Jainism. This doctrine known as Nayav da and the doctrine of expression of these Nayas is called Sy dv da. Nayav da and Sy dv da are the two main wings of anek ntav da.
2.1. Systematic Development of the Concept of Naya The millennium following Mah vra's liberation is known as the period of canonical texts and literature of Jainism. This period was followed by an era of philosophical writings. The Jain cryas felt a serious need to construct new terminology for explaining the import and importance of Naya to the contemporary world. "In large part such an initiative was inspired by the necessities of the time, which was characterized by the ongoing philosophical and logical debates about the nature of reality often giving rise to competing and conflicting views among the debaters. The major Indian traditions attempted to explain the efficacy, worth and validity of their own points of views about the nature of reality. The Ved ntis held the view of one ultimate unchanging reality, Brahman, whereas for the Buddhists everything was in flux and momentary
During the first century AD, crya Um sv ti (also knowm as Um sv m) undertook the task of defining the reality in his famous treatise Tattv rtha S tra on the basis of Mah v ra's teaching. He articulated three levels for the comprehension of reality: permanence, origination and cessation (or end). c rya Siddhasena Div kara, taking a step ahead from c rya Um sv ti, came up with the new terminology anek nta to help reconcile the apparently opposing perspectives on the nature of truth and reality. The concept of naya, which we have stated above, is a part of Anek ntav da. Sanmati Tarka and Ny y vat ra are the two main treatises of crya Siddhasena Div kara which explain anek nta and naya.5) Nayav da recognizes that ordinary and nonomniscient knowledge claims they are biassed. Consequently, claims from one perspective must always be balanced and complimented by the claims from other perspectives.
2.2. kinds of Naya While operating within the limits of language and seeing the complex mature of reality with its multiple aspects, Mah vra used the language of naya. Naya is the partial expression of the truth. It enables us to comprehend the reality part by part. There are two kinds of naya: Ni caya Naya (transcendental or absolute viewpoint) and Vyavah ra Naya (practical or modal viewpoint). Ni caya Naya enables us to understand the reality from the viewpoint of the substance without denying the existence of modes. Vyavah ra Naya allows us to comprehend the reality from the perspective of
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0