Jain Journal 2010 07

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 15

Sagarmal Jain : The World's Problems and Jaina View-Point
Problem of Conflicts in Ideologies and Faiths:
Jainism holds that reality is complex. It can be looked at and understood from various viewpoints or angles. For example, we can have hundreds of photographs of tree from different angles. Though all of them give a true picture of it from a certain angle, yet they differ from each other. Not only this but neither each of them, nor the whole of them can give us a complete picture of that tree. They, individually as well as jointy, will give only a partial picture of it. So is the case with human knowledge and understanding also, we can have only a partial and relative picture of reality. We can know and describe the reality only from a certain angle or viewpoint. Though every angle or viewpoint can claim that it gives a true picture of reality, yet it gives only a partial and relative picture of reality. In fact, we cannot challenge its validity of truth-value, but at the same time we must not forget that it is only a partial truth or one-sided view. One, who knows only partial truth or has a one-sided picture of reality, has no right to discard the views of his opponents as totally false. We must accept that the views of our opponents may also be true from some other angles. The Jaina-theory of Anekāntavāda emphasises that all the approaches to understand the reality give partial but true picture of reality, and due to their truth-value from a certain angle we should have regard for other's ideologies and faiths. The Anekāntavāda forbids to be dogmatic and one-sided in our approach. It preaches us a broader oudook and open mindedness, which is more essential to solve me conflicts taking place due to the differences in ideologies and faiths. Prof. T.G. Kalghatgi rightly observes: “The spirit of Anekanta is very much necessary in society, specially in the present days, when conflicting ideologies are trying to assert supermacy aggressively. Anekanta bring the spirit of intellectual and social tolerance”. 16
For the present-day society what is awfully needed, is the virtue of tolerance. These virtues of tolerance i.e. regard for others ideologies and faiths have been maintained in Jainism form the very beginning.