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Jaina Perspective in Philosophy and Religion
are conditional' is quite different from the normal conditionality. There are primarily two sources to understand the world - senses and reason, closely connected with two grades of reality - existence and essence (Existentialism ) or existence and reality ( Hegel ). Existence is actuality or actual verification, which is unconditional, absolute and categorical. There is no alternation or condition. But on the level of thought or reason or essence, there may be alternatives. But we cannot live in the world of thought alone and forget existence. We must also have something other than thought or reason which is unreason or irrationality. Behind reason, there is always the unreason, which we can give the name of faith ( as suggested by Kant, Herder, Jacobi etc. ). There are many grounds of faith – one being the Scripture. Scripture differs from one another, Jainas must stick to their position. Here is definiteness. However, we cannot expect such definiteness with reason because it only offers alternative pictures — Jaina, Advaita, Vaišeşikas. All are equally possible. In order to avoid indefiniteness we stick to one such possibility which is chosen for us by the community to which we belong or by some superior intuition. Thus there comes unconditionality. However, another may choose another possibility as existence if he belongs to another community or if his genius moves into another direction. So there appears to be again alternation among existence. But this alternation only on thought level. We compare thought with other thoughts. And what is comparison ? Comparison involves thinking and reasoning, so it is thought-process. Some are bound to admit alternation. My standpoint is only a possible one. But I cannot always fly in the air of possibilities, I must have moorings in some actuality. I must adopt one standpoint.
Jainism is against all kinds of imperialism in thought. For each community there is a special absolute. But the absolute themselves are alternatives so far as they are probables, But this is only on thought level, But when I have chosen one it is more than possible, it is existence or actual. So
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