Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline

Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline
of knowledge as unreal, like the beauty of the daughter of a barren woman. The non-idealistic group is formed by the Cārvāka, NyāyaVaišeşika, Mimāņsa and Sāmkhya and also by the Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika schools of Buddhism. Of these, the Cārvāka system is purely materialistic, while the other systems are materialistic from the viewpoint of their origin, but in the course of their historical growth they have developed certain idealistic tendency. Jainism also falls within this group since it views the gross world which is apprehended by the empirical organs of knowledge as real. Again, of all these systems, idealistic and non-idealistic, the Nyāya-Vaiseșika, Vedānta and Yoga are theistic, while others are frankly atheistic.
The Advaita Vedāntists believe in the doctrine of absolute permanence (Kevala-nityatva), because, according to them, all changes are mere appearances having no reality of their own. The Budd the other hand believe in the doctrine of absolute change (Kevala. anityatva), because according to them, everything has a momentary existence. The idea of impermanence, so much emphasised by the Buddha was developed into an all-comprehensive metaphysical doctrine, and the rival doctrines sought to refute it by establishing their respective positions. The main attack came from the Jains and the Vedāntists. The Buddhists defended their position by arguing that if Atman is regarded as permanent it becomes impossible either to account for transcendental bondage and release or to demonstrate how the doer of action is also the enjoyer of the fruits of action. The Jains speak against both the doctrine of absolute permanence and the doctrine of absolute impermanence and try to show that a real entity is a substance as well as its modes, something existent as well as non-existent, something permanent as well as transient. The Nyāya-Vaiśeșika, etc. hold that certain entities are absolutely permanent and certain others are absolutely changing, and hence their views are called the doctrine of the changing and permanent (nityānitya-ubhaya). Systems like the Samkhya maintain that everything apart from the conscious elements is a changing permanent (pariņāminityatva). The Jain system is called the doctrine of permanence coupled with change (nityānityātmaka) since it holds everything as permanent as well as changing. The last three doctrines are not basically different so far as the question of permanence and concerned.
The idea of a self is found in most of the systems, but it is not very clear-cut and well defined. What we have is only an impression