Jaina Philosophy and Religion

Author(s): Nyayavijay
Publisher: B L Institute of Indology

Page 17

INTRODUCTION
Philosophy (darśana-śāstra) imparts us knowledge of Reality. In other words, its subject-matter is Reality. On the other hand, science of religion (dharmaśāstra) treats of dharma. Dharma means good conduct and spiritual discipline. Though philosophy and science of religion are different sciences, the subject-matter of the latter is more or less dealt with in the former. It is so because it does not serve the purpose of life to know merely the subject-matter of philosophy alone. As a matter of fact, even after knowing any subject, it is quite necessary for man to know dharma. Why? The reason is that good of life is achieved by the practice of dharma. So it is necessary for all to know and understand dharma in its true nature. From this it is quite clear that the purpose of acquiring knowledge of dharma, the subject-matter of the science of religion, is the highest good (niḥśreyas). One can practise dharma truly, if one knows rightly as to what dharma is. And if one practises dharma truly, then and then only one can attain ultimate good. But the propounder of each system of Indian philosophy explicitly states at the beginning of his work that the object of his system is the highest good. He explains at the outset as to how his system serves the highest human end, Ultimate Release. So, when it is said that the purpose of the knowledge of philosophy is also the highest good, it means that knowledge of the science of religion and that of philosophy have some special relation. Knowledge of philosophy is useful to make knowledge of science of religion brilliant and sharp. The Yoga philosophy of Patanjali can be called philosophy and science of religion as well. Just as it presents a system of philosophy even so it imparts the religious teachings pertaining to non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, non-possession, austerity, scriptural study, meditation on God or any holy personage, etc. Similarly, there are many well-known works on science of religion or science of spiritual evolution, which are fraught with philosophical discussions. So they can be called partly philosophical works. Take, for instance, Dhammasamgahani by Acarya Haribhadrasūri. As its title suggests, it is a collection of (discussions related to) dharma. In spite