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Theory of Manifold Aspects
(1) Indispensable in Life and Thought Ekānta (gaia) means 'extreme'. We say that he has gone to the last limit, meaning thereby that he has become too obstinate. To think about a thing in one way only and to ignore all other ways about it is Ekānta-vāda-the Theory of single viewpoint. This consists of stiffness or inflexibility shown in the comprehension of a substance soul, world, or God. Such stiffness, inflexibility, obstinacy, is singleness of viewpoint and the opposite of this is the Manifoldness of viewpoint (TF172) We cannot conduct our daily transactions through mere stiffness. One has to cultivate an attitude of compromise to face successfully the various problems confronting life. Just so, one has to be compromising in the field of philosophical speculations and this is called AnekāptavādaTheory of Manifold Aspects. For the vision of Truth, Theory of Manifold Aspects necessary.
Imagine a row of elephants. Its trunk is in the east and tail in the west. One who sees the trunk only will not have any idea that it has a tail also and vice versa. This is natural because he sees one side only. But this experience of a seer does not rob the elephant of its trunk or tail. This happened because of the seer's approach which consisted of seeing the elephant from an angle of vision from where the trunk only or the tail only was visible. But if the seer changes his angle, that is to say, if he places himself at a point from where the trunk and the tail both are visible, there will not be any controversy. This very thing applies to everything in the world, especially in the philosophical and metaphysical provinces. Just as a man enlarges his comprehension and widens the extent of his knowledge, he comes to know and perceive many new forms of a particular thing of which he might have seen only one before. Instead, if he clings fast to what he knows or perceives in part about a thing and does not go beyond it he must be called stiff, inficxible, obstinate, uncompromising, or adhering to the Theory of Single Aspect, while the other who considers about a thing from all possible points of view in accordance with his capacity, we would call him a follower of the Theory of Manifold Aspects.
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