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34
Jainism As Metaphilosophy
stand-points from which the description of the object is made may be considered two diametrically opposed oncs.
It would emerge then that even when only one aspect, viz. the material aspect (pudgala) of Ajiva is considered, that too by restricting our focus on an aspect of the metaphysical problem of Substance (as we have done above), the Jaina view of iht complexity of Reality becomes apparent. Add to that the inclusion of dharma, adharma, ākāśa and kāla (the principle of motion, the principle of rest, space and time),25 the formless sub-categories of Ajiva, the main thesis of Jaina metaphysics becomes even more evident. 26
Before proceeding further it should be stressed that the idea of manifoldness (anekānta) can bc derived from the idea of the many (anekata) in so far as the many reals together would account for the complex nature of their relationship, even considered merely from the point of view of the number of reals and the corresponding multiplicity of relations into which the Reals enter. Visualising each one of the Reals as possessing a number of aspects either in terms of the attributes they have or in terms of the modal changes they undergo, or in teśms of both attributes and modes they are 'endowed with', would strengthen rather than weaken the idea of manifoldness. The basic idca of many has thus been understood here in icrms of the number of categories and subcategories accepted by a system under consideration, Jainism itself not being an exception.
This is a clear pointer to the inevitable cmergence of many schools of philosophy with the implication that to the extent that they all (the schools) have a common reference-point, they all represent several attempts at unravelling the complex significance of the underlying concept of Reality, the focal point of their analyses. This is not to deny the obvious, viz. that there are points of divergence between them but rather to affirm that there are points of overlap, these latter relating to Reality providing the subject-maller for the various perspectives thcmselves.
. We have thus noted that despite the importance accorded to the manifoldness-aspect (anekānta) of Reality, the manyness-aspect (anekata) too deserves serious consideration while gauging the significance of Anekāntavāda for understanding the Jaina concept of phi
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