Jainism from the View Point of Vedantic Acaryas

Author(s): Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: B J Institute

Page 71

60
Jainism
from the view point of Vedāntic Acãryas
varūpam - Traverses on Less Trodden path of Indian Philosophy and Religion, p. 237). Jainas point out that, the conception of reality as a synthesis of mode and attribute is not incompatiable with the vardict of experience and the interest of truth. As against the Kumārila's criticism that we can generate even hundred alternatives applying doctrine of Saptabhangi, Vidyānanda, says that only seven alternatives are possible not less than seven nor more than seven. He clarifies this idea by stating that according to anekānta, a thing or entity is supposed to possess infinite or innumerable aspects. But sevenfold formula i.e. the seven alternative formulations or predicates using the three principle modes (i.e. positive, negative and neutral) will be applicable to each attribution of a property i.e. to each individual predication. As long as we accept only three basic qualities of one individual predicate viz., positive, negative and neutral, we will get only seven possible combinations. (Astasahasri, p. 126; also see Central Philosophy of Jainism, p. 56). Vidyānanda observes that some people say that let there be only four types of proposition. This is not tenable. For, there are three (further) possibilities by combining the possitive, the negative and both of them with the 'inexpressible'. Thus, we have sevenfold predication i.e. (1) affirmation, (2) negation, (3) both affirmation and negation, (4) the joint and simultaneous affirmation and negation (inexpressible), (5) affirmation and the simulteneous affirmation, (6) negation, and the joint and simulteneous affirmation and negation, and (7) affirmation, negation