Jainism from the View Point of Vedantic Acaryas

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

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Preface
This book is a collection of my three lectures delivered under the auspices of Sheth Shri Popatlal Hemachanda Adhyatma Vyākhyānamālā, at B.J. Institute of Learning and Research, Ahmedabad, in September 2002. These lectures are based on Brahmasutrabhāṣyas of respective Vedantic Acāryas.
Jainism is one of the three major religio-philosophical systems of India, which made manifold contributions to Indian society through its literature, religion and philosophy. Anekāntavāda is a special contribution of Jainism to Indian thought. This Anekāntavāda is an expansion of principle of non violence (ahimsa) at intellectual level. The principle of respect for the life of others was transformed by the Jaina philosophers at the intellectual level. The attitude of tolerance, which is hallmark of this system, inspired Jaina thinkers to make a unique attempt to harmonise, reconcile, all conflicting view points in the field of philosophy. Learned Jaina thinkers thought that various systems of philosophy being dogmatic in their assertions created bitterness among the followers of different philosophical schools. The age-old philosophical disputes and controversies between the various philosophical schools are on account of their conditional assertion in regard to philosophical propositions. On account of this rigid attitude, each school asserts its view to be true and thus, philosophers of these schools do not really try to understand the view points of others, which gave rise to hatred an rivalry towards other systems of thought. This is also a kind of intellectual intolerance and violence in the realm of thought. To avoid such kind of intellectual violence Jaina thinkers evolved a unique, synthetic, philosophical methodology, which is technically known as Anekāntavāda i.e. Doctrine of Many-sidedness of reality, consisting of dual doctrine viz. Nayavāda (the doctrine of different partial view points) and Syādvāda or Saptabhanginaya
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