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NYAYA AND JAINA EPISTEMOLOGY
aspects of a thing are real and a thing cannot be identified with a single aspect of it. All the same, a thing is real from a particular point of view at a particular time. As Russell puts it "All the aspects of a thing are real where as the thing is merely a logical construction". 15 This implies that though the external world has objective reality which is the cardinal principle of realism, a particular individual views it from a standpoint peculiar to himself. Of course, this subjective character is physical or physiological and not mental in the Berkeleyan sense. The world is real objectively and is not a subjective idea, though reality can be viewed from the particular point of view. In this connection we may agree with Mainkar when he says, "So long as perception is an act of perceiving mind, inference an act of inferring mind, verbal knowledge of the reasoning mind, till then all knowledge is bound to have a subjective element that is too difficult to be totally eliminated". 16 Thus, Jainism is realism based on relativity. Similarly, Whitehead's philosophy comes close to Jaina anekānta view. He says, "No entity can be conceived in complete abstraction from the system of the universe....".17 Again he says, "The systematization of knowledge cannot be conducted in water-tight compartments. All general truths condition each other and the limits of their application cannot be adequately defined apart from their correlation by yet wider generalities". 18
Einstein's theory of relativity is great contribution of 20th century to scientific world. We find amazing similarity between Syādvāda and theory of relativity. Syādvāda is nothing but logic of relativism. Einstein mentioned time as the fourth dimension and Syādvāda also maintains that everything is to be considered in the context of its own spacetime. The theory of relativity is accepted to day as perfect
