Outlines of Jaina Philosophy

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Jain Mission Society Bangalore

Page 45

CONCEPTION OF REALITY
21
JAINISM
After dealing with the views of the idealists and realists as regards the nature of Reality we, now', propose to proceed to the comparative study of the nature of Reality according to Jainism. How far does Jainism differ in the conception of Reality from Idealism and how far does it join hands with it? What difference it holds from Realism and what type of similarity it has with the realistic view ? What is the ultimate nature of Reality according to the school of Jainism? What is the conception of substance, attribute, and modification? How many substances are real from different points of view ? What is the nature of those substances and how are they related ? What is the conception of oneness and maniness of the substances ? All these questions and the like are to be discussed.
NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE
All the philosophical problems are centred in the conception of Universe. No school of thought denies the existence of the Universe but each tries to prove it by its own point of view. In the Bhagavati-sūtra, a question is asked by Gautama in connection with the conception of Universe. Lord Mahavira replied in a direct manner. The conversation is as follows:
Gautama: “O Lord! what is this Universe ? "
Mahāvīra: "Gautama ! the Universe is composed of the five extensive substances. They are the Medium of Motion, the Medium of Rest, Space, Soul, and Matter."'!
In this conversation Time is not regarded as a separate substance but is included in both the conscious and non-conscious substances. In some chapters of the Bhagavati-sūtra, Time is mentioned as a separate entity. This two-fold classification shows that in the early days of Lord Mahāvīra, there were two schools of thought in Jainism. One believed in the existence of the five extensive substances and the other conceived the Universe as composed of the six substances. This latter school added Time as a separate and independent entity to the five extensive existences without regarding it as an extensive reality. It conceived
1 Bhagavati-sūtra, XIII, 6, 481. 2 ibid., X.XV, 2-4.