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JAINISM
we have an infinite number of nayas. But the Jaina philosophers have specifically analysed seven nayas. A naya is defined as a particular opinion or a view-point --- a view-point which does not rule out other different view-points, and is therefore expressive of a partial truth about an object - as entertained by a knowing agent.2 This is a very general definition of naya and the specific nature of each naya is sketched in the seven nayas formulated by the Jaina philosophers. The seven nayas are the naigama, sangraha, vyavahāra, rjusūtra, śal da, samal hiriadha and evambhūia. We may consider them in some detail.
Naigama Naya : (Universal-Particular, Teleological Standpoint)
An analysis of any object in the universe reveals that it possesses both general (sāmânya) and specific (višeșa) qualities (guna). The object may thus be rightly looked upon as a complex of the universal and particular attributes. The naigama naya does not overlook either the universal or the particular aspect of things. It signifies that we cannot understand the universal without the particular and vice versa. The proposition “I am conscious," for example, signifies not merely the individuality of the 'I' but also the universality of the quality l am said to possess, viz., consciousness.
The analysis of non-distinction between the universal and the particular involved in the naigama naya is extremely significant. The fact that the universal and the particular are specified as being synthesized means clearly that the Jaina philosophers did not commit the mistake of asserting absolute non-distinction or identity between the two. Distinction is implied clearly, though care is taken to see that it is maintained relatively only. It is from this standpoint that the Jainas were critical of the Nyāya-Vaiseșika system for its drawing absolute distinctions between categories. When the distinction is asserted absolutely as does the Nyāya-Vaišeşika system, the fallacy of naigamābhāsa is committed.
Another interpretation of the naigama naya found in the Jaina tradition is that it relates to the end or the purpose of one or a series of actions. The illustration given in the Tattvārthasārah is
See C Padmarajiah, op. cit., p. 310
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