Book Title: Samayasara OR Nature of Self
Author(s): A Chakravarti
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 179
________________ 16 SAMAYSARA Burning, cooking and shining are spoken of as the various properties of fire, because of its 1elation to other things, based upon different purposes In spite of the vallous descriptions of its properties, fire is one and the same Similarly thu Sulf is one indivisible identity and unity in spite of the various descuiptions of its nature in terms of Darsana, Jnâna, and Charitia 'The same point is illustrated by Amritachandia in the following muncr When an able teacher wants to infoim his student about the nature of an extremely complcı icality possessing innumcrable properties, he will proceed cautiously in choosing one piopcity aftci another in order to instiuct the student accurately Confronting him with the whole complex icality at the same time will only confound the student and the teacher's aim will be defeated This process of selecting one characteristic after anothci in ordli 10 produce a clear understanding in the mind of the student of the extremely complex naturc of the 1cility which is the object of study will not in any way really tamper with the identical unity of that object In the same way the self which is a complex reality may for the purpose of instruction be described in different terms but in spite of the variety of thcsc descriptions it does not lost its ultimate identity and unity These two gatheis (6 and 7) may be taken to be an implied refutation of the Uprnisladic pantheism, Buddhist Kshanikavâda or momentaiiness of the Sulf, and the Valsheshika theory of the distinction between drurya and guna, as distinct categories I Though the Juna vicw recognises the identical unity of the Self throughout its carccr of transmigratory custencc, still it does not reduce all the concrcte personalities and organisms as the modifications of one and thc samc atman as is maintained by Upanishadic pantheism and later Vedantism 2 The Kshanikavâda of the Bauddhas is also rejected by the Jaina metaphysics The Bauddhas, like the western philosopher Hume, rejected a permanent objective reality as well as the permanent identity of the Self This goes by the name of Kshanikavâda or momentariness which is also designated by the term Anâtmavâda While the Bauddhas do not accept any individual identity of the Self besides and beyond the series

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406