________________
The Jaina Theory of Liberation and the Non-absolute :: 249
Bradleian Absolute
In Bradley we see that the necessity of reconciling oppositions is not so great as in Hegel. He holds: “No appearance is lost in the absolute. Each one is indispensable and contributes to the whole. Take away from the absolute any one of its elements and it is at once reduced to nothing. None of the fundamental aspects of the world can be resolved into others, and none is useless and insignificant.”l It is further maintained that "the Absolute is not other than its appearances. At the same time it is not to be identified with any particular appearance or with any combination of them. It is not mere intellect, nor mere will, nor mere feeling. It is the unity of which these are but partial aspects and in which all things are brought together and transmuted though not equally."2 Hegel wanted to solve the contradiction in the absolute, while for Bradley differences become essential constituents of the absolute. Bradley must presuppose that the absolute so exists that differences are shown by it. At the same time it is held to be a unity which must not oppose differences even in the ultimate state. When unity and difference both exist in the absolute, we can simply attach equal importance to both of them, and the absolute must not be identified with either of them. It cleartly means that it must be beyond unity and difference, but should despise neither of them. What other identiy can we attribute to such an absolute except that which Kundakunda has assigned to his paramārtha? In Sankara the differences were delusive, in Hegel they were absent in the ultimate reality but in Bradley they become throughout real. It does not help us even a little in the present situation, to say that "the appearances in the absolute do not remain the same as they are for us, but acquire a new meaning and value."3 Whatever may be the form of appearances in the
1. H.L. Haldar: Neo Hegelianism, p. 242 2. Ibid., p. 243. 3. Ibid., p. 256
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
