________________
the sake of existence. The Syâdvāda logic helps a clear grasp of the truth which is Anekāntic (non-absolutist) in its essence, and, with its powerful organ, the seven-combinational mode of predication, it enabled the Jaina philosopher to avoid adopting philosophical extremes like the nihilism of the Buddhists and the absolute monism of the Vedāntists, and to steer clear of the shallow realism of the Chārvākas ,and the ludicrous idealism of the Nyāyavādins.
The soul being the terminus a quo as well as the terminus ad quem of his pursuit, the Jaina philosopher goes on to explore at length its structure and its varied functions, hence incidentally its relationships with matter, wherein lie the roots of the Jaina doctrine of Karma, the soul's efforts to shake off the Karmic shackles and attain liberation, the state in which the pure and perfect soul lives in omniscience and unalloyed everlasting bliss.
In the present thesis, Dr. S.C. Jain, its learned author, has presented a detailed, critical and comparative study of the Jaina conception of soul, its structure and its functions, against the background of the Anekāntic philosophy and Syādvādist dialectics, in a lucid manner. Connected topics like Jaina epistemology, eschatology, liberation and omniscience have been paid due attention.
The chief merit of this work lies in the fact that it examines almost every aspects of the Jaina conception of soul in context with other systems of philosophy, particularly the western thinkers of the modern age, and has also not left out Indian writers on the subject. For the Jaina view, he has generally gone direct to th
al texts. This book should be a welcome addition to modern philosophical literature and would certainly help in understanding and rightly assessing the Jaina conceptions.
We congratulate Dr. S.C. Jain for producing this valuable work and are thankful to him for giving it to the Bharatiya Jnanpith for publication.
We are also grateful to the President, Managing Trustee, Secretary and staff of the Bharatiya Jnanpith, who have been instrumental in bringing out this book.
2nd September, 1978
Kailash Chandra Shastri
Jyoti Prasad Jain
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
