________________
Uniqueness of Anekāntavāda
– H.R. Dasegowda
The general acclaim is that Bhagavān Mahavira was the original propounder of the doctrine Anekāntavāda, but Prof. A. Chakravarthinayanar who attributes Jainism to the Dravidian Origin, suggests that the Anekānta doctrine is certainly older than Mahāvīra. Malvina on the other hand suggests that the Vibhajyavāda of the later part of śramana movement of India culminated in the Anekāntvāda of Mahāvīra. In answer to avyakta, Mahāvīra applied a sort of Vibhajya method and thereby Mahāvīra laid the foundation of the doctrine of Anekāntavāda. Matilal finally credits Mahāvīra as the original propounder of the doctrine, and observes that Mahāvīra carried the concept of Ahimsa from the domain of practical behaviour to the domain of intellectual and philosophic discussion and thus, the Jaina principle of 'respect for the life of others' gave rise to the principle of 'Respect for the views of others'.
Anekāntvāda can be expressed as a doctrine that underlines illuminatory thought and not an incendiary action, but attempts clearly to harmonize different points of a given object in its totality. It is, being one of the basic doctrines of Jainisim, an important principle for peaceful co-existance-philosophically and socially, and is based on the conviction that an object is constituted of diverse aspects and its proper understanding requires the consideration of other aspects with open mind. It means no compromise, no doubt or no uncertainty, but an object
is many sided, which one must be capable of understanding the Tot UFI IMTIS - FER, 2001 C
135
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
