Book Title: Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 4
Author(s): R P Poddar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Previous | Next

Page 38
________________ THE JAINA WELTANSCHAUUNG T. G. KALGHATGI. M. A; Ph. D. "O men of Athens," said Socrates in the Athen an court of law, "I go about persuading old and young alike not to care for your persons and property but first and chiefly to care about the great improvement of the soul."1 The discovery of the self has been the perennial problem of philosophy, both of the East and the West. The development of Indian thought has been a synthesis and assimilation of the Non-Vedic and the Vedic currents of thought. It is difficult to say to what extent and at what stage the two currents were fused into cach other into one course of philosophy, bowever the Dravidian element, which is Non-Vedic, is an important element in this process. Jainism is a Pre-Aryan religion. It belongs to the Sramana current of thought, which is Non-Vedic and Dravidian in content. Jacobi has traced Jainism to the early currents of metaphysical speculation.Jainism reflects the cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of North-eastern India. II. In presenting the synoptic picture of the Jaina Weltanschauung, we may consider a few of the fudamental concepts of Jainism which have made significant contribution to the development of Indian thought. The concepts are-1. Anekānta, 2. Atman 3., Ahirnsä and 4. Apari graha. These concepts are logical and metaphysical in content. The doctrine of ahimsa is primarily ethical, in fact, trans-ethical, as Zimmer would call it, with social overtones. 1. The concept of Anekanta with its logical expression in Syādvāda is the special contribution of Jaina thinkers to Indian thought. It states that reality is complex. It can be looked at from different points of view. Each point of view gives a picture of reality which is valid and real as the picture of reality from the other points of view. The point of view is the naya. There are several points of view. Seven points of view have been generally mentioned. Among them niscaya naya (the noumenal point of view) and the Vyavahāra naya (phenomenal point of view) have great 1. Plato, The Apology. 2. Jacobi, Studies in Jainism. (Ahmadabad) 8.3. Zimmer (H)-Philosophies of India (Kegan Paul) 1951. Ch. IIL Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288