Vijyanandsuri Swargarohan Shatabdi Granth

Author(s): Navinchandra Vijaymuni, Ramanlal C Shah, Shripal Jain
Publisher: Vijayanand Suri Sahitya Prakashan Foundation Pavagadh

Page 786

will be wrong, because from the angle of the wife, he is a husband, as from the angle of his sister, he is a brother. To say absolutely that he is a son or brother or husband will be far away from the truth. So 'God is true and the universe is false': the statement has to be qualified. Jainism believes that the ultimate goal of living beings is to become Perfect (A perfect soul is the embodiment of Godhood) and therefore they strive or should strive to that end. From this angle perfection of the soul is the real important thing and hence it may be said that Brhma is Satyam. But at the same time, one cannot wish away the real concrete world in which we live and die, form relations, write books and preach, discover the principles of science and technology etc. From this angle, it cannot be said that the universe is untrue or false. In other words, if we say that the universe is false because things in it are liable to destruction and perish and that the soul is the only inperishable thing, then one might say that the universse is false. But if we imply that the universe has no existence at all, just as horns on the head of a donkey are non-existent, then Jainism cannot accept this statement as true. Now, you cannot say that speaking of the statement as true and false at the same time means that Jain philosophy is double dealer, it will be travesty of truth. In fact Jain philosophy is all embracing and tries to resolve the seemingly confiicting statements, whatever one might say. In his meeting with king of Bikaner, Shri Anand Vijayji said that the basic philosophy of Jainism is known as Syadvad. In this the word 'syad' does not mean perhaps: it means from a certain angle. Jainism believes that the things we see in the world have different aspects. If one insists on only one aspect, not mentioning the others, one will be wrong. Therefore, if a person is to make a statement, he must imply a certain aspect of the thing, otherwise he is liable to go wrong. Words are limited while the aspects are many. That is why this philosophy is also known as 'Anekantvad'. The universe comprises of many things, and if we deeply look at them, we will find that they have a beginning (birth), existence (life) and end (death). According to Vedic tradition, this is known as 'utpad dhrovya and vya'. According to Jain terminology, this very thing is connoted by the name of 'Paryaya' and 'Drvya', the former word meaning creation and death and the latter word meaning the existence. For an example, take a golden bangle. It had a beginning and is existing. Now it is broken and converted into a ring. Now the ring has a beginning and it may also end one day but the gold contained either in the bangle or the ring is not perishable. Thus gold is 'drvya' while bangle or the ring are its
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