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the limitations of language and attempts to provide a rationale for describing the representation. It, therefore, develops the capacity for adjustment, accommodation and progress.
Nayavaada An object has many facets. To have a thorough knowledge and to be able to describe it as a whole, relative pluralism is necessary. One cannot know the whole truth about an object without a relative perspective. But in practice, when we have to describe an object, we speak only about particular aspects of that object. This is not to deny the existence of the other attributes of the object. This particular viewpoint is naya. The truth of the 'real entity' or the total knowledge of an object may have multiple viewpoints; naya describes one of the several characteristics from a particular point of view. As an example, when we want identify a car, we say 'white Rover' or 'blue BMW' etc., there is no mention of engine size, number of cylinders, speed or accessories, but our statement does not mean that the car is devoid of other attributes.
Jain seers have classified nayavaada from two viewpoints: substantive (dravya) and modal (paryaaya). The first refers to descriptions of an object with reference to its substantiality, the other with modes or verbal terms used for an object. It is just like gold as a substance and gold as an ornament. There are seven viewpoints. The first four of them belong normally to the first and the remainder to the second category.
Universal Viewpoint (naigama naya): refers to the intention or objective rather than actuality. For example, a woman lighting a stove may say 'I am cooking food', when asked what is she doing. While her expression refers to her intended objective, she may not actually be cooking food.
Synthetic Viewpoint (sangraha naya): This refers to the apprehension of either the generality or the particularity of an object. When importance is given to generality, particularity becomes secondary and vice versa. For example, words like 'food', 'tree', "real entity" refer to generalising categories involving all foods, trees or 'real entities'. This generality will involve all substances and modes. The particularised viewpoint gives importance to the specific character of a classification or quality. In the above example, words like 'protein, 'fruit tree' and 'living being refer to a particular category as they exclude other kinds of foods, trees and 'real entities'. Thus, this viewpoint refers to the identity of or classification of an object. This viewpoint concentrates on the aspect of unity, and disregards diversity. Thus, this synthetic unity is not absolute. It represents only the relative or a particular aspect of the truth. It is agreed that there are similarities within a classification and among individuals, but their distinctiveness in many respects cannot be excluded.
Conventional Viewpoint (vyavahaara naya): This refers to the practical, empirical or particular point of view. It places emphasis on the systematic differentiation of the synthesised object. It takes conventional or popular characteristics of an object into consideration. It gives prominence to particularity over generality, without overlooking that their co-existence is concomitant. It classifies the 'real entities' in differing specific categories. It asks: how can there be transparent knowledge of anything without particularity? For example, if one asks someone to bring vegetables from the market, what shall he or she bring? However, if specific vegetables like tomatoes or cucumber are requested, he or she will bring only those items. Thus, particularity has a specific
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