World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 832

Reconciliation of different philosophical view-points and immediate, prove only one thing that every object has innumerable aspects. Each entity is one in many, we are all imperfect human beings. We cannot comprehand an object in its totality and our view of it is limited. We are really wrong when we emphasize and say that our view is perfect and final. An object or reality is to be understood in its totality. To view a thing, thus, not only from a single point of view, but to examine it from all possible points of view is the real meaning of the doctrine of anekāntavāda.
The notion of reality is a characteristic example of Jaina anekāntavāda. Reality (substance) consists of production, destruction and permanence. A substance is permanent in respect of its essential qualities and also subject to generation and destruction in regard to its changing modifications. When a substance, conscious or unconscious originates without leaving its own nature, it is called origination. Destruction is loss of existence in a thing that had it before. Permanence is the essential characteristic of substance, which remains unchanged in both the conditions, viz. in origination and decay. To cite an example, a jar, originates from clay without leaving the nature of clay; clay leaves its former mode or shape when it becomes a jar and the essential nature of clay remains unchanged in both the conditions. These three, differ in their nature but they are not mutually independent. Change and permanence, modes and substance exist together, neither is possible without the other. But permanence and change are not applied to a thing in one and the same capacity but in different capacity. There is no contradiction involved and no violation of law of contradiction in applying opposite predicates to the same thing in different capacities, because, they are applied to its different aspects such as matter, state, space and time. It is seen that mutually contradictory elements can exist in one and the same thing in different capacity such as, the same man is a father to his son, son to his father, husband to his wife, and so on.? In fact, the positive and negative aspects must both belong to everything. If only the positive aspects belong to it, there would be nothing to distinguish it from another and all things would become one 'sat.'If instead, only the negative aspects belong to a thing, it would have no intrinsic nature. So many-sided characteristic of substance, is the basis of anekantavāda. Jaina thinkers following this doctrine of many-sidedness of
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