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9. Transitory Eternity
Nothing in this world is static or immortal. Everything is subject to the process of change or evolution. The Jain philosophers have given a deep thought to this phenomena and they have tried to explain it through a theory called 'Pariņāmi Nityatvavāda' (Concept of 'Persistence through Change').
All the things in this world bear two attributes. The first is permanency of existence (dhrauvya) and the other is - its capacity to change (pariņāman). So the cycle is utpāda (origination), vyaya (extinction) and dhrauvya (persistence). What remains as the constant factor in the process of any change is the unifying force. It maintains the originality of the existence in spite of the continuous cycle of creation and extinction or destruction. The belief of those who have caught hold of only this view is called the theory of 'kuṭastha nitya'. On the contrary, some other philosophers see in this cycle the prominence only of 'continuous succession of changes' like the waves in the ocean. Their view is termed as 'Kṣaṇikavāda' (fluxism). The Jain philosophers have tried to reconcile both these attributes i.e. 'kuṭastha nitya' and 'Kşanikavāda', by propounding the theory of 'Pariņāmi Nityatvavāda' - Theory of persistence through Change.
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