Samayasara OR Nature of Self

SR No.: 011119
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: A Chakravarti
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith
Publication Year: 1950
Total Pages: 406
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 38 MB

Page 132

INTRODUCTION
CXXX1
Darsanas some of them would emphasise permanency alone as the nature of reality while some others would emphasise change alone as the characteristic of reality Vedantism may be taken to be an example of a philosophical system which emphasise permanency as the characteristic of reality and dismisses change as sheer illusion Similarly Buddhistic Kshanikavada-momentary change over emphasiscs change to the utter neglect of the underlying permanency The one sided emphasis either of permanency or change is rejected by Jaina thinkers who condemn such systems as Ekantavada, a system which clings to a partial aspect of the reality It neglects to note the other aspects which are also necessarily present in the system of reality. After rejecting the non-Jaina systems as a group of Ekantavadıns, the Jaina thinkers call their own system as Anekantavada, a system of philosophy which maintains that Reality has multifarious aspects and that a complete comprehension of such a nature must necessarily take into consideration all the different aspects through which reality manifests Emphasis on one particular aspect of reality and building up the system of philosophy on that alone would be similar to a fable of blind men attempting to describe the nature of an elephant. A clear and correct description of the animal, elephant, would be accurate only when you take into consideration all the descriptions which the blind men make by thet partial contact with the real animal. Hence the Jaina Darasana is technically called Anekantavada as it attempts to apprehend fully the whole of reality by taking into consideration the different aspects through which this reality manifest. * The Concept of Dravya-This conception of Sat or the existing reality that is a permanency in the midst of change leads us to another philosophical concept associated with the Jaina Darsana, the Concept of Dravya. The term Dravya is generally applied to different classes of objects that constitute the whole of reality. The term Dravya itself is derived from a root which means the flow. Any object of reality which persists to exist in the midst of continuous disappearance and appearance may be described to be a flow of reality just like a stream of water.