________________
Development of the Theory of Non-absolutism... : 47 faith seconded by right knowledge or truthful reasoning cannot be blind one. According to Jaina thinkers, reason and faith are complementary and actually there is no contention between the two. Faith without reason, as the Jaina thinkers aver, is blind and reason without faith is unsteady or vacillating. They hold that the religious codes and rituals should be critically analyzed. In the Uttarādhyayanasūtra, Gautama, the chief disciple of Mahāvīra strongly supports this view before Keśī, the pontiff of the church of Jina Pārśva. He said, "The differences in the Law must be critically evaluated through the faculty of reasoning. It is the reason which can ascertain the truth of Law." If one maintains that religion has to be solely based on faith and there is no place for reason in it, then he will unfailingly develop an outlook that only his prophet is the only savior of mankind; his mode of worship is the only way of experiencing the bliss and the Laws or Commands of his scripture are only the right one hence he is unable to make a critical estimate of his religious prescriptions. While one who maintains that the reason also plays an important role in the religious life, will critically evaluate the pros and cons of religious prescriptions, rituals and dogmas. An 'attached' or biased person believes in the dictum ‘Mine is true.' Ācārya Haribhadra says, “I possess no bias for Lord Mahāvīra and no prejudice against Kapila and other saints and thinkers; whosoever is rational and logical ought to be accepted. Thus, when religion tends to be rational, there will hardly be any room for intolerance. One who is thoroughly rational in religious matters, certainly, would not be rigid and intolerant. An extremist or absolutist holds that whatsoever he propounds is correct and what others say is false, while a relativist is of the view that he and his opponent, both may be correct if viewed from two different angles hence a relativist adopts a tolerant outlook towards other faiths and ideologies. It is the doctrine of Anekāntavāda or non-absolutism of the Jainas, the concept of religious tolerance is based upon. For the Jainas non-violence is the essence of religion from which the concept of non-absolutism and Syādvāda emanates.
