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48 Applied Philosophy of Jainism
Absolutism represents "violence of thought," for it negates the truthvalue of its opponent's view and thus, hurts the feeling of others. A non-violent search for truth finds non-absolutism.
Non-absolutism of the Jainas forbids the individual to be dogmatic and one-sided in approach. It pleads for a broader outlook and an open mindedness, which alone can resolve the conflicts that emerge from differences in ideologies and faiths. Non-absolutism regards the views of the opponent also as true. Remarks Siddhasena Divakara (C. 5 A.D.), "All schools of thought are valid when they are understood from their own stand-point and in so far as they do not discard the truth-value of others. The knower of non-absolutism does not divide them into the category of true and false. They become false only when they reject the truth-value of other." It was this broader outlook of non-absolutism which made Jainas tolerant.
While expounding this tolerant outlook of the Jainas, Upadhyāya Yasovijaya (C. 17 A.D.) mentioned, "A true non-absolutist does not disdain to any faith and he treats all the faiths equally like a father to his sons. For, a non-absolutist does not have any prejudice and biased outlook in his mind, a true believer of Syādvāda is that who pays equal regards to all the faiths. To remain impartial to the various faiths is the essence of being religious.
Jainas believe in the unity of world religions, but unity, according to them, does not imply omnivorous unity in which all lose their entity and identity. They believe in the unity in which all the alien faiths will conjoin each other to form an organic whole, without losing their own independent existence. In other words, it believes in a harmonious co-existence or a liberal synthesis in which though all the organs have their individual existence, yet work for a common goal i.e. the peace of mankind. To eradicate the religious conflicts and violence from the world some may give a slogan, “one world religion", but it is neither possible nor practicable, so far as the diversities in human thoughts are in existence. In the Niyamasara it is said that "there are different persons, their different activities or karmas and different levels or capacities, so one should not engage himself in hot discussions, neither with other sects nor within
