Anekāntavāda: An Overarching Jain Episteme

Guiding premise

Reality is created by the mind; we can change our reality by changing our mind. – Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348 BC)

Abstract

The realist approach has cast a malign impact and curved the humanity of mankind. The humane ideas believe that the profit oriented ‘homo economicus’ cannot ensure peace in the world anymore; as he is pathetically self-centered and egoist. Anekāntavāda historically played an important role in developing human being’s gnosis, faculty and insight. It is favorable to generate an overarching Weltanschauung that can motivate human beings to respect others’ faiths and philosophies and reject monoculturalism and its parochial outlooks. Jainism in its understanding covers both the sentient and non-sentient worlds. According to the Jain perspective, without this knowledge we might not act properly towards everyone. This paper wants to reexamine how this great philosophy once enriched Indian culture and heritage in such a manner that till now India is the abode of the highest number of different races and their varied religious and political ideologies. And we know that without some exceptions their abreast living is a peaceful coexistence as it was previously. The paper wants to delve into the fact again and enumerate the possibility of its capacity and scope, if the modern world wants to glean strategic benefit from it. The paper wants to reassess its ability to establish ‘global peace’ and change the monolithic prejudiced attitudes of people across the world. The present world politics is realism oriented, from which everyone may not be befitted. ‘Realpolitik’ has some dreadful and ghastly nooks. Anekāntavāda can be reconsidered to overcome all the setbacks related to it.

Introduction

Modern knowledge cannot avoid ancient wisdoms and their long perceived understanding about the world. We can still attain outstanding outputs from their application in the practical arenas if we fix strategy and management mechanics from the ancient experiences and administer statecraft, institutions and enterprises accordingly. The modern strategists always pay their respect to the War strategy of Sun Tzu (771–256 BC),   a Chinese military general, philosopher and writer, who lived during the Eastern Zhou period. His masterpiece ‘The Art of War’ is still considered very relevant and worthy to be applied for military purposes. Chanakya (375 BCE – 283 BCE), a great Indian sage and polymath, also identified as Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta, was an advisor of the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya and played a significant role to expand his empire successfully. He was also a great economist, strategist and political thinker. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both Emperors Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. His book “Arthashastra” uplifted the quality of political science, economic policy and military strategy of the ancient India. Not only India and the Indians and other Asian secular and semi-secular intellectuals and scholars contributed to the practical arenas of knowledge, but also the spiritual mentors and leaders across the whole Asia. The Jain Tīrthaṅkaras played foremost roles in this regard. A lot of issues can be explored in the Jain realm of knowledge and heritage, if I want to mention the significance of their contributions. Jain time cycle, architecture, logical understanding of the world, methodology to deduce and come upon logical solutions regarding various issues and subject matters – all are praiseworthy and remarkable.

Through their writings the Jains have enriched not only the ancient languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsa, but also many modern Indian languages, namely, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

We have known that a huge amount of this vast Jain literature continues to be stored in innumerable Jain temples and Shastrabhandaras (reservoir of books and treatises), and remains unclassified and unpublished as yet (Bhargava 1968: 226-55). Those should be explored meticulously if we really want to be benefitted by the Jain world.

Moris Winternitz (1863-1937), a renowned Indologist once opined that the contribution to languages and literature by the Jains is remarkable and praiseworthy to a great certain extent (Winternitz, 1946).

The Jain literature covers vast extent of knowledge world:

1. The Puranas i.e. legend oriented sacred literature,
2. The Charitiras, the characters and personas of important personalities,
3. The Kathas i.e. the stories,
4. The Prabandha i.e. the essays,
5. The Kāvyas i.e. the poems, and
6. The Mahākāvyas i.e. the epics

The Jain realm of knowledge also includes scientific as well as technical knowledge like astronomy, astrology and cosmology.

Simultaneously the Jains significantly contributed into the realms of mathematics, geography, economics, grammar, logic, philosophy, poetics, lexicography and so forth. One of the major aims of the Jains through this vast literature is to promote a spiritual blueprint, with which man could overcome the mundane misery and sufferings. This blueprint consists not only of rituals and conventions, but also of good moral deeds and self-correction.

In fact the Anekāntavāda has portrayed itself with most of the above mentioned precious gems of the Jain world.  It correlated among the Jain logic, philosophy, cosmology, phenomenology, eschatology and soteriology.

We know that the process of the Jain epistemology developed on Triple “A”.

• Anekāntavāda
• Aparigraha
• Ahimsa

Actually this Triple “A” plays the roles of the propellers behind all Jain knowledge factors. Finally the Jain episteme, the Jain philosophy and the Jain reasoning could embark upon a gnosis, which could enrich humanity with a holistic rationality and give us an intelligible and very meaningful soteriology, if we are properly guided by the triple A. However, the triple A has some deeper meaning and significance, which is beyond the extent of the commoners and the ordinary minds.

Philosophically we can show the linear process of the Jain soteriology in the following way:

Knowledge from the known and the unknown worlds by applying the pure sense of cosmology + scrutiny of our knowledge and understanding through the lens of logic + understanding the outcomes with objective and rational perspectives through philosophical judgment especially by phenomenology and ontology = Jain soteriology

The goal of the above process is to be exempt from the Karmic bondage and attain the Moksha.

Here Ahimsa and Aparigraha help the omniscient man or the Arihant to develop the inner side of the Anekāntavāda and vice versa. If he is the elevated Tīrthaṅkara, with his own salvation he leads the path of Mokhsa not only for mankind but also for all the sentient and non-sentient beings for their collective salvation. But in the meantime, he opens the eyes of people through the real understanding of the universe and truth by means of Anekāntavāda. The Arihants and the Tīrthaṅkaras literally nullify the sense and judgmental attitude of monoculturalism, prejudiced rationality, religious bigotry and extremism. So, this paper wants to check the psychological, strategic and organizational benefits, if we pursue Anekāntavāda in order to establish global peace. I want to show that the philosophy of Anekāntavāda has an obvious and conspicuous ability to bring forth peace globally. It also retains an underlying motivational force to change our monolithic understanding of the world and our prejudiced attitudes. Frankly speaking, our reality is self-derived and self-driven; Anekāntavāda can change it and transform us.

How logic and rationality construe the path towards Anekāntavāda in Jainism

Anekāntavāda has unveiled a profound truth, which was mainly and primarily propagated by the Jain Tīrthaṅkaras. The ultimate truth or reality is complex and unintelligible for the commoners because of its esoteric metaphysical existence. It has enshrouded the world in a varied and complex manner that the sentient and non-sentient beings that exist here cannot fathom it perfectly or entirely with their capacity of perceptibility. Therefore, reality appears here in many aspects. But we cannot or should not override anyone’s belief or philosophy considering that to be banal or parochial like them as we all are finite beings. Any single statement or doctrinal proposition must retain the pitfalls in fathoming the universe and reality. And it will be a parochial attitude to impose the understanding of someone upon another as we all are living with our limited understandings. The Jains believe that only he who has attained the kevalagyana i.e.  the Kaivalya is an omniscient person, could develop his ability to understand the ultimate truth and the ultimate reality. So, it deals seriously with ontology and phenomenology. This premise has developed the basic philosophy of Jainism and its initial introduction that motivate us to know the Jain Arihants and the Tīrthaṅkaras and as a result, we can embark upon Anekāntavāda. Here we can remind that:

a). An Arihant decides his own destiny, but a Tīrthaṅkara decides for all. An Arihant is omniscient, but a Tīrthaṅkara is omnipotent, who has already attained the level of omniscience and has become something more.

b). An Arihant is conscious of his bondage and concerned for his liberation. He can liberate himself. As a Tīrthaṅkara is omnipotent, he is well competent to liberate himself and the whole universe as well. He is the liberator of both sentient and non-sentient beings, conscious and unconscious.

Rationally we also need someone who knows the universe infiltrating our three dimensional tangibility and perceptibility. We are encrusted with this three dimensional tangibility and existing as ‘finite beings’. We think that we know the universe, although we do not know even an iota. We are limited from a wider phenomenological perspective as we know some limited phenomena of the universe. The Arihants and the Tīrthaṅkaras are not limited. They have infiltrated this crust of three dimensions. What they did has a very logical conclusion that the Indian sages fathomed after their pensive enquiries through thousands of years.

Glancing on Pratītyasamutpāda philosophy of Buddhism and anchoring on Anekāntavāda – moving towards strategic benefit for peace

When we recognize that the reality we realize is very shallow due to our limited perceptibility, we also come to the conclusion from the Indian vision that the world we perceive is ‘Mayik’ i.e. illusory. The Maya prevents people from embracing the reality within the ultimate cosmological, ontological and phenomenological spectra. The Jain says that the right belief i.e. ‘Samyaktva’ can help us to know that to some extent.It at least propels people to jump over false beliefs – ‘Mithyatva’. We can compare it with Plato’s depiction of his famous ‘allegory of cave’. In a shadowy world, the prisoners are realizing the reality from the obscurant phenomena. They create their own world depending upon this reality and discern everything depending on it. The famous and most popular story is the blind man’s elephant understanding. Some Buddhist texts (e.g. Tittha Sutta, Udāna 6.4, Khuddaka Nikaya) also narrated it and later many traditions reiterated the story or recast it. Some blind men are touching different parts of the elephant and some consider the whole elephant like a snake, some are considering it like a radish etc.

Jainism says that these limited and parochial beliefs and understandings also motivate us to understand the world limitedly and long for mundane pleasure and glory – ‘Nidana’. It brings forth ‘Kashaya’ or passion in us, which is the generator of all judgmental understandings and perceptions that also creates aham and maan, i.e. ego in us and all sentient beings. The peril of bigotry and monolithic belief emerges from it and the ‘Pandora’s box’ becomes open. The self-destructive as well as the world destructive monster gets unleashed. However, an Arihant is an over conscious being, who knows what he perceives is beyond the capacity or ability of the commoners. He also realizes that if it is to discard one school of philosophy, all schools will be eliminated automatically like a domino or a butterfly effect.  The ideologies are all some deliberate process to go to humanity anyway. From this perspective, all ideologies are true from a partial understanding. An object can be observed from many angels; the many perspectives would be experienced and perceived.  All are true from their certain (limited) perspectives and propositions.

(Figure 1: An object has many sides; anybody can see only one side or some can more, only the Arihant can see all sides and absolutely ‘the whole’)

However, the limited understandings do at least minimal welfare for the society for a certain period as all the ideologues and philosophers are some great sages and great minds. This is the connotation of Anekāntavāda.

Hence, we can take a look at Pratītyasamutpāda philosophy from the Buddhist understanding. The very term Pratītyasamutpāda means ‘dependent origination.’ It means all new philosophies and ideas are the result of concatenation. From the religious point of view, the new denominations emerge from the previous ones. In fact it depicts the chain of causality of material and non-material functions and phenomena.

Can we smell the Hegelian dialectic here; I mean the chain of Thesis-Antithesis and Synthesis. It can be, because “wise men think alike”.  The great Hindu adage: “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti,”— “That which exists is One: sages call it by various names.”

Does it also reveal Anekāntavāda? Yes, the Tīrthaṅkaras posit that one thing can be observed and one idea or statement can be manifested differently by different people. Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836–1886), the great Bengali sage and mystic, echoed the same thing through his assertion: “Joto mot toto Path”– so many doctrines, so many paths.

Although it is limited from the sight of an Arihant and a Tīrthaṅkara no doubt, it has also a certain strategic benefit. Different people have different tastes, proclivity or ways to accept the truth.  The philosophy of Tīrthaṅkaras recognizes them all because people of different times and spaces understand the reality from their limited cognizance, tangibility and perceptibility. The more complexity cannot be attained and sustained by them. Rather, the limited vision and cognizance at least can ensure a ‘status quo’ for people and a ‘modus vivendi’ can be sustained for regional peace and also for the global; which is a limited idea of peaceful coexistence, but better than nothing.

Aparigraha and Ahimsa for the Jains – who can herald the global peace

The above mentioned strategy can be sufficient for others and for the time being; not for the Jain theologians and philanthropists. They certainly should be committed to do something more.  The Jain monks and the philanthropists are fortunate to be influenced by the domino effect of the works done by the Tīrthaṅkaras. They have already learnt that this known world is superficial and perfunctory and also transient. The Karmic phenomena have immersed them into illusion and delusion at a time.  The Tīrthaṅkaras have delivered three great instruments to the disciples; a) Anekāntavāda, b) Aparigraha,   and c) Ahimsa

(Figure 2: The pyramid of triple “A”, the instruments of attaining Nirvana)

In fact Anekāntavāda, Aparigraha  and Ahimsa are synergetic for one another. They enrich one another’s faculty and capacity. Acharya Mahaprajna wrote,

“Anekanta and Ahimsa are not two different things. […] If there is no Anekanta, Ahimsa cannot be developed.” (Mahaprajna 2002: 20)

The Jain relativism and the importance of the Arihants and Tīrthaṅkaras

We know that Aparigraha is the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping, or non-greediness as we have no intention to have anything from this superficial reality and to fall under the servitude of the Karmic bondage. As we are oriented to this profound understanding, we will feel the harm of Hiṃsā or desire to be violent against anybody and will teach Ahimsha i.e. the non-violence. From now on we will feel pity for all sentient beings and strong eagerness to guide them properly. However, it is to be noted that the Jain doctrines of relativity do not represent the essence of relativism from the western viewpoint. A fully sighted person i.e. an omniscient Jina or a liberated great teacher, who has overcome his ego and conquered self and the universe is certainly capable of apprehending the true nature of anything. This is very different from the usual western relativism, which is deeply skeptical about the ability of a human being beyond the perceived psycho-physical ability. The Western philosophy also casts doubt if a human being really knows anything with certainty.

The omnipotent Tīrthaṅkaras ensure the fluxes of change. They can do that from their metaphysical stream and they actuate that among their followers. The number of Tīrthaṅkaras is fixed in every time cycle and that is 24. In Jain cosmology, the wheel of time is divided into two halves, the ascending time cycle is called Utsarpiṇī , and the descending half is Avasarpiṇī. The Tīrthaṅkaras appear in the third and fourth quarters of the both halves. They also indoctrinate to create Jain Sangha, i.e. the Jain community and activate the Spiritual hierarchy to promote the personal spiritual goal and the global peace. The hierarchy can be sketched nowadays as follows:

1. Arihant: We have talked about the Arhants. They are the awakened souls who have attained kevalagyana (Kevala Jñana) or absolute knowledge.

2. Siddha(Ashiri): They are the souls and beings, who have been liberated from the birth and death cycle. They are also those, who have attained Siddhi,e. the power of performing paranormal capabilities. They are someway equivalent to Nath, Sadhu, Yogi and so forth of other communities (Zimmerman 2003: 4).

3. Acarya(Ācārya): An Ācārya is the head of the ascetic order. Some of the noted Achāryas are Bhadrabahu, Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Umaswami, Sthulibhadra etc, whom we find in the Jain literature.

4. Upadhyaya: An Upadhyaya is a preceptor or a teacher, who perceives and then teaches to enlighten his pupils.

We know that the Jain monasticism refers to the Jain Munis of major denominations: the Digambara and the Śvētāmbara. They teach Aparigraha,  Ahimsa and Anekāntavāda. They also simultaneously teach Satya (Truth), Asteya (Non-stealing), and Brahmacharya (Chastity). They help the people to unlearn violence and teach to be nonviolent.  The Jain Relativism emerged from the Anekāntavāda, which is able to   cultivate the mentality among people to accept everyone. Historically, we could embark upon a second doctrine, Nayavāda from the trail of Anekāntavāda. It is named the ‘doctrine of perspectives’ by Jeffery D Long. This is an epistemic corollary of the first one – “the nature of knowledge complex in the complex universe”. It resonates with Anekāntavāda’s point. As the nature of reality is complex, anything may be known from a variety of Nayas or perspectives, which correspond to its multiple aspects. Hence this finally implies the third doctrine – Syādvāda or the ‘doctrine of conditional prediction’ (named by D Long, which literally means the ‘maybe doctrine’). According to this doctrine the truth of any claim that one makes about a particular topic is dependent upon the related perspective, or Naya, from which the claim has been made. A claim can be true in one sense or from one perspective (the technical meaning of the Sanskrit verb ‘Syāt’ from the Jain philosophical context), false from another perspective, both true and false from another, although it may have an inexpressible truth-value from yet another etc (D Long 2009: 117). So, Anekāntavāda is very accommodative for all perspectives; but drives the pensive minds to the higher plane of rationality and decisions. Its philanthropic attitude can shun egoistic monoculturism and the audacity of the ‘Realpolitik’ propagated by Hans Joachim Morgenthau (1904-1980) and his predecessors like Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) and Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). This political realism with its cardinal engine Real Politik has influenced people to be self-centered and the modern man has become homo economicus. This philosophy has given human beings the excuse to be egoistic and selfish as these are rational to survive on this planet according to this doctrine. So, the occupation of other territories and plundering other lands are justified by this. They promote this injustice through a particular doctrine; and everyone against that is the so-called ‘other.’ Anekāntavāda can be a global panacea against this heinous attitude.

Is Anekāntavāda actually Ekāntavāda?

It is to be noted that some scholars may try to explain that Anekāntavāda (many sides or edges) finally talk on Ekāntavāda (one side or one edge). This premise needs to be reexamined critically. Anekāntavāda was theorized by a second century Digambara acharya, named Samantabhadra. He was the forerunner of Jainism in the southern part of India. His timeframe was a bit later from Umaswami, the founder of Jain relativism. It is anyway true that Anekantavada can be Ekāntavāda or non-dualistic for only the Arihants and the Tīrthaṅkaras. If we with our limited knowledge proceed with Ekāntavāda, we will be propelled by bigotry and dogmatism. Non-duality and monism can be decided by the higher consciousness, not by us.  Hence, Acharya Mahaprajna wrote,

“It is natural to have contradictions. The existence of opposite pairs is intrinsic to nature. Their coexistence is also intrinsic in nature.” (Mahaprajna 2002: 19)

Concluding remarks through the propositions

As I can realize, the Jain community has to work globally to promote Anekāntavāda with two objectives.

1. They should disseminate their philosophy and literature across the world.  We know Tattvārthasūtra, which is a quasi-canonical text, developed on the basis of Anekāntavāda written in Sanskrit by Ācārya Umaswami between 2^nd to 5^th centuries CE. The Jains should write more basing upon Anekāntavādalike this one relating the present world’s scenarios.
2. The Jains can propose the UNO and other Supranational and International organizations to accept Anekāntavāda as a philosophical maxim for their peace mission and propagate it as a great sagacity and global heritage to establish a “meaningful and sustainable global peaceful order”.

References

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Bhargava, Dayanand (1968) Jaina Ethics. Delhi: Motilal Manarsidass.

Boisvert, Mathieu (1995). The five Aggregates: Understanding Theravada Psychology and Soteriology, Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Contributions of Jainism to Indian Culture (n.d.). Jainworld.com Retrieved from CONTRIBUTIONS OF JAINISM TO INDIAN CULTURE – Jainworld

D Long, Jeffery (2009). Jainism: an Introduction. London, New York:  I.B. Tauris.

Jaini, JL (1927). “Outlines of Jainism.” In Thomas FW (ed). Jain Literature Society. Cambridge University Press Archive.

Jains’ Contribution to Indian Culture and Society (February 28, 2023) encyclopedia of Jainism Retrieved from Jains’ Contribution to Indian Culture and Society – Encyclopedia of Jainism

Mahaprajna, Acharya (2002). Anekanta the Third Eye. New Delhi: Indraprastha Press. Jain Vishva Bharati Institute.

“Mauryan Empire” (n.d.). National Geographic Education Retrieved from Mauryan Empire (nationalgeographic.org)

Maya Buddhism – Origins, Teachings, Traditions (n.d.). Retrieved from Maya Buddhism – Origins, Teaching, Traditions (buddhism-guide.com)

Winternitz, Moris (1946). The Jainas in the History of Indian Literature, (A Short Outline of the History of Jain Literature), Edited by JinaVijaya Muni, Ahmedabad.

Zimmermann, Marion (2003). A short introduction: The Tamil Siddhas and the Siddha medicine of Tamil Nadu. GRIN Verlag.

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