Part II - Anekaanta Vaada and Brahma Vaada

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The Jaina-philosophy is purely emperical. Even its conception of

kevala-jnana is only an extension of empirical knowledge. There is

nothing transcendent in it.

 

Srimad Ananda Thirtha says

 

" Pramaaanam veda evaikaha tat pramaanyam cha saadhitam " - Anuvyaakhyaana

 

" Veda is the only pramaana for knowledge of the transcendent,

and its being the correct source of knowledge ( pramaanyam ) has been

established "

 

Pramaana means Jnana and Jnana-saadhana. That which is established

by pramaana is Prameya. No other school of thought gives as much

importance to Pramana as Madhwa Siddantha gives. This can be shown

as follows. Even if this whole world is considered as prameya, even

then there is Pramana and Prameya - two parts in it. Pramaana establishes

itself and other things outside of it. As establishing itself pramaana is

prameya also. Still one has to clearly distinguish between the two divisions

of pramana and prameya. As a rule, the two are not to be mixed-up in the

process of process. This is the greatness (Mahatva) of Shastra. If this rule

is broken, one will end up accepting a thing which is not established by

pramaana. Like this,

if everything is accepted without pramaana, then there is no need for vichaara.

In this situation there is no necessity for Shastra. This is what is termed

Shastra-Niraakarana and this is the blindness that Ishavasya Upanishat talks

about as

 

" Asuryaa naama te lokaaha Andhena tamasaavrithaah

Taagumste pretyaabhigachhanti ekechaatmahano janaaha " .

 

If there is only blindness, then there is no need to accept anything,

the result of this is Atma-Naasha.

 

From this point of view, Srimad ANanda Theertha examined the different

schools of thought that were already present. Here we will take up

the Anekaanta vaada of the Jaina system, and defer the discussion on

other systems.

 

Jaina system, took the upadesha of Jina's " Anekanta Vada " and based

on that failed to establish unconditional pramanya to Pramaana.

According to this system, it is not possible to establish any object in the

form " object is " or " object is not " etc. All things can be described in all

forms. The same object if " it exists today " then from that standpoint it

exists, if " tomorrow it does not exist " then from that standpoint it does not

exist. Like this, we need to describe a thing in all its forms of existence

and non-existence. This itself is concluded as " Anekanta Vaada " and

accordingly Jaina school accepts

the Jnana-Praamanya and calls it Naya-vada, and has come to the decision that

there is no definite unconditional pramaanya for any knowledge. In this school

the imagination that " vastu is anekanta " is the basis for Naya-vaada.

 

The three schools of thought Chaaruvaaka, Bauddha and Jaina started off by

believing in the upadesha vaakyas which is NOT Veda. For this reason they have

been classifed as Naastika schools of thought.

 

The Jaina school has its root only in Jina's upadesha that " everything

is relative, and there is no question of absolute truth " . If the origin of

this thought was Pramaana-Parikshaa, then this thought would

not be born. Why? because, a pramaana not only establishes a thing in the form

" as existing " or " as non-existing " but also in the process protects its

self-establishment as " existing " . In this circumstance, Anekanta vaada has no

place. So, the Jainas imagined that " everything is relative " and when it

became necessary to prove this conclusion, they found a pramaana that was

suitable for their conclusion and called it Naya. All of Naya-vaada started

from a single imagination that " all is relative " and the whole of Naya-vada

became an imagination in the end.

 

In the same way, thinking that veda is an upadesha, and thereby

imagining the upadesha of great men to be equivalent to veda, people

based on their interests ( abhimaana) imagined many mahaatmas,

jnanis, vedas, rishis, and various schools of thought started.

The root for all these schools, is in the Abhimaana or Dvesha in the

individual person. Even though many of them seem to have started from

pramaana-parikshaa, it is only illusory ( aabhaasa). From the start

to the end these schools are mere imagination. This is the defect (dosha ) in

all the aagamas which are opposed to veda.

 

Srimad Ananda Theertha, while establishing the siddantha of

Baadaraayana, showed that this is the Dosha of all schools of thought,

which are opposed to Brahma-vaada.

 

" Duraagraha Grihiitatvaat vartante samayaah sadaa " he says.

 

Duraagraha is non-shaastraik interest. These schools are always there,

Opposing Brahma-Vaada, and rejected by Brahma-vaada, meaning, showing the

fullness of Brahma-vaada, they come in a variety of flavours and colors, they

stir the intellect of the jignaasus, and through that become helpful in the

growth of their intellect.

 

In Srimad Acharya's view, all these schools belong to the same

class. Other Darshana thinkers have classified them into Aastika

and Naastika schools. We have so far examined Anekanta vaada of the

Jaina system and shown how they did not give importance to Pramaana.

 

We will examine the Chaaruvaka and Bauddha system in the next part on

similar lines.

 

Harihi Om Tatsat,

 

Jayakrishna

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