The Dialectic of Being: A Comparative Analysis of Jain Pragmatism and Hindu Philosophical Traditions

The essay proceeds in five parts. "First, will be delineated the architecture of Jain non-absolutism, examining the textual basis and philosophical function of Anekāntavāda, Nayavāda, and Syādvāda with reference to foundational Jain Āgamas and treatises. Second, this essay will explore potential antecedents and conceptual parallels within the Vedic corpus, particularly the paradoxical descriptions of Brahman in the Upaniṣads, to assess the claim of derivation. Third, it will analyze the systematic critiques leveled against Jain pragmatism by the major orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy: Vedānta, Mīmāṃsā, and Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika. Fourth, it will adopt a "Hindu lens" to interpret the Jain ideal of the perfected being, the Tīrthaṅkara, by comparing the Jain concept of Kevala Jñāna (omniscience) with the Sāṃkhya-Yoga concept of Kaivalya (isolation) and examining the Puranic assimilation of Jain figures. Finally, the essay will address the question of Jainism's origins, marshaling evidence to evaluate its status as a sui generis tradition, independent of but in constant dialogue with its Hindu counterparts." The editor of ESamskriti has given a different title so that Google indexes it. But the body of the text is (hopefully) the same.