Excerpts from Speaking Tree Blog TOI 10 April 2025

 

What is real? What does it mean to know something? Can absence itself be a form of truth?

Jain philosophy offers profound answers to these timeless questions through its concepts of pramāṇa (true knowledge), abhāva (absence), and anekānta (non-absolutism). Together, they provide not only metaphysical clarity but also emotional resilience when viewed through the multidimensional lens of Anekantvad, non-absolutism.

In Jain thought, pramāṇa is not just information—it is samyak jñāna, right knowledge free from doubt, contradiction, and disinterest. It captures the full and contextual truth of an object. As the sutra says: samyak jñānam pramāṇam—right knowledge is true knowledge.

But what is known? Every object (padārtha) is defined by its bhāva—its qualities and modes of existence. Yet with every bhāva, there is also abhāva—the absence of other qualities. This is not a contradiction, but a matter of perspective. A phone, for example, may lack VR capability. That absence is real in its context. This is the Jain doctrine of asti-nāsti – “it is, and it is not” – resolved through anekāntavāda, the view that reality is multifaceted.

Anekanta is, in itself, manifold and is the basis of both praman, whole knowledge and naya, partial views. So praman captures the entire truth of an object – including its viparit dharms, opposite attributes.

Pramāṇa embraces even opposing attributes—like softness and roughness in a cloth—as contextual truths. Abhāva is never total nonexistence but simply the absence of a certain mode at a certain time. The substance (dravya) remains. If a wooden chair burns, its atoms persist. This echoes the modern science’s law of conservation: nothing is destroyed, only transformed.

This insight is deeply consoling. When we lose someone, we feel their abhāva, their absence. But Jainism reminds us: the soul continues. The form is gone, but the essence remains.

This perspective eases not just grief but all forms of loss—jobs, relationships, missed opportunities. Bhāva and abhāva coexist: one reveals, the other conceals. To see both is to see the world.

Jain epistemology teaches us to think deeply and live mindfully and respond wisely.

• Pramāṇa equips us with full vision
• Abhav reminds us that absence is just a part of the bigger truth
• Anekant gives us humility to accept different views, and the maturity to live with complexity.

In a world hungry for certainty, Jain philosophy gently reminds us: truth is vast and often, it holds many sides.

*The contents have been modified by additions, deletion & some changes