According to the doctrine of anekantavada, all truths are relative. Discuss your interpretation of this doctrine. Anekantavada is a doctrine which tries to emphasize on “non-one-sidedness". Anekantavada which basically means "non-absolutism" is one of the principles which were founded by Jainism that tries to encourage the acceptance and believe of relativism as well as pluralism (Runzo, 2011). According to this principle, reality, as well as the truth, are usually perceived and understood in a different manner depending on the points of view. In this regard, no a given point of view is considered as a complete truth because different persons will in most cases view reality and truth differently.
King Vikramāditya in his court tried to explain the true meaning of truth, whereby he defined truth as anything which is said loudly and in a repeated manner (Runzo, 2011). In addition, the truth according to him could mean anything which has been said and imposed by the authority. Lastly, Truth could mean anything which has been accepted by the majority. Despite the King's definition of truth and reality can be perceived differently from one region and from one group of people to another because different people have a different perception of truth and reality.
Group B
According to Jain teachings, how does one free oneself from the cycle of rebirth?
According to Jain belief, rebirth entails the recurring process whereby a given soul is born into a body which in turn lives and eventually dies (Sharma, 2016). Later, it is reborn thereby forming the different body. Jains hold the belief that these events tend to repeat itself mostly for those souls that have karmas tightly bound and connected to them. According to Jainism, every person is considered to be enclosed in the matter. The matter is then considered to be connected to the soul due to the past actions. The past actions are generally referred to as Karma. The main goal of Jainism is to try to free the soul from the body or the matter. According to Jainism, one can liberate himself from the infinite cycle of rebirth through dedicating their lives to the self –discipline or rather the ascetic life. It is believed that people who are involved in ascetic life are usually closest to the liberation from the continuous cycle of birth, death and finally rebirth.
Compare the Jain concept of Karma with the Hindu concept of Karma
People who believe in Hindu faith are usually involved in different rituals, use different images and names for the deity which they usually practice (Fuchs, 2016). In addition, they mostly hold various theological beliefs. Hindus and Jains believe that people are usually reborn into different life after this one. In addition, the true idea of karma says that actions in the life of a person will definitely determine the future life of a person. In this regard, when a person starts a certain new life, Karma will, in turn, accumulate according to on their actions. Moreover, according to Hindu, when a person dies he or she will enter a process referred to as Samsara and will thereafter be reborn into another life or other form of life, determined by the quality and standard of this life (Fuchs, 2016). On the other hand, Jains do believe that thoughts, actions as well as words are the ones that attract karma. This means that the individual's karma from the previous life will determine the quality of life of the person in question at the moment.
References
Fuchs, M. (2016). Worldview and relationships to the world: The concepts of karma (n) and bhakti in Weber’s study on Hinduism and Buddhism11From the conference,‘Translating and editing Max Weber: experiences, insights and irritations’, on the occasion of the onehundred an. Max Weber Studies, 16(2), 211-227
Runzo, J. (2011). Pluralism and relativism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sharma, S. (2016). The Soul of Jainism: Philosophy and Teachings of Jain Religion. Fusion Books.
