Syadwad Kalika

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Syadwad Kalika" by Shilchandrasuri, based on the given catalog link and text:

Title: Syadwad Kalika (स्याद्वादकलिका) Author: Maladhari Shri Rajshekhar Suri (मलधारि श्रीराजशेखरसूरि) Publisher: ZZ_Anusandhan (ZZ_अनुसन्धान)

Overall Theme: The "Syadwad Kalika" is a treatise by the esteemed Jain Acharya Shri Rajshekhar Suri that aims to elucidate and defend the Jain philosophy of Syadvada (the doctrine of conditioned predication, often translated as "perhaps" or "in some way"). The author argues that Syadvada is a comprehensive and inclusive philosophical system capable of encompassing diverse viewpoints, much like a sea that contains many rivers. He criticizes other philosophical schools for their narrow, one-sided (ekanta) perspectives, which often lead to disputes and a rejection of Syadvada.

Key Arguments and Content:

• Syadvada as a Comprehensive Philosophy: The introduction highlights Syadvada as a vast, all-encompassing philosophical thought system that can integrate various single-viewpoint philosophies. It criticizes those who fail to grasp its essence, labeling it as skepticism or a "khichdi" (mixture). Syadvada, according to the text, accepts and synthesizes all perspectives, a concept that is difficult for exclusive, absolute viewpoints to accept.
• Critique of Ekantavada (One-Sidedness): The text explains that the core issue with many philosophical systems is their insistence on absolute truths ("This is true, and that is also true? Or that is false, and this is also false? How can this happen? How can it be believed? Only one thing must be true!"). This lack of relative perspective (sapekshabhav) fuels debates and conflicts. In these debates, every philosophy has tried to establish its own claims while refuting others. Notably, all of them have consistently refuted Syadvada.
• Syadvada's Response: To counter these attacks, Syadvada proponents adopted the methods of refutation and argumentation, although their original intention was not to defeat any particular view but to break the absolutist, exclusive claims within those views. Over time, through engaging in these philosophical battles, they may have internalized some of the negative tendencies.
• Rajshekhar Suri's Contribution: Acharya Rajshekhar Suri is presented as a prominent Jain acharya who refuted one-sided philosophies and championed anekantavada (non-absolutism). His earlier work, "Shatdarshana Samuccaya" (Collection of Six Philosophies), demonstrates his syncretic approach. However, to counter the unrestricted attacks of opponents, he felt compelled to compose "Syadwad Kalika."
• Purpose of the Work: The author explicitly states in the concluding verse (verse 39) that the purpose of "Syadwad Kalika" is to demonstrate to learned individuals the applications of anekantavada in the six categories of substances (dravyas). The commentator suggests that "dravyasatka" might be a typo and "drishtisatka" (six viewpoints) is more likely intended, meaning the effort is to spread the light of anekanta across six different viewpoints or philosophies.
• Illustrations of Syadvada Across Philosophies: The text then proceeds to explain how Syadvada is applicable even within other philosophical systems or concepts:
  • Shaivism (Shrikant/Maheshwar): If God (Shrikant) is unchangingly eternal, how can contradictory desires like the will to create (srisriksha) and the will to destroy (sanjihirsha) exist within Him? If they do, that itself is Syadvada. The idea of Maheshwar having three qualities or three Vedas, or being the essence of earth, etc., while remaining one, is only possible through Syadvada.
  • Vaishnavism (Vishnu): If Vishnu is eternally one, how can He have ten different incarnations, each with distinct colors, bodies, and actions? This can only be explained by Syadvada.
  • Shaktism: The acceptance of various names and states of Shakti (the Divine Mother) by the Shaktas, without any change in essence, is only possible through the transformation of attributes (paryayaparivartan), which is a form of Syadvada.
  • Buddhism: The Buddhist notion that knowledge is destroyed without residue, yet rebirth or recollection of past lives occurs, is an acceptance of Syadvada. The example of recollecting past events and experiencing consequences in a future life is cited.
  • General Observations of the World: The diverse experiences of a soul wandering in the world, being happy or unhappy, taking forms of humans, gods, etc., the coexistence of motion and stillness in atoms, and the variety of qualities within seemingly identical clusters of matter (pudgals) are all explained by accepting anekanta.
  • Linguistic and Semantic Nuances: Differences in sounds like 'tar' and 'taratar' in language, the coexistence of multiple genders in a single word or sentence, are also presented as evidence for Syadvada.
  • Jain Philosophy (Anekantavada): Jainism defines a substance (sat) as possessing origination (utpad), decay (vyaya), and permanence (dhrauvya). Syadvada's principle is like light in darkness and shadow, illuminating these aspects. Karma, being matter, also possesses origination, decay, and permanence, and exhibits contradictory qualities like obstruction and assistance, which are hallmarks of Syadvada.
  • The Mind (Chitta): The mind, being material, can possess contradictory states like friendliness (maitri) which is pleasant, and afflictions like anger and lust, which are troublesome. This variety of transformations proves the mind to be three-fold (trikatmak).
  • Eternal Substances: Even substances considered eternal like Dharma, Adharma, and Akasha, when in conjunction or disjunction with matter and souls, exhibit a combination of permanence and impermanence, which is Syadvada. Even space (alokaakasha) has the potential for conjunction and disjunction, making it three-fold from that perspective.
  • Time (Kaala): Time, whether absolute or relative, demonstrates change in nature due to the transformation of matter, thus proving its inherent non-absoluteness. Grammatical examples (like the 'ktva' suffix) also illustrate how time can be both permanent and impermanent.
  • Linguistic Ambiguity: The phrase " Piyaman madhu madayati" (the drinking of wine intoxicates) illustrates how a single word ("madhu" - wine) can apply to two actions, which is only possible through Syadvada.
• Refutation of Criticisms: The text addresses common criticisms leveled against Syadvada, such as disorder (anavastah), doubt (samsaya), confusion (vyatikara), mixing (sankarya), and contradiction (virodha). It argues that these criticisms apply to absolute views of permanence, impermanence, or the independent coexistence of both, but not to the relative view of "permanent-impermanent" (nitanitya).
• The Nature of Reality: A single substance can possess mutually exclusive qualities like taste, color, smell, and touch. Similarly, knowledge can differ based on conditioning, and this is not a contradiction. The essence of anekantavada is the destruction of a previous form, the origination of a new form, and the permanence of the substance itself. Acceptance of difference and non-difference, impermanence and permanence, through one's own substance, space, time, and states, and refutation through external factors, is the core of Syadvada.
• The Mystery of Syadvada: The text explains the profound secret of Syadvada: a thing is many in relation to its parts, and one in relation to its whole. It is inexpressible according to the "pramana saptabhangi" but expressible according to the "naya saptabhangi." This involves the exclusion of the dissimilar and the inclusion of the similar, where individuality and generality are intertwined. One-sidedness would lead to immediate fault.
• Examples of Relational Existence: The example of a pot is given: it is not different from its cause (clay) nor is it non-different. It is distinct from clay but also in contact with it. Therefore, the pot, in its dual nature of difference and non-difference, is a unique category.
• Citations and Refutations of Other Philosophers: The text cites examples from ancient texts (verses 30-32) to support Syadvada. Verses 33-35 quote from Rajshekhar Suri's own work "Jinstuti," and they refute or explain the acceptance of Syadvada by Buddhist, Kanad (Vaishheshika), Akshapada (Nyaya), and Kapila (Samkhya) philosophers, aligning with the style of Acharya Hemachandra.
• The Problem of Ineffectiveness: The text points out that in one-sided philosophies, objects are not effective in action, making them unreal. Anekantavada avoids these flaws. The knowing of oneself by oneself, like a snake coiling itself, demonstrates that multiple relationships can exist within a single substance, which is the essence of "Syadvada Dipika."
• Holistic Understanding: An intelligent person who understands various sciences like medicine, astrology, and spiritual sciences can perceive anekanta everywhere.
• Authorship and Dating: The text concludes with the author's name in verse 39. It identifies the author as Acharya Shri Rajshekhar Suri of the Maladhari Gaccha, who lived in the 14th century Vikram Samvat. The composition is noted as being found at the end of a manuscript of "Syadwad Manjari" written in VS 1465. The work is identified by the name "Syadwad Kalika" here, and verse 37 refers to it as "Syadvada Dipika." The author's other works are also listed.
• Syadvada Kalika and Syadvada Dipika: It is suggested that "Syadvada Kalika" and "Syadvada Dipika" might refer to the same work, as the latter is identified as "Kalika" in its colophon. The absence of "Dipika" in a list of the author's works also supports this. The availability of this work is unknown, and it is presumed to be mostly unpublished.

In essence, "Syadwad Kalika" is a defense and exposition of the Jain doctrine of anekantavada and Syadvada, arguing for its comprehensiveness and logical coherence by demonstrating its applicability even within the frameworks of other philosophical schools, while simultaneously refuting the limitations of exclusive viewpoints.