The many faces of truth
Jainism is known for its principles of satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). These influenced the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and became the founding principles of the Indian national movement. Another famous concept Jainism gives is anekantavada, roughly translated as ‘many-sidedness’. It states that it is not necessary that one perspective can always describe the truth completely. More often than not, there are multiple perspectives, each of which may be true to some extent.
This is illustrated by a story found in Jainism, as well as Buddhism and Hinduism. Six blind men residing in a city learnt that a new kind of animal called ‘elephant’ had been brought to their city. Curiosity led them to where the animal was. Unable to see the elephant, they tried to feel it with their hands. One man touched its trunk and claimed that the elephant was like a thick snake. The second one touched its tusk and claimed that the elephant was hard and sharp like a spear. The third one touched its ears and said that the elephant was thin like a fan. The one with his hands touching the sides of the elephant claimed it to be like a wall. The fifth one feeling its leg reported it to be like a pillar. The sixth one caught hold of the elephant’s tail and claimed it to be like a rope. Instead of fighting violently to prove their versions to be true as they do in some versions of the story, anekantavada says the blind men should understand that each of their statements had some element of truth, but none described the complete truth.
Anekantavada has its origins in the teachings of Tirthankara Mahavira, though it was formally postulated later. When people asked Mahavira questions about the nature of reality, he did not answer by saying whether it was this or that. He tried to capture its exceedingly complex nature by saying that it was this as well as that. It is also important to understand what anekantavada is not. It is not a permission for any demonstrably false or malicious argument to claim to have some truth. Evidence and logic should be used to determine which views are correct in what respect and to what extent. A person claiming that the sun rises in the west will not get any support from anekantavada.
By allowing oneself to look at the truth of all competing arguments, one can come closer to achieving a deeper understanding of the underlying truth. In today’s diverse world where there is such a variety of races, cultures, religions, ethnicities and languages, anekantavada shows us a unique path to keep our minds open and live with tolerance and mutual respect.