As a philosophical term ''anavastha'' refers to the non-finality of a proposition or endless series of statements or ''regressus ad infinitum'' (
infinite regress
Infinite regress is a philosophical concept to describe a series of entities. Each entity in the series depends on its predecessor, following a recursive principle. For example, the epistemic regress is a series of beliefs in which the justi ...
). In the
Hindi language
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...
, ''anavastha'' means
nothingness
Nothing, no-thing, or no thing is the complete absence of ''anything'', as the opposite of ''something'' and an antithesis of everything. The concept of nothing has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. Earl ...
.
Etymology
''Anavastha'' (Sanskrit: अनवस्था) is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
nominal compound derived from the verb ''Stha'' (meaning ''standing'', ''resting'', ''grounded'' or ''founded''). The expression literally means: that which does not stand down, non-resting, unstable, holding no definite position, un-grounded or without foundation. It can also mean unsettled condition or character or absence of finality or conclusion.
Overview
In Indian thought and Indian logic ''Anavastha'' is an important doctrine. All major schools of philosophy have examined and commented upon this concept and laid down guidelines so as to avoid the endless series of statements and propositions and the non-finality of those propositions. Certain aphorisms of
Pāṇini
(; , ) was a Sanskrit grammarian, logician, philologist, and revered scholar in ancient India during the mid-1st millennium BCE, dated variously by most scholars between the 6th–5th and 4th century BCE.
The historical facts of his life ar ...
, in his
Ashtadhyayi indicate that ''
asiddhatva'' leads to ''anavastha'' since rules which cause endless repetition of application cannot be there because application of a rule should certainly result in finality. The word अत्र ''atra'' of Sutra 6.4.22 indicates that two rules must have the same आश्रय ''āśraya'' or place of operation but where their places of operation are different they are not ''asiddha'' to each other.
The automatic application of ''sutras'' (rules of grammar) to take place without generating unintended results requires the establishment of a particular sequence among the rules and also the provision for cyclical application as well as blocking of some rules whenever it is desirable to do so. Panini orders rules and methods for their activation, reactivation and non-activation, and provides that the results brought about by some rules will not be 'known' to certain other rules, so that the question of these other rules becoming activated does not arise. The best example of the application of this method is known as ''Asiddhatva''. He uses the concept of ''
Asiddhatva'' to prevent the application of a rule on the substitute, to enable its application on a substituent and to mandate its application. According to Kiparsky's definitions, ''Asiddhatva'' implies 'no order of taking effect' since ''asiddha'' means 'not having taken effect'.
Vedic concept
The
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...
speak about the two-fold Brahman, the one with attributes called the ''Saguna Brahman'', and the other without attributes called the ''Nirguna Brahman'' only to deny and accept these two to state that Brahman is One.
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...
is called
''Nirguna'' because Brahman has not the three ''
Gunas'' of ''
Prakrti
Prakriti ( ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by the '' Samkhya'' school, where it does not refer merely to matter or nature, but includes all co ...
'', and not because Brahman has got no ''gunas'' absolutely; in order to prove the substantive existence of Brahman (''prameya''), Brahman is called ''Saguna'' even though there is absence of ''Gunas'' in Brahman (''aprameya''). Brahman is One, and Oneness cannot be confounded with non-oneness; also oneness does not require another oneness to differentiate through second oneness or a third to differentiate the second oneness, otherwise there will be no end or conclusion.
This fallacy is ''Anavastha'' or infinite regress. The
Vedas
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
advise that Brahman must be looked at in one and one mode only. In created things differences are of three kinds – 1) Existing in oneself, 2) difference in species and 3) difference in genus. In three words denoting a) 'oneness of Brahman', the ''svajatiya-bheda'', b) 'restriction', the ''svagata-bheda'' and 3) 'rejection of duality', the ''vijatiya-bheda'', these three differences are negated by the Sruti texts (
Panchadasi Stanzas II.20&21). The created things are many, a chain of causes and effects is also present, but to avoid the fallacy of ''anavastha'', it is necessary to consider Brahman as the root cause.
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
does not admit the existence of the relation of (the inseparable inherence or concomitant cause or combining force) as subsisting between two different entities such as substance and qualities. In his Brahmasutra-bhashya II.ii.13,
Sankara explains that if a relation is to be admitted to connect two things, then another would be necessary to connect it with either of the two entities that it intended to connect. Thus, there are two kinds of ''Anavastha'' - the ''Pramaniki'', the valid infinite, and the ''Apramaniki'', the vicious infinite. Knowledge is ''
Chaitanya
Chaitanya or Chaithanya may refer to
Philosophy
*Chaitanya (consciousness), Hindu philosophical concept
People
*Chaitanya (name)
*Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Media
*Chaitanya (film), ''Chaitanya'' (film), ...
'' (''anubhuti'') i.e.
Consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
, and consciousness reveals the reality of objects. An object cannot be talked about if it does not exist.
Any attempt to find out whether the second knowledge that reveals the first knowledge identical with it is a separate knowledge or not leads to ''anavastha''. Because the first knowledge is a revelation, there is no second knowledge that reveals the first knowledge.
Consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
cannot be perceived, it perceives itself and is not perceived by any greater source; the
logical fallacy
In logic and philosophy, a formal fallacy is a pattern of reasoning rendered invalid by a flaw in its logical structure. Propositional logic, for example, is concerned with the meanings of sentences and the relationships between them. It focuses ...
of ''Anavastha'' (an endless series of cause and effect) would exist if it were to be said that Consciousness requires another source of perception (Devi GitaIV.12-13). If there is no eternal First Cause, the logical fallacy of ''Anavastha Dosha'' is inevitable. Brahman, the First cause, has no origin (Brahma Sutra II.3.9) Thus, a thing cannot be at the same time the object and the subject of action. Consciousness i.e.
Chaitanya
Chaitanya or Chaithanya may refer to
Philosophy
*Chaitanya (consciousness), Hindu philosophical concept
People
*Chaitanya (name)
*Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Media
*Chaitanya (film), ''Chaitanya'' (film), ...
, is self-illuminating and it illuminates others by its own illumination.
Kumārila Bhaṭṭa
Kumarila Bhatta (IAST: Kumārila Bhaṭṭa; fl. roughly 7th century CE) was a Hindu philosopher and a scholar of Mimamsa school of philosophy from early medieval India. He is famous for many of his various theses on Mimamsa, such as ''Mimamsa ...
enquires, if an omniscient person exists that person can become comprehensible only to some other omniscient personality, and so on.
Yoga concept
In
Yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, Ecstasy is the yogic visualization of a deity. And, the beginning five states of ecstasy induced by ''Cakra'' are – birth, childhood, youth, maturity and adulthood; the 6th is ''unmana'' ( also said to denote the dreaming state) meaning agitation or excitement when the devotee often swoons; and when this occurs and when the strong desire to experience the ultimate ''parabrahman'' holds complete sway then the 7th state i.e. ''manollasa'' (extreme exhilaration) or anavastha (the state beyond states or state without qualities or locale)(also said to denote the dreamless sleep) is reached (Kularnava-tantra. Stanza 82).
Patanjali
Patanjali (, , ; also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra) was the name of one or more author(s), mystic(s) and philosopher(s) in ancient India. His name is recorded as an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these a ...
calls the unsteadiness of intelligence as the unsettled state of ''anavastha'' because due to ''vritti'' the tracing of the steady state of the Self is difficult and therefore the splendour of the Self is doubted.
Jaina concept
According to
Hemachandra
Hemacandra was a 12th century () Śvetāmbara Jaina acharya, ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, wikt:grammarian, grammarian, Law, law theorist, historian, Lexicography, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and Prosody ...
, Anavastha is a ''Dosha'', a defect or fault along with ''virodha'', ''vaiyadhikarana'', ''samkara'', ''samsaya'', ''vyatikara'', ''apratipatti'' and ''abhava''. It is also one of the dialectical principles applied alongside ''atmasraya'', ''anyonyasraya'', ''cakraka'', ''atiprasanga'', ''ubhayatahspasa'' and the like employed by logicians from very early times. Sriharsa explains that dialectical reasoning, which has its foundation in pervasion, can lead to contradiction when the reasoning becomes fallacious, it is the limit of doubt; and since differing unwanted contrary options create new doubts difficult to resolve which lead to ''anavastha'' or infinite regress and there is the absence of finality.
The argument that contradiction cannot block an infinite regress is rejected; it is the doubter's own behaviour that process the lie to the doubt, that blocks it (''
pratibandhaka''). According to the Jains, in the ''Jiva'' five states are possible which can manifest themselves simultaneously of these the ''Audayika-bhava'' is the state which is the consequence of the unhindered realization of the ''Karman'', which state comprises all accidental attributes of the ''Jiva'' which become apparent with the ''udaya'' of ''karman''. This particular state has 21 sub-species beginning with ''asiddhatva'', which is the state of unholiness, when the spiritual perfection is lacking.
Buddhist concept
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
states that if there is a characteristic of the conditioned other than origination (''utpada''), existence (''stithi''), and destruction (''bhanga''), there would be infinite regress (''anavastha''). If there is no such characteristic, these are not conditioned (''na samskrta''). The quest to find the origination of origination which originations are all conditioned by ''dharma'' is a never-ending cycle and leads to infinite regress. And that, whenever one wants to know how cognitions are grasped by other cognitions that attempt will lead to ''anavastha'' i.e. infinite regress, because if anything in objective experience with the particular property of acting on itself cannot be cited one has no grounds to assert that something that cannot be experienced has that unthinkable property. If ''pramanas'' are established through other ''pramanas'' it would result in infinite regress, then nothing can be established.
Negation can be of an existent self-nature, if that self-nature does not exist it cannot be negated; the negation of non-existent entity is established without words.(Vigrha-vyartani Karika Stanza 11). The ''Abhidharma system'' which attributes ''svabhava'' to ''dharma'' because dharmas, the foundational components of the world, are independent of causes and conditions in a specific sense, retains the concept that dependently originated entities (''pratityasamutpanna'') are separate from the dependently designated entities (''prajnaptisat''). Nagarjuna tends to equate lack of ''svabhava'' with dependence on causes and conditions and not with parts, and his argument that dependently originated things lacked ''svabhava'' and were ''prajnaptisat'' or conventionally existing entities, and that all ''dharmas'' are ''prajnapisat'' does lead to an infinite regress or ''anavastha'' and is, therefore, not valid. ''Samyutta Nikaya'' summarises the doctrine of 'dependent-origination' in terms of the necessary conditions for something to be, which doctrine is applied by ''Sarvastivadins'' to determine whether or not an entity ultimately existed.
References
{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed
Vedanta
Yoga concepts
Buddhist philosophical concepts
Jain philosophy