Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s5.t11.20

c6.s5.t11.20

Notable amongst his philosophical works are: *Ṣaḍdarśana- samuccaya* and *Śāstravārtāsamuccaya*, *Anekāntajayapatākā* (Victory Flag of Perspectivism) and *Lokatattvanirṇaya*. In the last work he refuted the concepts of *Īśvara* (God) and *Ātman* and considered the world as essential. With his faith in the theory of Anekānta, he criticized the opponent's view, but also tried to see it with another perspective and to unveil its validity. This way of looking at another's view embraces both agreements and disagreements. Also, in his attempt to justify the view of his rival, Haribhadra gave it a twist, which might not at all be acceptable to the opponent. He was guided by the philosophy that ideologies aim at one and the same target, i.e. *mokṣa*, therefore the points of disagreement between them might be rectified. For the refutation of *nairātmya* (theory of nonsoul) he even cited the authority of Veda: *svayaṁ jyotiḥ sadā eva ātmā tathā vede api paṭhyate*.¹¹⁸