In Jainism, the non-violence of the mind is called anekantvada. This means “many-sidedness” and is an inoculation against fundamentalist rigidity. Unlike postmodernism, however, many-sidedness does not deny the existence of objective truth. Instead, it regards truth as such a powerful force that it should be approached with humility and care. All humans – and non-humans – are on the same spiritual journey towards truth and it is likely to take us many lifetimes to grasp it. The more dogmatically certain someone is, the further they are likely to be from enlightenment.
In today’s world, the limitations of the adversarial, either/or form of argument are increasingly apparent. Even the mounting ecological crisis is linked to adversarialism, because it arises from a false division between humanity and “the rest” of nature. “Either you’re with us or against us” was President Bush’s war cry (and look where it has got him), but it sums up the adversarial mindset and is by no means confined to the political or religious right. All too often, progressive movements use the same language of inflexibility and hate.
