Why Gen Z May Be the Most Jain Generation Yet
It is often said that every generation rebels against the one before it. But with Gen Z, those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, something different is happening. This generation is less interested in tearing down the old and more invested in finding ways to live with complexity. They resist binaries, value plurality, and thrive in grey zones where multiple truths can coexist. In this, they may have more in common with an ancient Indian philosophy than they realise: Jainism’s Anekantavada , or the doctrine of many-sidedness. The Philosophy of Many Truths At its core, Anekantavada posits that no single perspective can ever fully capture the entire truth. Each viewpoint is partial, shaped by one’s position, time, and experience. Jain philosophers often illustrated this through the story of blind men touching different parts of an elephant: each describes it correctly from his own vantage point, but none alone grasps the entire animal. For centuries, this idea has shaped Jain...