________________
168
Jaina Perspective in Philosophy and Religion
Telepathy has been recognised of two varieties?. Simple Direct knowledge of simple mental things, viz., of what a man is thinking now ( Rju-mati ) and Complex Direct knowledge of complex mental things viz., of what a man is thinking now along with what he has thought of in the past and will think in the future ( Vipulmati ). Naturally, the latter is purer and nore lasting?, more vivid though less wider in scope and therefore superior in the spiritual ladder3. (e) Telepathy and Clairvoyance
Both these kinds of direct and immediate knowledge are the resultant of destruction-cum-subsidence of karmic veils, In both of them, we intuit the states of material substance that constitute the mind. Like Clairvoyance, telepathic knowledge also differs in spatial extension and temporal penetration. However, they differ according to their purity, scope, subject and object4. Intuition of mental states is more lucid and purer than in the states of Clairvoyance. So far as scope is concerned, in telepathic knowledge we can know only an infinitesimal part of the object of Clairvoyance-Simple-Telepathic knowledge knows an infinitesimal degree of the attributes of an atomo, whereas in complex telepathic knowledge, one gets an infinitesimal part of simple mental koowledge. We have already seen that Clairvoyant knowledge is the birth-right of denizens of heaven and hell but telepathic knowledge is acquired due to merit, hence confined to the sphere of human beings only. The former is possible for
1. (a) Una Swami: Ibid,
(b) Mahavira : Ibid. 2. Uma Swāmi: Ibid. 3. Pūjyapāda : Ibid. 4. ( a ) Uma Swami: Ibid.
(b) Hemacandra : Ibid. 5. Uma Swă ini : Ibid. 6. Ibid.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org