________________
60
JAINA THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
only by way of inference, and not directly." The function of telepathy is limited to the perception of the various modes of the mind-substance which is engaged in thinking. In other words, only the mental states of a person can be directly perceived by the power of telepathy. As regards the external objects that form the contents of those states, it is not possible to cognise them in a direct manner. It is the function of inference to know them. Telepathy is directly associated with the states of the mind, and not with the objects. The knowledge of the objects follows in the wake of the perception of the states of the mind-substance. Hence, it is indirect and inferential. It is only through the media of the states of the mind that the external objects are comprehended. True, the knowledge of the contents is not of the rank of an ordinary inference, as is the case with deductive reasoning.
OMNISCIENCE :
Omniscience is the highest type of perception that comes under the category of extra-sensory perception. It is the perfection of the cognitive faculty of the self. It is the pure manifestration of the real nature of the conscious substance. The perfect manifestation of the innate nature of the self, arising on the complete annihilation of all the obstructive veils, is called omniscience.72
The self possesses consciousness as its essence. It is luminous by its very nature. The manifestation of the luminous nature of the conscious substance is nothing but
