Samayasara

SR No.: 006530
Original Sutra Author: Kundkundacharya
Author: Jethalal S Zaveri
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati
Publication Year: 2009
Total Pages: 336
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, Agam, & Canon
File Size: 15 MB

Page 293

Chapter - 10
Samayasāra
-sense. Sensory awareness (sensuous cognition) is the result of the contact between a sense-organ and sense-data-colour, odour, taste etc. possessed by physical existence, that is, only the physical objects can be apprehended by sense-organs. Sensation is the result of contact between the sense-organ and the sense-data. In the case of sight, the contact is indirect while in the case of other senses there is direct contact.
Scientifically, sensation is the result of the sequence :
Stimulus Receptor-Connecting Pathway-Sensory area in the brain.
Our body is equipped with a versatile assortment of sensory outpost which constantly receives the stmuii proceeding from the physical objects, and reaches the appropriate sense-organ. The sense-organs and other sensory outposts send millions of separate sensation signals-coded messages-in the form of nerve impulses from sensorý receptors in all parts of the body to the brain, through appropriate pathways, every second. These raw sensations-the unprocessed inputs of awareness-must be processed by various parts of the brain before becoming perception. By a remarkable process of automatization,' a vast majority of these sensations are automatically filtered out and prevented from reaching the higher brain i.e., from becoming perception or awareness. A few are permitted through to brain region above brainstem. Of these the significant ones are sorted out from the trivial and only the essential, unusual, and dangerous ones are forwarded to the conscious mind. While a person may be partially aware of many sounds, smells or movements around him, concentration is limited to one sensation at a time.
1. Even when one is surrounded by distracting sounds and sights, it is possible to
'tune out' everything and continue to concentrate on the words of a book. Obviously some sort of 'filter' in the brain must have been operating to efficiently cut out the unwanted, and select the information to be brought to one's conscious attention. Such an efficient filter is Reticular-Activating System (RAS). It is an intricate cone-shaped network of nerve cells that runs through the medula, pons, midbrain and up into parts of the thalamus and hypothalamus. One of its many functions is to act as a sort of central clearing house for the flood of sense information that bombards the brain. It filters out stimuli of familiar patterns, letting only the strong or novel signals pass up to the higher brain for consciousness perception. This action of the RAS permits one to concentrate on a particular thought or activity, disregarding the background noises etc..
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