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Samayasāra
Chapter - 1 in the technical Language of logic, be the predicate of an exclusive proposition of which ‘self' is the subject. We must be able to say “only the self possesses the quality 'x'.” Such a quality is 'Consciousness' or the faculty of knowledge. Knowledge by itself is neither virtuous nor vicious-it is a pure capability. And the application of the capability in the process of “knowing the self" is also nothing but pure consciousness.
ववहारेणुवदिस्सदि णाणिस्स चरित्तदंसणं णाणं।
णवि णाणं ण चरित्तं ण दंसणं जाणगो सुद्धो॥७॥ vavahāreņuvadissadi ņāņissu carittadamsanam ņānam, navi ņāņam na carittum ņa damsaņam jānago suddho.. 7
(Caritta-damsanam ņāņam) Trifurcation of (Consciousness) into (i) conduct, (ii) world-view and (iii) knowledge (nānissa) possessed by the cogniser (vavahāreņa uvadissadi) is only an empirical conception (transcendentally) (na vi nānam) there is no knowledge (na carittam) no conduct (na damsanam) no world-view (jāņago suddho) just pure consciousness. Annotations :
This verse introduces the unique technique called 'Naya' conceived by the Jain Scholars for comprehending a very complex entity like soul (Jiva). When we are dealing with a complex entity which possesses innumerable attributes, some of which are empirical, i.e., useful in worldly life, while some others are purely transcendental and incapable of being apprehended by normal human faculties, it is impossible to grasp its nature in its entirety at once. 'Naya' is a technique of comprehending such a complex subject by studying only a part of it at a time without discarding the other parts; just like a branch of science that deals with some particular aspects of things, leaving others on one side. The various sciences are different not because they deal with different things or different sets of facts but because they look at these facts from different aspects or points of view. Thus physics and chemistry do not deal with different objects. Thus, physics is concerned with mass, density, temperature and such other aspects of physical objects. Chemistry studies how they are constituted e.g. two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to produce a molecule of water and leaves the above aspects aside.
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