________________
97
A possible reply to this objection is that we are also unconscious of the feelings and ideas of men in this world; but this is only begging the question, since our unconsciousness of the states of consciousness of other beings in this world might be due either to the fact that our minds are separate, or to their being merely our own thought-forms. So far as dream-creatures are concerned, we know, for certain, that they are only thought-forms of a dreamer, but, unless the possibility of the other alternative be logically excluded, the same statement cannot be made in respect of the living beings in this world. It is not given us to know, or perceive, the thoughts of another under normal conditions, so that what one perceives cannot be the thoughts or ideas of an unknown supernormal entity or being, sleeping somewhere, on some higher plane, and dreaming away. Besides, only living beings are endowed with perception, memory and understanding, which no thought-form ever enjoys. Hence, if one be only a thought-form of an eternal Dreamer, how comes it that one happens to be endowed with all the qualities of consciousness which distinguish a being from a phantom of fancy?
CREATION.
Unless Idealism can establish the proposition that phantoms of fancy are also endowed with consciousness, it is no use relying upon the analogy of dreams. Those who maintain that the soul is only a reflection of a conscious reality, are unable also to explain how it happens to be endowed with consciousness. Since a reflected image is never found to possess the qualities of consciousness, feelings and the like, and since all living beings in this
7
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org