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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
each and every soul is potentially able to know the whole infinity of them. Hence, each and every soul is potentially omniscient, that is to say, the consciousness of every living being is endowed with the capacity to know all things, unlimited by Time and Space. There is nothing to be surprised at in this conclusion, since knowledge merely means a state of consciousness, which, being an affection or modification of the substance of its being, is felt by the soul. This amounts to saying that the soul is made of pure intelligence, in different language, the jiva is a pure embodiment of knowledge.
Secondly, as regards happiness, it must be obvious to every thinking being that if pain were an essential part of the nature of the soul, vain would be our desire for the joy of Gods. But that it is not is proved by the fact that its causation is always due to the presence of factors external to the soul itself. Besides, the most painful of experiences have an end some time or other, just as much as those that are pleasant. It will be seen that pleasure and pain are both in the nature of affection or modification of the soul, since nothing corresponding to them has ever been known to exist in the external world, and also since nothing but one's own states or affections can be felt by an individual. What seems to happen is that an agreeable modification of the soul-substance occasions a feeling of pleasure, while an opposite kind of sensation arises from a disagreeable affection. Both pleasure and pain are transient, as already stated, the latter being mostly the
* For a further explanation of the subject, see The Science of Thought by the present writer.
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