________________
618
thought by any conceivable chemical or mechanical process. The train of thought is really a series of affections or states of consciousness of the ego, which arise from reflection and are felt by the soul. It is true that a sensation of dulness is felt in the brain after hard mental work, but the brain is by no means the thinker. As a matter of fact, apart from the motion of certain of its cells, the brain is not concerned in deliberation and is not even the seat of the central organ of reflection, or of the ego, whose headquarters are undoubtedly located in the heart. This is evident from the fact that the heart and not the head is directly affected by one's passions and emotions, which remain quite unaffected by the degeneration and decay of the brain in old age. Moresince passions and emotions also interfere with the proper exercise of the function of deliberation, they must be connected with the dravya mana itself, which, for this very reason, must be located in the same place with will, that is, in the region of the heart. As Schopenhauer says, in the heart is the man, not in the head. The explanation of the feeling of dulness or heaviness experienced in the brain after hard mental work probably lies in the fact that the parts of the brain concerned in the process become heated and over-worked after a time. Just as a feeling of fatigue arises in the fingers in consequence of excessive work, though the ego's headquarters are not located in the hands, in the same way certain portions of the brain show signs of fatigue when put to excessive strain.
over,
Though not the thinker itself, the dravya mana is indispensable for deliberation, because thinking consists in a series of nascent movements or 'sensations'
Jain Education International
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org