________________
64
TIJE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
practised upon men by adventurers posing as mediums. Their success depends on fraud, which, the moment it is discovered, makes men suspicious all round. Psychical investigation, conducted with scientific skill and under test conditions, has, however, put it beyond dispute that the genuine phenomena are as different from the bogus effects of swindlers and cheats as is the king's coin froin the juggler's rupee. Thus, although there is much chicane and trickery prevailing in the world, in connection with the psychic phenomena, still, after the elimination of all suspicious elements, there is left a fairly large residue of unimpeachable testimony of eminent and honest men, like Sir Oliver Lodge, whom one cannot afford to disbelieve. It is also important to note that some of the phenomena at least can be easily verified by any unprejudiced observer. Add to these considerations the fact that the conclusions arrived at by the Psychical Research Society are generally in agreement with sound logic,--this will be domonstrated presently,and the views of the ancients, and the evidence in support of the existence of souls becomes conclusive.
The fact that the soul is capable of maintaining an existence independently of the physical body is not difficult to prove, since it is a simple and incorruptible substance. That the soul is a substance, i.e., that which exists per se, is clear from the fact that it is the subject of knowledge and a condition precedent to the awareness of all things, relations, and states of feelings. All mental modifications and states of consciousness, such as sensations of pleasure and pain, and the like, pre-suppose a subject to which they belong. As a
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org