Epitome of Jainism

SR No.: 006737
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: K B Jindal
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi
Publication Year: 1988
Total Pages: 248
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 13 MB

Page 133

Gommatsara, Jiva-kand
121 or may visualise the impressions about it in the mind of another. This kind of knowledge is very rare and can be understood only after great profound study and longlived life of controlled discipline and purity. Still more difficult to understand is Omniscience. I shall try to take the reader up to it gradually, provided he is patient and dipassionately in search of Truth, and not in the hurry to criticise, or dogmatise, to say "What is Truth," and then Pilate-like go away.
One thing I may here say, although it is obvious, that sensitive, and scriptural knowledge may go wrong. Even visual knowledge (direct vision of matter by the soul) may go wrong but direct mental knowledge of the mind of others and Perfect knowledge or Omniscinece cannot go wrong. Thus we may be said to have come to eight kinds of knowledge-five right and the first three wrong also.
These are the first batch of considerations of the great fact of consciousness in living matter. And we must remember that each kind of conscious activity has its preliminary attentiveness.
Thus we may sum up. Consciousness is attentiveness of Conation or of Knowledge, or Conation or Knowledge itself. Conation is for Ocular (Chakṣu), Non-ocular (Achakṣu), Visual (Avadhi), or Perfect (Kevala) Knowledge.
Knowledge is Sensitive (Mati), Scriptural (Śruta), Visual (Avadhi), Mental (Manah Paryaya), or Perfect (Kevala); also wrong Sensitive (KuMati), wrong Scriptural (Ku-Śruta), and wrong Visual (Ku-Avadhi).
Let us illustrate again. Consciousness which is the mighty, real characteristic of life is the starting point. You must be alive to read these words. You must be attentive to feel that something is there. You must conate these words. Then again you must be attentive to perceive, then alone you begin to know them, i.e. have perception, conception, judgment, retention, memory, recognition, induction, or deduction from them.
ughly it may be said that attentiveness for conation or knowledge of any kind is the first instant of conation or knowledge. As the name implies, it is the instant in which consciousness attends to conate or know an object, Also obviously conation is a necessary preliminary to knowledge.
Consciousness is the most essential difference between the Living and Non-Living. It deservedly detained us for a moment. But we must attend once more to a distinction between the two mighty categories, the Living and the Non-living substances.
We have seen that the first distinction is that the Living has and the Non-living does not have the four or ten vitalities---the five senses; the power of mind, speech and body; respiration; and age. We found the second distinction, to be attentiveness of consciousness to four kinds of conationOcular, Non-ocular, Visual and Perfect; and to eight kinds of knowledgeSensitive, Scriptural, and Visual of the right as well as wrong kind; Mental and Perfect of the right kind only.