Jaina Epistemology

SR No.: 006738
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1990
Total Pages: 516
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 21 MB

Page 210

General Conception of Knowledge
185
enmity towords a particular person. The omniscient himself is free to have his own attitude. He is not dependent in that respect. Similarly, a third person also can know the state of affairs as good as the persons involved in it. But, he is not affected with the results and, therefore, is free from the feeling of pleasure or pain.
The feeling of enmity is a sort of mental pain, which is like all other feelings, subjective. It results from the intensity of hatred lying with the subject. If the hatred is not intense the feeling will be mild. An omniscient is absolutely free from it, and therefore, does not have such feelings. Similarly, a third person who is not attached with the result, is away from such feelings.
An omniscient does not hold harmful attitude towards any. body; and therefore, he is anemy to none. Still, enother person can have hostile attitude towards him. He can feel the omniscient as his ememy and the question of its being right or wrong does not arise. It pertains to ethics and not logic. But, when a third person or he, himself, makes a judgement proposing the omniscient lord as his enemy he is wrong. Because, the factors that can establish the enmity do not exist in relation to the omniscient.
One can explain this point in another way also. Three ladies perceive a person in different relations. For one, it is a perception of the son, for second that of the brother and for third that of the husband. It can be asked whether these qualities are actually possessed by the person so perceived, or they are imposed by the ladies concerned. If they are objective why they are not common to all of them ?
The Jaina reply to this question also is the same as that of the former. As far as knowledge is concerned the judgement is common. Everybody can see a person as brother in relation to a particular lady. Even his wife knows that A is brother of B. But the pleasure that results from the sight of a brother is particular to that lady only to whom he is so related. The quali