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 353

Epistemology of Jainas
of cats and vultures, who can perceive the object where human eyes are incompetent. Similarly, he says, yogins with their supernatural powers can behold everything, even the objects which are beyond the scope of ordinary perception. But, Kumarila's objection is not really met with. He dose not oppose the perception of a remote object or of that in darkness. They are not beyond the scope of visual perception by nature. They are not perceived by a man on account of remoteness or the obstruction of darkness where the human perceptual power falls short. These objects by themselves are not invisible. But, the objects like dharma etc. are naturally beyond the scope of sense-organs. They cannot be perceived even through supernormal power.
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The above objection does not arise in the case of Jainas as they do not maintain that supernormal or direct, perception depends upon the senses. It is produced by the soul directly, without any dependence on the senses.
Kumārila puts forth some other objections also, but they are based on the assumption that Direct knowledge also depends upon the senses; which the Jainas do not accept.
The Sankhya Theory of Supernormal Perception
According to the Sankhya, everything exists at the present moment; nothing goes out of existence and nothing new comes into existence. The various qualities of things are only modes of energy (rajas) acting in different collocations of the original gunas, or reals of mass (tamas) energy (rajas) and essence (sattva). And these various energies are sometimes actual (kinetic), sometimes potential, rising to actuality, and sometimes sublatent, subsiding from actuality into sublatency. Thus, the so called future objects are present as latent or potential, and the so-called past objects are present as sublatent; and only those things which are supposed to be present are actual. So the mind of the yogin can come in contact with the past and future objects, which are not nonexistent at present, but