ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

SR No.: 007719
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies
Publication Year: 2011
Total Pages: 567
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 15 MB

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The following example will clarify this point.
A person goes to two ascetics (one of them is an avadhijn ni and the other is manah paryayajñ ni) staying together. The person's objective, being a non-believer in Jain philosophy, is to belittle their cognizing capabilities. He therefore catches a small bird and holds it in his palm. He thinks that he will hold the bird in his fist and ask the ascetics what doeshe hold in his fist, i.e. is the bird live or dead. He can let the bird fly or kill to negate the answer provided by the ascetics. His objective is to tell the ascetics that they both are wrong and their knowledge is limited. So he asks them as to what does he have in his fist? Replies by the two ascetics are as follows:
Avadhijn ni: He knows that the man has a living bird and was about to say so but was stopped by manah paryaya jñ ni from saying so.
Manah paryayajň ni: He says to the man, "Why do you want to have ill feelings towards us and spoil your thinking and future? If I say you have a living bird, you will kill it to prove me wrong. If I say that you have a dead bird, you will let it fly. Hence there is no use of your ill thinking and you should use your energies to improve your present and future lives."
Kevala jň na - Omniscience The total destruction of mohniya (deluding) karma is followed by short interval lasting for less than a muh rata (forty eight minutes) after which the karmas obscuring in na and dar ana as also antr ya (obstructing) karmas are destroyed completely (and the person is called Arha ta then) and then the soul shines in its full splendor and attains omniscience which intuits all substances with all their modes (gross and subtle, concrete as well as non concrete). Kevala jň na emerges after the total destruction of the four obscuring karmas. It is the nature of pure self. Hence Jain theory of knowledge is based on the concept of Arha ta, a living human being becoming omniscient, as this jn na is k yika i.e. results only after destruction of all obscuring karmas. It has the following salient features:
The other four types or stages of jn na namely mati, ruta etc. also disappear and only kevala jň na exists. This is also supported by the fact this jň na is called kevala (meaning only) jn na. This is pure knowledge or the state of pure soul (i.e. without any flaws or bondages or impurities) as pure knowledge and pure soul are concomitant and coexistent. This jň na is not a mode of jň na but is the nature of pure soul. Kunda kunda states 10). The knower has knowledge of his nature and all the objects are within the range of his knowledge; just as the objects of sight are within the ken of the eye, though there is no mutual inherence'.
It knows all objects, concrete or non-concrete or sentient / insentient or self and others directly . The owner of this in na cognizes all objects including itself directly i.e. without the need of assistance of any external sources like sense organs, minds or light etc. [12) Kevala jn na itself is not an attribute but is a jň na itself. Hence it does not need two streams to know the self and others separately (13)
Even though it knows all substances and their modes, yet it neither enters them nor becomes like them. It just knows them and that is it. It does not develop attachment or aversion to the object of knowledge. Like a mirror, all objects are seen in this without touching or affecting the mirror However unlike mirror, which sees only a part of the object (front part facing it), this jň na sees and knows everything (front, rear, top, bottom and internal plus future /past) of the object.
Different Entities / Limbs of Knowledge (Object of Knowledge, Knowledge, Source)
Object of knowledge - Jneya, Prameya Jain philosophy talks of existent as reality / being / sat as the object of knowledge or simply as object. Existent is the indicator of substance (dravya), which is with origination, destruction and permanence simultaneously. Substance is a collection of qualities and modes. Thus substance is like persistence with change i.e. it is eternal but transforming continuously into different modes. It has
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