Agam 44 Chulika 01 Nandi Sutra English Translation

Author(s): Dipratnasagar, Deepratnasagar
Publisher: Deepratnasagar

Page 28

NandiSootra
ithin the: The Str organ alhysical (dralence
Indriya or a sense organ is the evident indicator of the soul. In other words it is through the activity of a sense organ that the existence of the soul becomes evident. There are two parts of a sense organ-physical (dravyendriya), mental (bhavendriya).
The physical sense organ also has two parts - structural (nivritti) and operative (upkaran). The structural part has two limbs - one is the visible physical structure within the body and the second is a matching subtle structure within the soul (this is a dimension that is beyond the normal physical and mental perception) made up of soul-sections (atma-pradesh). The joint active ability of these two limbs of the structural part is called the operative part. In all beings the outer structures of the sense organs are different but the inner structures (within the soul) are similar.
The mental sense organ is also of two types - ability (labdhi) and utility (upayoga). The capacity or power acquired as a consequence of the changes manifested within the soul due to the kshayopasham of the knowledge-veiling karmas is called ability or labdhi. The activity of acquiring normal and special knowledge of the sound, form, qualities, subjects etc. is called utility or upayog.
The knowledge that is acquired with the help of both these physical and mental sense organs is called Indriya Pratyaksh. It cannot be acquired in absence of any one of these.
The prefix 'no' is used here as negation only. Therefore No-indriya Pratyaksh means the knowledge which is acquired without the help of the sense organs. Generally, mind is also called a No-indriya. But here it has not been used in that context. Here No-mdriya Pratyaksh means the knowledge that is directly acquired by the soul without any outside help including that from sense organs, mind, light, or any other medium or instrument.
In common man's language the knowledge acquired through sense organs is also called direct knowledge. With this in view two other names have been given to these two types - Indriya Pratyaksh = Samvyavaharik Pratyaksh (mundanely direct) and No-Indrlya Pratyaksh = Paramarthik Pratyaksh (transcendentally direct).
TYPES OF SAMVYAVAHARIK PRATYAKSH [056] MEANING - Question - What is this Indriya Pratyaksh jnana?
Answer - Indriya Pratyaksh-jnana is of five types - that which is acquired through the sense organ of - hearing (ears), seeing (eyes), smelling (nose), tasting (tongue), touching (skin or the whole body).
COMMENTARY -The five sense organs in the body are the means of acquiring knowledge. If we count on the basis of the evolution of these sense organs normally the sequence is - touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing. But here the emphasis is on piety and kshayopasham of karma which is the cause of being born in aparticular species, therefore the sequence is in reverse order. When piety and kshayopasham is of higher degree a soul is born in a species equipped with all the five sense organs. As this degree reduces a being is born in a species of graduatly decreasing number of sense organs like four, three etc. Here the mention follows this order.
CLASSIFICATION OF NOINDRIYA PRATYAKSH [057] MEANING - Question - What is this No-indriya Pratyaksh jnana?
Answer - No-indriya Pratyaksh jnana is said to be of threetypes - (1) Avadhi jnana Pratyaksh, (2) Manah-paryav-jnanaPratyaksh and (3) Kewal-jnana Pratyaksh.
Aagam- 44 -Nandi Sootra
28 -
Compiled by- Deepratnasagar