Basic Principles Of Jainism

Author(s): Narayan Lal Kachhara
Publisher: Narayan Lal Kachhara

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The Theory of Knowledge
"Jnana" and "darshana" are two important upayoga (manifestations) of consciousness. There is no agreement among Jain scholars on the exact meaning of these two technical terms, and there are also no exact equivalents in English. However, it makes the most sense to suppose that they mean "intelligence" (or "faculty of knowing") and "self-perception" (self-conscious) when used in reference to the soul, and knowledge" and "perception (being conscious of)" when used in the context of the external world. These meanings are often used interchangeably.
Brahmadeva is of the view that from non-distinctive viewpoints the same consciousness, when it comprehends the self, is said to be darshana and, when comprehending the non-self, is said to be jnana. Neither darshana nor jnana can be said to be absent in a jiva, whether liberated or mundane, even for a moment. Every moment of a jiva's existence must evince modes of darshana and jnana simultaneously.
We must clearly understand the difference between knowledge and perception. Perception is the comprehension of the generality of an object; knowledge is the comprehension of the particularity of an object. Usually we comprehend the generality of an object first, followed by the particularity of an object: perception normally precedes knowledge.
Upayoga is a general term comprising all activity related to consciousness. Literally, it means the attention or coordination of a subject and object. It is the manifestation of the faculty of knowing that is possessed by the soul. Cognition is also upayoga. This is of two types: nirakaraupayoga (general perception of consciousness (inarticulate cognition) is darshana (or perception); sakaraupayoga (particular cognition) of consciousness (articulate cognition) is jnana (or knowledge). The articulate cognition is designated as jnana or ajnana according to the faith of the knower.
Darshana is of the four kinds: chaksu, achaksu, avadhi and kevala. This means that there are four kinds of apprehension: Visual apprehension, non-visual apprehension, psychic apprehension or clairvoyance and perfect apprehension. Apprehension with the aid of eyes is Chaksu Darshana. Achaksu Darshana is apprehension derived with the aid of the mind, ear, nose, tongue or the skin. All these are the means of apprehension without the aid of eyes and hence such Darshana is called Achaksu Dashrana. Avadhi Darshana is apprehension derived through the soul directly without the aid of senses and mind. Modern psychical researches have shown that there could be cognition without the aid of senses and the mind. Such phenomena as clairvoyance, clairaudience and the like have been recorded to prove the validity of occurrence of extra sensory perceptions. Those who are endowed with this power perceive events more or less remote in space and time. Most of the modern psychologists like McDaugal, H.H. Price and others have recognized that there is ample evidence to bear out the validity of the ancient belief in telepathy and clairvoyance as a great faculty of cognition in human beings through which
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