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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
Nirvṛttyupakarane Dravyendriyam There are two kinds of physical senses- (i) structural formation and (ii) support (assisting) formation.
1.
The term 'nirvṛtti' means structural formation of sense organs due to the physique-making karma.
2.
It has two varieties- (i) external and (ii) internal.
3.
The internal formation is defined as the transformation of pure soul spacepoints equivalent to the innumerableth part of an Utsedhāngula (UA=1.70 cms) into the form of senses like eyes etc.
4. The external formation is defined as the accumulation of mattergic particles in specifically prescribed shapes of eye etc. in the spaces covered by the soul spacepoints due to the realisation of physique-making karma.
5. The support formation is defined as that which assists and protects the formation of senses.
6.
It has also two kinds as above- (i) external and (ii) internal. The external support structure is the eyebrows and eyelashes in the case of eyes. The internal support formation is white-black eyeball in the eye. Similarly, other senses could also be illustrated with respect to these two varieties.
The next aphorism describes about the psychical senses:
Labdhi-upayogau Bhāvendriyaṁ 2.18
There are two kinds of psychical sense- (i) attainment and (ii) functional consciousness.
2.17
1.
The word 'labdhi' can be grammatically derived. It means gain or attainment. This is defined as the specific destruction-cum-subsidence of knowledge-obscuring karma which leads the soul towards the formation of the physical sense.
2.
The specific transformational volition (mode) of soul for the above purpose is termed as functional consciousness. It is the knowledge itself. Both these varieties belong to the psychical sense.
3. Q. This volitional consciousness controls the attainment. The senses are the most effective causes for sensory and scriptural knowledge and this consciousness is their effect. Thus, this cannot be designated as a variety of sense as it is their effect.
A. This is not correct. The characteristic of the cause are followed by the effect. It is observed that any effect corresponds to the cause as the knowledge in the shape of an earthen pot is also called the earthen pot. Similarly, the consciousness caused by the senses is also designated as the sense.
4. Secondly, the meaning of the word 'Indriya' (sense) is the indicator of soul. This applies primarily to the consciousness rather than the senses. Thus, it can be called as the sense.
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