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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
2Q. The term 'šruta' (scriptures) should mean as heard or any object of the sense of hearing. Hence, it is not the object of mind. A. This is not correct. If the term 'sruta' is defined with reference to the sense of hearing, it will have to be called a form of sensory knowledge. The eargrasped sensory knowledge has already been defined in the form of four stages like 'apprehension' etc. in aphorism 1.15. The scriptural knowledge which occurs after the sensory knowledge but preceded by it, is the object of mind. It concerns with the categories of the living, non-living etc. Supplementary Notes
The commentary deals with the following points :
The objects of vocable knowledge due to the destruction-cumsubsidence of the corresponding obscuring karma are the subject of mind. Thus, the mind works even without sense functions. (b) The term 'vocable' does not mean the object of the sense of hearing as it will lead to it being called a sensory knowledge. The 'vocable' here means the knowledge and its objects learnt after sensory knowledge.
The mind has been called as quasi-sense earlier on the grounds such as(i) it is an internal instrumental cause of knowledge (ii) it has indefinite location (iii) it has temporal indefiniteness also covering all the three times (iv) it has material (sensory) as well as non-material (non-sensory) entities as objects (v) it causes sensory as well as scriptural knowledge. However, the later knowledge predominates in it (vi) It has thinking and specific knowing capacity in comparison to the general knowing capacity of sensory knowledge. It thinks about the desirables and undesirables (vii) it may also be called as sense because of its most effective instrumentality for knowledge. However, it depends upon senses like eye and ear. Hence, it cannot be designated as a full sense (viii) According to the Svetāmbara version, the mind resides in all the parts of the body. It is pervasive in the body. Otherwise it cannot function for objects received through different senses in different parts of the body. This bodypervasiveness is conveyed by the maxim, 'wherever there is air, their is mind'. However, some point it out to be existing in the 8-petalled lotus-shaped heart. The current parapsychologists, however, seem to feel it to be existing in brain as a hologram. This is the psychical mind in the form of energy residing in brainthe so called physical mind. 3. The term 'scripture' means 12-membered primary texts and many secondary texts. It also means the contents of the scriptures. The mind deals
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