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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals.
Vidyānanda points out that the living being has been characterised by eight types of knowledge and four types of conations- i.e. 12 types of volitions in all. The question is what type of the living being has been defined here. In rejoinder, it is pointed out that the living beings have a total of 53 volitions as mentioned in 2.2. Out of them, 12 (destrucional knowledge and conation and 10 destruction-cum-subsidential volitions of 4 remaining knowledges, 3 wrong knowledges and 3 remaining conations) have been mentioned as primary differentia for the living beings and the remaining 41 volitions (3 inherent, 21 realistational, 2 subsidential, 7 destructional and 8 destruction-cum-subsidential ones) being secondary ones. Thus, 41-volitional living being has been defined here with functional consciousness in general. The differentia of consciousness differentiates the living from the non-living. 5. It must be pointed out here that though the different living beings have common differentia of consciousness, but they differ in its manifestation. This could be dependent upon various internal and external factors involving karmic obscurings, the subject itself, instrumnets, time and location. This variety of consciousness manifestation is experienced by all the living beings. This aphorism indicates twelve types of such manifestations. 6. Shastri (P.C.) has raised a question regarding the definition of knowledge and conation in terms of determinate and indeterminate cognition representing particularty and generality. He points out that any entity has a dual nature-general-cum-particular. It cannot be cognised in one form or the other. It will be cognised in its dual form. Hence, the definition of conation and knowledge should be modified as under:
To know about the external object is knowldegal consciousness and (ii) the self-effort to know about things is the conational consciousness. 7. The word 'determinate' and 'indeterminate' should correspondingly be taken to mean knowledge of an object external to the living being and knowledge of the object non-external to the living being. 8. The knowledge and ignorance refer to the righteousness and nonrighteousness. A knowldege acquired in the presence of non-righteousness is known as wrong knowledge or ignorance. The telepathic and absoulate knowledges cannot be wrong as they always occur in the presence of righteousness. 9. The absolute knowldege and conation occur only when the consciousness is developed fully after destroying the karmic coverings. The others occur under partially developed consciousness. 10. The different knowledges occur due to destruction-cum-subsidence of the corresponding knowledge-obscuring and energy-obstructing karmas. The conations also occur due to destruction-cum-subsidence of corresponding conation-obscuring karmas.
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