Book Title: Divinity In Jainism
Author(s): Harisatya Bhattacharya
Publisher: Devendra Printing and Publishing Co Ltd

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Page 34
________________ 30 all things and phenomena, the question is, How is such knowing possible? If you say that the Omniscient goes on knowing the things one after another, Omniscience becomes impossible, in the past, the present and the future, the things and phenomena that came or come or will come into existence, are infinite in number, so that if these are to be known one after another, their complete knowledge is surely impossible If, on the contrary, it be maintained that all things and phenomena are simultaneously present in the consciousness of the Omniscient, well, even such an Omniscience is impossible. For, phenomena like the Cold and the Warm etc, are mutually exclusive and contradictory , how can such contradictory things be present in one's consciousness at one and the same time? On the other hand, you cannot say that it is enough to know some of the important things; for, one cannot be Omniscient without knowing all the things of all the times. "Hence the Mimānsaka concludes that Omniscience is impossible." Against the above celebrated doctrine of the Mimiusā school, the Jaina thinkers "maintain that there are proofs in support of the

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