________________
54
FAITH KNOWLEDGE AND CONDUCT
Memory is of two kinds in the main : recollection and repetition. The former consists in the recalling of an experience or presentation; the latter is the repetition of a lesson learnt by heart or of bodily movements performed automatically.
The eightfold key-board in the central region is termed the Central Organ of the Mind. It is the basis of Memory. Those living beings who are not endowed with it are devoid of recollection. They have not the capacity to benefit by experience, and simply live in the present. They will not respond if called.
The difference between perception and recollection lies in the fact that in the one the sensory stimulus, which calls forth an idea or a state of consciousness from the mind, originates outside in the world, but from within in the other. The key-board of the sensory groups in the Mind is capable of producing exactly the same kind of stimulus as comes from the outside world, and consciousness responds to it in the same manner as it does in actual perception. This is why recollections may be quite as vivid as perceptions, and just as fresh.
The eightfold key-board of the nerve-terminals is termed the lotus of eight petals or the dravya mana (material organ of the mind). It is not the soul, nor is it conscious by nature. It is made of subtle matter, and is merely a tool for the soul's use.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
