Book Title: ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 02
Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies
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________________
SCHOOL
OF
SELF STUDY IS THE SUPREME AUSTERITY
स्वाध्याय
holds in his fist, i.e. is the bird live or dead. He can let the bird fly or kill to negate the answer provided by the ascetics. His objective is to tell the ascetics that they both are wrong and their knowledge is limited. So he asks them as to what does he have in his fist? Replies by the two ascetics are as follows:
IN STUDIES
Avadhijñānī: He knows that the man has a living bird and was about to say so but was stopped by Manahparyayajnan from saying so.
10 Sarvärthasiddhi by Pujyapada V.16,17
Manaḥparyayan. He says to the man, "Why do you want to have ill feelings towards us and spoil your thinking and future? If I say you have a living bird, you will kill it to prove me wrong. If I say that you have a dead bird, you will let it fly. Hence there is no use of your ill thinking and you should use your energies to improve your present and future lives."
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
Kevala-jana - Omniscience
The total destruction of mohaniya (deluding) karma is followed by short interval lasting for less than a muhurata (forty eight minutes) after which the karmas obscuring jñāna and darśana as also antaraya (obstructing) karmas are destroyed completely (and the person is called Arharta then) and then the soul shines in its full splendor and attains omniscience which intuits all substances with all their modes (gross and subtle, concrete as well as non concrete). Kevala-jñāna emerges after the total destruction of the four obscuring karmas. It is the nature of pure self. Hence Jain theory of knowledge is based on the concept of Arharta, a living human being becoming omniscient, as this jñana is kṣayika i.e. results only after destruction of all obscuring karmas. It has the following salient features:
The other four types or stages of jñāna namely mati, śruta etc. also disappear and only kevala-jñāna exists. This is also supported by the fact this jñāna is called kevala (meaning only) jñāna. This is pure knowledge or the state of pure soul (i.e. without any flaws or bondages or impurities) as pure knowledge and pure soul are concomitant and coexistent. This jñāna is not a mode of jñāna but is the nature of pure soul. Kundakunda states 10 The knower has knowledge of his nature and all the objects are within the range of his knowledge; just as the objects of sight are within the ken of the eye, though there is no mutual inherence'.
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