Book Title: Indian Logic Part 03
Author(s): Nagin J Shah
Publisher: Sanskrit Sanskriti Granthmala

Previous | Next

Page 130
________________ TEN PRAMEYAS BODY ETC. 119 30 that in the very presence of life the manas concerned has a role to play inasmuch as the very definition of a living body is a body possessing manas with which the soul concerned is in contact." The idea is that the birth of a body means the entry into this body of the manas associated with the soul concerned, the death of a body means the exit from this body of such a manas. Besides, we are informed that a manas is non-ubiquitous (really, atomic) in size because otherwise it should be possible for it to simultaneously come in contact with two sense-organs and that it is capable of moving about because otherwise it should not be possible for it to guide the functioning of different sense-organs." It could well be that the concept of manas was originally posited in order to account for the function mentioned by the aphorist. But the most understandable function of a manas is to act as an instrument for perceiving a mental state, just as eye etc. act as an instrument for perceiving a physical thing (this being the reason why manas is also called antahkarana or 'internal cognitive organ'); the other most understandable function of a manas is to act as vehicle of transmigration (this being necessary because transmigration is not possible on the part of a soul itself which is conceived as something ubiquitous). And when once posited, manas was supplied with a suitable description that should conform to the technical demands posed by the Nyaya-Vaiseșika ontology and logic. Here closes Jayanta's account of the six ontological topics covered under the padartha prameya, an account which is of some though minor - importance inasmuch as ontological problems were after all a serious concern of the Nyaya-Vaiseșika authors (the Vaiseșika authors being even specialists in such problems); however, this cannot be said about Jayanta's following account of the six ethical topics (minus one) covered here. For the Nyaya-Vaiseṣika authors were not so much serious about ethical problems and whatever they had to say in this they would say while dealing with moksa which also happens to be the last of the six topics in question. The topic mokṣa is taken up in the next chapter and here is what Jayanta says about the remaining five. (1) Activity The aphorist says that activity is of the form of an operation. undertaken through speech, manas. or body." Jayanta explains that

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226