Book Title: Introduction to Jainism and its Culture
Author(s): Balbhadra Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

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Page 169
________________ knowledge acquired through it is totally absent. Beings with fewer sense organs have limited knowledge. Besides sense organs and mind, outside sources also influence acquisition of knowledge. For example, if it is dark, cataract in eyes, or there is some obstruction visibility is absent or restricted. If one sees through green glasses everything looks green. The distance also effects vision and hearing. With telescope and other such instruments vision is clear and magnified. Those having only one, two, three, of four sense organs acquire knowledge related to those organs only. Those without mind do not acquire knowledge related to mind. Thus matijñāna is weak and dependent. Śrutajana is acquired only through matijñāna, therefore, it is also dependent. When knowledge-obscuring karna comes to fruition knowledge does not appear. The appearance of knowledge is only in proportion to the destruction-cum-suppression of that karma. It is only the result of lesser destruction-cum-suppression of knowledge-obscuring karına that immobile beings and one to four sensed beings have very little knowledge. Among five-sensed beings, animals and birds also have little knowledge. The hell beings have avadhi-jñāna since birth but they use it for evil activities only. Gods also have avadhi-jñāna since birth and different species of gods use that knowledge differently. The mati-jñāna, śruta-jñāna, and avadhi-jñāna of the gods of higher realms is very wide and sublime but they cannot acquire manaḥparyāya-jñāna and kevala-jñāna. It is only humans who have mati-jñāna and śrutajñāna since birth. They can acquire avadhi-jñāna and manaḥparyāyajñāna through austerities and by destroying kevala-jñānāvaraniya karma they can also acquire kevala-jñāna. Some person is foolish or dull and other is intelligent or sharp only due to the scale of destruction-cum-suppression of knowledge-obscuring karmas. Knowledge-obscuring or jñānāvaraṇīya karma does not just veil knowledge as is indicated by its name. Cloud cover veils the sun. This does not allow the light to arrive here. Knowledge-obscuring karma is not like that. In case of a cloud cover over the sun, the light does not travel far but the sun remains radiant as always. But in case of soul it is not that the soul has infinite knowledge and it remains unknown due to the veil of knowledge-obscuring karma, as in case of the sun with cloud cover. The karmic particles are fused with the space-points of 152 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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