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94 / JAIN STUDIES AND SCIENCE
In Jain philosophy the relation of jiva i.e. soul and substance has been elaborately discussed. Whereas, in Vaishashik philosophy, indivisible paramanu is classified in four types only, viz.
- Earthy
- Aquatic - Irradiating
- Aerial
This difference in classifications has given rise to Atomic Theory which is unique to the Jain school of thought. 3. Qualities of Pudgals and Sensory Perception :
As is commonly known, the acquisition of information by the humans is sharply departmentalised. All the five sensory organs perform only specified tasks which are seldom interchangeable. Eyes have limits of distance and can respond to frequencies in the visible spectrum only. Ears are tuned to react to the audible frequencies between 20 to 20,000 Hertz only. They are deaf to all the under-tones and over-tones. Similarly our somatic sensation consists of the various sensory receptors that trigger the experiences of touch like, pressure, temperature, pain (including itch and tickle), and the sensations of muscle movement and joint position including posture, movement, and facial expression (collectively called proprioception). Tongue too responds to only five basic tastes - bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and savoury. Through nose we perceive odours by the sense of olfaction. Odours are also called smells, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odours like, fragrance, scent or aroma, stench and stink.
Sensing of light and sound is based on vibrations at different frequencies, whereas taste and smell are chemical processes. The touch is a very complex feeling of our skin which is the largest organ of our body. All these look very specialised processes but strangely has one basic process in common.
Scientists today have found a startling fact. All the sensory organs are nothing but transducers which convert the stimulii into electrical impulses. These electrical signals travel up to the brain through an intricate mechanism of neurons and nerves where they are deciphered by the mind. This opens up interesting possibilities. In one experiment, doctors sent simulated electrical impulses directly to the brain through elctrodes fitted on the skull. The subject felt pain and ecstacy as the signals were manipulated.
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