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THEORY OF MATTEREALS AND JAIN PHILOSOPHY / 95
3.1. Entire body an Integrated Sensory Organ (Karan)
Ancient Jain Acharyas have mentioned a unique phenomenon - Sabhinnastrotolabdhi – where the bio's entire body can be deployed as an integrated sensory organ. A bio, having attained such a maverick capability can see and taste from skin. The division of five senses within our organs collapses and it is said that the body as a whole becomes 'Karan'. Can such a possibility exist? Can it be explained scientifically?
For sake of understanding this phenomenon, let us analyse the process of listening. The sound waves are received by the entire body including our ears. Ears have a specialised membrane which acts as a transducer and converts sound frequencies into electrical signal and send them to the brain. Similar action takes place in the entire body as the neurons and nerves are present in the entire body. The only difference is that the signal-to-noise ratio (intensity) of impulses is high within the ears, so brain captures those signals faster and better. For a deaf, if such a high intensity signal is absent, mind can be trained to filter the weak signals received from the skin and bones and can still listen to the sound.
Extending the argument, we can say that the light and odour encounter our entire body and not just eyes or nose. The signals are generated in the entire body but have high concentration in the eyes and nose respectively. However, if high intensity signals from the specified organs are absent, mind itself can amplify the weak signals available from the entire body. In a recent widely reported incident, a woman was able to recognise various colours simply by touching even when her eyes were blind-folded.
So, if the entire body can be trained to act as an antenna and the mind can be taught to amplify the signals captured by that antenna, Sabhinnastrotolabdhi can be attained. 4. Pudgal and Time-state
We know that the basic properties of pudgals are association and dissociation. But how fast or slow it happens or why it happens is a mystery. The fastest it can associate or dissociate is within a minimum period of one moment and in the slowest mode it can consume a maximum of infinite time. According to this Agamic statement, Mahapragya believes that the speech-pudgals of Lord Mahavira can be safely available because the sound waves are material and can remain in the unchanged form for an infinite time. Scientists are also busy looking for those apparatus with which those words assimilated in the space through which ancient music and sounds can be captured and recreated.
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