Jaina Concept of Omniscience

Author(s): Ramjee Singh
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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a gross misunderstanding. While retaining its lexical identity, the word has got differing connotations when used by philosophers of different metaphysical and logical reorientations. I hope to make this point clear in the coming pages. In a sense, this is one of the main tasks, which the present work aims to fulfil.
THE MEANING OF OMNISCIENCE
Literally, 'omniscience' means 'all-knowledge' or 'knowledge of all'. But the term 'all' is used in different senses in different contexts. Hence the meaning of the term 'omniscience' will differ accordingly. Some grammarians say that the man who knows the meanings of 'all' will also know its referants, ie., what it denotes or stands for. But this may be so in the name only, for no one can prevent another person from giving a word any meaning he likes. 25 The naming of words depends upon human stipulation. The term 'all' may also be applied to ordinary things like oil, water or butter, and then the person knowing all about such things, will be all-knowing. This means that even if one knows a little of the universe as a whole, he could be called all-knowing. It will be interesting to note that this is precisely the hyperbolic or idiomatic meaning of the term 'omniscient' as used in various dictionaries, i.e., when a very learned person is described as 'omniscient'. A third meaning of 'all' may be given as the epitome of the world included under the two terms 'positive' and 'negative'. Hence if one who knows this epitome of the world should be all-knowing. However, this is a very vague use of the term which does not mean knowledge of all things in full detail. Another defective approach would be to delimit the use of the term 'all' in a particular system by saying that all things mean only such and such things. In this way, the context of omniscience will vary from
25 Santarakṣita, Tattvasangraha (Com. by Kamalaśila) trans., G. N. Jha (2 Vols., Baroda, Oriental Institute, 1939), Vol. II. K. 3129-3135. The Mimamsakas have no objection to accepting the five senses in which 'omniscient being' has been discussed there.