________________
220
SOME POSITIVE JAINA ARGUMENTS..
(F) Argument from the Natural Tendency of Thought to go from part to whole
It is a tendency of human thought to transcend its limits. If we analyse our thought, we find that knowledge in parts does not remain knowledge of parts but is unified into a system, According to Jainism every soul possesses in its natural state only the pure knowledge or omniscience.179 This is exhibited in five different forms depending upon the extent and penetration of knowledge-obscuring karmas. So, in perceptual knowledge (mati-jñāna), there is a partial glimpse of pure knowledge (kevala jñāna). According to Virasena Svāmi178, who is supposed to be the chief-architect of this particular argument, we can 'infer about the soul's pure-knowledge on the basis of our partial knowledge like mati, śruta, avadhi and manaḥparyaya as we make inferences about the whole mountain by perceiving only parts of it.
The above argument makes use of the gestaltan in us to complete the incomplete and make a whole out of parts. But I do not think that this can conclusively prove the existence of omniscience. Knowledge is composed of the subject as well as objcet of knowledge. So even if we infer that on the objective side, everything can be comprehended, we cannot say that there is such a subject also and unless there is one, omniscience cannot be claimed to be a fact.
can be proved by any of the six means of cognition, how could it be not accepted. This means that it cannot be proved by any of the pramanas. Therefore, Akalanka shows that there is not a single pramana which goes against it.
172 Virasena, Dhavala Comy. on satkhandagama of Puspadanta Bhutabali, ed. H. L. Jaina, etc., Vol. XIII; V. 81-83.
173 Ibid., cp. Akalanka, Aṣṭa-sati, 3, Nyaya-viniścaya-vivaraṇa, ed. M. K. Jaina, p. 465; Vidyananda, Aṣṭa-sahasri, p. 50.
Jain Education International
*
and
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
