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Direct Knowledge
327 chants etc. Thus, the difference between ordinary perception and occult perception lies in that the former is produced by the sense organs unaided by any external application, while the latter is produced by the sense-organs sharpened and refined by the application of medicines etc. The former does not go beyond the ordinary limits. The latter is not confined there. Both of them are sensuous. Prasastapāda and his commentators ŚrIdhara, Udayana and others do not explain how occult powers are generated in sense organs, by the application of occult medicines. They have simply recorded occult-perception as a fact of experience.
According to Jainism all cognition which depends upon the sense-orgap is included into Mati or Sruta. The application of occult-medicine or performance of chants may help in increasing the power of a particular sense-organ; but, this much cannot place it with supernormal perception. A cat can see in the darkness, the vultures can see an object from a long distance, but, their cognitions do not go beyond the scope of Mati. If the man also happens to possess that power his cognition cannot be recognised other than mati. Even the memory of past lives is a variety of mati. A person begins to sce distant objects through the help of telescope, similarly he can see the subtle objects through a microscope. It does not make his cognition supernormal Supernormality, according to Jainism, means complete independence from the senseorgans. Ku mārila's objection
Kumārilal contends that the sense organ can never apprehend the object beyond its scope; the sense of vision can see only the visible objects. The extraordinary power produced through meditation or austerity can work only within the scope. One can see remote and subtle objects through it. But, it cannot make colour as the object of auditory sense. Dharma, which is naturally supersensible cannot be perceived through any sense. Jayanta meets this objection by citing the examples 1. śloka-Vārtika, II. 111-13
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