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and time that are the necessary conditions of the perception produced by the senses. As regards the objection that contradictory things like heat and cold cannot be cognised at the same time by a single cognition, the Jaina asks the Mimāṁsaka : Why contradictory things cannot be cognised by a single cognition ? Is it because they cannot be present at the same time, or because they by their very nature cannot be comprehended by a single cognition, though they are present at the same time? The former view is not tenable, because contradictory things like heat and cold do exist at the same time. The latter position is also not capable of being defended, because when there is a flash of lightning in the midst of darkness, there occurs a simultaneous perception of two contradictory things, viz., darkness and light. Regarding the objection that if the omniscient knows all the objects of the universe at one instant, in the next moment he would become unconscious having nothing to cognise, the Jaina thinker replies that this type of objection would be valid if both the perception of the omniscient and the whole world were annihilated in the following instant. But, really speaking, both of these are ever-lasting. Hence, it is not an absurdity to hold that the omniscient perceives all the objects of the universe by a single cognition. With respect to the objection that the omniscient would be tainted by the attachnient etc. of others in cognising them, and consequently, he would cease to be omniscient, the reply is : Mere knowledge of desires, aversions etc. is not sufficient enough to make a person tainted unless the self is transformed into that very mode. The omniscient self cannot be affected by desires etc. in the least. Hence, it cannot be tainted by the attachment etc. of others by merely knowing them. Besides, desires and aversions are produced by our impure mental states and senses and not by the self which is pure and perfect. The omniscient self is pure and perfect. Hence, it cannot be tainted by the imperfections of sensory cognition. It is
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