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JAINA PHILOSOPHY : AN INTRODUCTION
possessed of the absence of smoke, as for example, a lake, it is possessed of smoke, therefore it is possessed of fire. Authority :
We have dealt with recollection, recognition, inductive reasoning and inference. The fifth division of non-perceptual cognition, viz., authority still remains to be defined. We, now, propose to deal with it.
The knowledge produced by the word of a reliable source is called authority. It is also known as 'verbal testimony' or 'word.' The reliable source is that person who knows the object as it is and describes it as he knows it. He who possesses right knowledge and makes a right judgment is said to be reliable or āpta. Such a reliable person cannot tell a lie. His proposition is always true. Hence, he is called authority. His 'word' is also known as testimony. The authority is of two kinds : ordinary and extraordinary, i.e., laukika and alaukika. The ordinary authority is father etc. The omniscient is an example of the extraordinary authority
The agamika conception of knowledge can be covered by the logical division of cognition in the following style :
Avadhi-jñāna (clairvoyance), manaḥparyaya-jñāna (telepathy) and kevala-jñāna (omniscience) are styled as transcendental perception. Mati-jñāna (sensory and intellectual knowledge) is occupied by empirical perception, recollection, recognition, inductive reasoning and inference. Sruta-jñāna (scriptural knowledge) is called authority, verbal testimony, scriptural testimony or word.
1. Pramāna-naya-tattvāloka, IV.1.
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