Jaina Psychology

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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JAINA PSYCHOLOGY
apply to the self, since the self while in all perfection cognises all the objects requiring no help of the senses, and so the phrase 'the organ of cognition' has been inserted in order to emphasise the instrumental character of the mind.1 And thus, the definition does not extend to the self which is but the agent.
✓T
The mind is also of two types, just like the five external senses, according as it differs as physical mind and psychical mind. The physical mind is nothing but the material atoms transformed into the form of mind. The nature of the stuff of which the physical mind is made up is as under: The Jaina philosophers conceive an indefinite number of groups (varganas) of material atoms. The first group contains only such atoms as remain alone and solitary and have not formed composite bodies with others. The second group contains the composites of two atoms; the third group contains those of three atoms and so on. By this process we arrive at a group that contains the composites of an indefinite number of atoms, which is fit for the making up of gross (audarika) body. There is another group of this type which is competent for the making up of transformable (vaikriya) body. There is still another group of atoms that is fit for forming the stuff of projectable (āhāraka) body. Similarly, other groups can be conceived which are capable of forming electric (taijas) and karmic (karmana) bodies, speech, respiration, and the like. The stuff of which the physical mind is composed is one of these various types of groups which is technically known as 'manovargana' meaning thereby the group of atoms which is competent to form the mind.
✔The psychical mind is in the shape of attainment consisting in the destruction-cum-subsidence of the relevant obscuring karma and in the form of conscious activity of the self apt to cognise its object. Thus, from these observations we arrive at the conclusion that the status of mind in the Jaina system is just like that of the other senses, the only unlikeness being that the other senses are external and have specific objects for their cognition, whereas the mind is internal and has no special object for its cognition. It cognises all objects of all the senses, and thus, serves as an organ.
1 Karaṇatvapratipadanartham 'grahanam' ityuktam.
Pramāṇa-mimämsä, Commentary, I, 1, 24.
2 Avasyaka-niryukti, 39; Studies in Jaina Philosophy, p. 65.