Jaina Theory of Knowledge

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

Page 50

JAINA THEORY OF COMPREHENSION
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sub-classes: contact - awareness and object-awareness. Let us discuss their nature.
CONTACT-AWARENESS AND OBJECTAWARENESS :
Sensation is of two types : contact-awareness (vyanjanavagraha) and object-awareness (arthavagraha).12 Jinabhadra defines contact-awareness as follows : What reveals an object as a lamp reveals a jar is contactawareness. It is nothing but a relation between the senseorgan and the object in the form of its sense-datum such as sound'.13 Suppose, a man is asleep and is being awakened by a call. Now, according to the Jaina, sound which is material reaches his ears and he is awakened. But this process is not completed in a moment. It requires some time to occur. The sound-atoms reach the ears of the perso: in succession. Innumerable instants have to pass before the ears become full of the sound-atoms so that the person may be conscious of the call. For instance, a clay-cup (surava) is to be made full of water. Before it is filled, some drops of water sink into it without demonstrating any overt sign of their separate existence. Gradually the cup is filled and the water in it becomes apparent. Similarly, the sound-atoms gradually reach the plane of consciousness of the person who is being awakened by the call.!4 Contact-awareness is nothing but an awakening of consciousness. Of the five sense-organs and the quasi-sense, i.e., mind, only four sense-organs, viz., the auditory sense-organ, the olfactory sense-organ, the tactual sense-organ, and the gustatory