Jainism Eternal and Universal Path for Enlightenment

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

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Jainism: The Eternal and Universal path for Enlightenment
from all the jivas of the universe and, at the same time, also forgive them. This mutual act of seeking and granting forgiveness, eliminates several serious karmas and bring harmony and peace in the world.
Jñ1n
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Meditation empties one's mind of undesirable information and when the mind is empty, true knowledge will spontaneously descend in it. This happens because the nature does not sustain vacuum and absolute vacuum can not exist anywhere. The knowledge already exists within self, but does not appear because it is covered by j'n 'varniya karma. Ja 'n is pure knowledge, uninfluenced by the mind of the the subject or the appearance of object. Knowledge is usually information and in this context Jnan is something more than knowledge as it implies wisdom and not just information.
As mentioned before, the universe consists of jiva and ajiva, the knower and the known. So there are three entities Jñ1t1, Jñeya and Jn 1n i.e. the knower, the known (object) and knowledge (Fig. 6.1). The Jnt and Jyeya, both continuously modify each other through Jn 1n, i.e. by interaction and transfer of knowledge. Observations influencing the state of an object has been discovered by science and is called the Uncertainty Principle, which states that all the attributes of an object can not be simultaneously determined with precision because the object changes with each measurement as will be discussed in Chapter 7. The effect on psyche or knowledge of the observer by observing an object is obvious because that is how knowledge is gathered. This is also the physical basis of Darwinian evolution. Evolution takes place in steps (quantum states) when jiva interacts with the physical world and modifies itself. Every time Jiva observes a physical object or process, its state of mind changes. This also explains how worshipping an inanimate statue of the Lord changes the state of a person. The changes could be to a higher or lower conscious state, depending on the interaction. This is happening all the time, albeit in infinitesimal steps but the cumulative effect over the ages is clear as discussed in chapter 1.
When the distinction between the three of them i.e. Jn 1t1, Jneya and Jn 1n dissolves, only ji1n remains and Jn 12 and Jñeya disappear. That is the state of pure knowledge. It is said that in 'n is the "body" of the Siddhas.
Jainism recognises Jn 'ns of five types: Mati j 'n (sensory knowledge), Shruta jin (scriptural knowledge), Avadhi ji 1n (clairvoyance), Manah pary 'ya jn 'n (telepathy) and keval jñ1n (omniscience). Mati and Shruta ji 1ns are sensory and