Jainism and Democracy

Author(s): Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: I A S S Jain Conference New Delhi

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JAINISM AND DEMOCRACY
sion, manifestation of colour, and light also in the causation of visual perception. But Jainism does not. feel this necessity. The questions, why there is no perception in darkness, why we do not see atoms. or air etc. are replied by the theory of capacity (opar). It is the capacity provided by the removal of obscurance which regulates all the gradations or limitations in knowledge. Though contact between senses and the objects is not regarded as essential condition, yet it has been accepted in the case of four senses. The mind and the sense of vision do not require any physical contact with the object, about which the system of Nyāya is very particular.
Thus, we can see that soul is the only efficient as well as material cause of knowledge. The same is agent. The help of other accessories is negative, i.e., their contribution is confined to the removal of the obscurance.
The Ayaranga says, “The soul is knower, the instrument of knowledge also is soul."
It should be clarified here that the systems of Sänkhya, Vedānta and Buddhism make a distinction between the discursive knowledge and the transcendental knowledge. In the former type matter, (praksti) or nescience (avidyā) plays the prominent part.
According to the Sānkhya knowledge means a simultaneous reflection of the object as well as consciousness (purusa) into buddhi, a product of the matter. Of course, consciousness also has its share by way of reflection. But, the material cause of a reflection is not