New Dimensions in Jaina Logic

Author(s): Mahaprajna Acharya, Nathmal Tatia
Publisher: Today and Tommorrow Printers and Publishers

Page 19

The Ultimate Source and Origin of Knowledge
Knowledge is the natural attribute of the soul, which remains uncovered more or less. It can thus be said that the uncovered state of consciousness is the ultimate source of knowledge. There are three more additional sources, viz. sense-organs, mind and the soul. The development of our sense-organs depends on the development of the consciousness. The diversity (degree) of the physical senseorgans is dependent upon the diversity of the development of consciousness. The development of the mind is also dependent upon. the development of consciousness. The knowledge arising independently of the sense-organs and the mind is dependent only upon the soul. Thus from the point of view of the development of consciousness the basic sources of knowledge are three, that is, senses, mind and the soul.
Jaina Logic of Agama Period 11
The cause of the origin of knowledge is two-fold, viz. internal and external. Whereas knowledge arises on the proper proximity of the external objects, it can arise also on account of internal contemplation.
Limits of Knowledge
There are five sense-organs-touch, tongue, nose, eye and ear- each of which has the capacity to know a particular kind of object.27
Sense-organs
1.
Tactile sense-organ Gustatory sense-organ
2.
3.
Olfactory sense-organ Visual sense-organ
4.
5. Auditory sense-organ
Objects
Touch
The above objects do not produce the sensual cognitions, but. the cogniser himself, through his own effort, on the occurrence of proper proximity, cognises them through the respective senseorgans. The sense-organs do not cognise the substance directly. They can know it through the attributes or the modes, and, therefore, the sense-organs cognise the modes directly and the substance only indirectly. They know only the present mode, and therefore, they are not capable of knowing the past and the future modes. The sensualist philosophers consider the sensual experience alone as real cognition. But if there is no cognition which synthe
Taste
Smell
Colour
Sound.