Nyaya Science of Thought

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 30

24
NYAYA.
Besides, the knowledge of many of the states of consciousness, such as 'I am happy,' 'I am pleased,' and the like is obviously incapable of being produced by any object or objects, since there are no objects corresponding to happiness, pleasure and other similar ideas which might be perceived. It follows from this that pramâna cannot be said to be the product of objects.
Similarly, those who maintain that light is the cause of pratyakşa pramâna are also ignorant of the nature of valid jsīâna, for aloka (light) is not even a cause of perception. If light were the cause of perception, it would be impossible to perceive its antithesis, i.e., darkness, for darkness could not exist in light, and yet light would be required for its perception. The part which light plays in visual perception seems to be confined to the enlargement of the field of vision, though even this does not hold good in the case of all kinds of living beings, since certain animals such as the owl and rat, can clearly perceive things in darkness. It is also evident that light plays no part whatsoever in the perception of objects with senses other than sight, and that dreams are also seen without light. It follows from all this that light is not the cause of pratyakşa pramana in any sense.
For similar reasons it is impossible to regard sense-organs as the causes of pratyakşa pramâņa,