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THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
95
The self has consciousness as its essence which is luminous by its very nature. The manifestation of the luminous nature of self, which is nothing but the sell as manifested, is styled pārmārthika pratyaksa, i.e., transcendental intuition or direct perception. It is the highest kind of all cognitions. It is characterised as pure and perfect in the scriptures, since it is independent of the services of external instruments such as sense-organs and mind. It emerges on the disappearance of obscuring veils which results from the total purging of all the destructive karinas. The soul is manifested in its pure nature and perceives the whole of reality in a direct and immediate manner. Hence, it is called omniscience ( kevala-jñāna).
Omniscience is not the only instance of transcendental knowledge, but there are other varieties also.
Owing to the variation of the degrees of the destruction of obstructing veils, the transcendental knowledge admits of two varieties, viz., limited direct perception and direct perception of the modes of other minds.'1 They are nothing but clairvoyance and telepathy.
Pure perception occurs on the complete destruction of all possible veils. But when there is variation in the degrees of the annihilation of veil, there occur two varieties of extra-sensory intuition, viz., avadhi-limited intuition and manah paryaya- direct perception of the modes of minds. Avadhi means 'limit' or 'that which is confined' and so it is said: 'Avadhi is limited to the objects having form,'? i.e., colour, taste, smell, and touch. It is of two kinds according as it is congenital or acquired by merit. Of these, the first belongs to the denizens of heaven and hell just
in the sky belongs to birds. The second variety is possible for man and animals.
The mind is a particular substance and its modes are the different changes of state emerging into acts of thought. And the knowledge of these states is called manaḥparyaya-jñāna. CLAIRVOYANCE
The self, according to Jaina philosophy, has inherent capacity to know all things irrespective of time and space. Temporal and
1 Tataratamyavadhimanahparyayau ca. Pramāņa-mimamsă, I, I, 18. 2 Rapışvavadheh. Tattvārtha-sútra, I, 28.
