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not found in a certain place, we may say there is no pitcher there. Everywhere persons that are found are all inomniscient, from which it follows that an omniscient being who is the very opposite of the inomniscient persons is no where to be found.
Hence the existence of omniscient persons is in no way proved.
The second contention of the Mimamsaka's is that it is impossible for a person to be omniscient. An omniscient being must know not only the gross objects which are perceptible by our senses but also the subtle-most things which are beyond their purview. Hence one cannot be omniscient by Pratyakṣa or direct perception. Reasoning is based on matters of sense-perception and accordingly one cannot be omniscient by reasoning. If it were possible for men to be omniscient by reasoning, every one could be omniscient. No such scripture is available which gives omniscience to its readers. It is to be noted that the knowledge which is derived from reasoning and scripture is so vague and indistinct that it cannot be looked upon as a full and complete knowledge about objects. Next, it may be questioned: Does omniscience consist in a knowledge of all things or does it consist in a knowledge of some principal things only? If omniscience be knowledge of all things, how does it arise? If it arises gradually i.e. successively from the knowledge of one thing to that of another and so on omniscience as a complete knowledge of all things past, present, future, distant and infinite becomes obviously impossible. If, on the contrary, it is said that the knowledge, of all the objects arises simultaneously, very serious difficulties crop up. Things are of different natures; some for example, are cold, some hot and so on How can perceptions of such essentially different things arise simultaneously? Secondly,
it may be pointed out that feelings of attachment, envy etc., are present in every man's heart; so that one who is to be omniscient must perceive these feelings of other's hearts; the result is that the omniscient himself comes to have the feelings of love, hatred etc. If it be maintained on the
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