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SUPERNORMAL PERCEPTION
may be compared to clairvoyance, differs with different individuals according to the capacity of the persons perceiving. The capacity is, in turn, determined by the relative merit acquired by the persons.
Modern psychical research has provided many examples of such persons. Experimental investigation has been carried out in this field. For instance, Prof. Rhine and his colleagues at Duke University carried out experiments with a pack of zener cards and arrived at astonishing results. Perception beyond an opaque wall, precognition and foreknowledge have been of great interest to para-psychology.19 Even Kant was greatly interested in ostensible clairvoyance, by Swedenborg, with reference to Queen Lovisa in 1761 and his clairvoyant cognition of the Stockholm fire.20 Dreams which foretell events may also be included in such forms of perception. The Society for Psychical Research has collected many such instances. For instance, the Hon. J. O. Connor, about ten days before the Titanic sailed, saw in a dream that the ship floating in the sea, keel upwards, and her passengers and crew swimming around. In another case, a lady dreamt that her uncle had fallen from horseback and died. She also dreamt he was brought home in a wagon. There in my dream the wagon came to the door. And two men, well-known to me, helped to carry the body upstairs. I saw the man carrying the body with difficulty, and his left hand hanging down and striking against the bannisters, as the men mounted the stairs'. Later, the dream recurred thrice, with all the details unchanged. This was followed by her uncle's death in exactly the same situation as she had dreamt, and he was carried home in the same way with his left hand hanging and striking against the bannisters as the men mounted the stairs.21 In our country, we get many instances of dreams and such forms of perception. A scientific study of such forms of perception is necessary.
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To turn to ancient Indian thought, Prasastapāda and Jayant Bhatta say that, though yogis can perceive all objects past, future and distant, even ordinary persons like us are not entirely devoid of such perception. Some men have the power of perceiving the future. On rare occasions, we get a flash of intuition, as for instance, when a girl perceives in her heart of hearts that her brother will come to-morrow.22 These may be included under the form of avadhi perception. However, they cannot be called supernormal perception. They are extra-sensory or para-normal perception, yet not abnormal mental phenomena. The Jainas also do not make avadhi a
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19 Rhine (J. B.): New Frontiers of the Mind, p. 41, (Pelican).
20 Broad (C. D.): Religion, Philosophy and Psychical Research: Kant and Psychical Research.
21 Tyrrell (G. N. M.): The Personality of Man, p. 77, (Pelican).
22 Prasastapada Bhāṣya, p. 258, as quoted in Indian Psychology of Perception, Ch. XVIII, Book VII.
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