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A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
Marxist theory maintains that the psyche is the qualitative transformation of the physical objects. As water heated to a particular degree becomes vapour and cooled to the zero degree, it solidifies into ice, so is psyche produced from the changes in the physical objects.
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But the question is, at what stage the changes in the physical things does consciousness arise? The cerebrum contains various forms of material particles and the gases like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus. Is it possible to determine which of these gases or physical particles become the origin of consciousness? Is it due to one of them separately, or due to the combination of all of them or some of them ? So far empirical sciences have not been able to give any solution to the problem of the origin of psyche out of the physical changes. They have not been able to determine the original nature of cetana.
Jain Education International
It has sometimes been suggested that the atman can be identified with the sense-organs and the brain. This view is not correct because even when the sense-organs cease to function due to some defect, memory traces of previous experiences continue to be experienced without the functioning of the sense-organs. Similarly, it can be shown that atman cannot be identified with the brain. When the same function of the cerebral cell cease to work, even then mem⚫ ory may continue to be experienced. Therefore, it is not appropriate to identify the cerebrum with the atman although it is the source of knowledge. The sense-organs and the brain are only the instruments for getting experiences. As the sense-organs are the instruments of receiving external stimulations, so is the brain the instrument of retaining the sense-impressions. It has been pointed out that if the brain cells are injured, memory may be impaired. Yet we can say that in the mentally defective beings, consciousness does work, even though it may not function normally. But all other physiological and mental functions in some respects do work without impairing the normal physiological routine of the mentally defective. From this, can be shown that the psychic energy is different from the brain and its functionings, although brain cells are the respositories of the psychic functions. Tandula Veyaliya gives a description of the physiological functioning of the body. There are 160 urdhvagāminī and 'rasavahini' veins in the human body. They start from the navel
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