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others. It is possessed only by those persons who are spiritually advanced.'s It is to be remembered here that the Avadhi Jñāna can be possessed by the undisciplined, partially disciplined and completely disciplined persons, but the Manaḥparyaya Jñāna can be acquired only by the completely disciplined ascetics of a very high order. This means that the instances of Manahparyaya Jñāna are rarely found. The Manaḥparyaya Jñāna is of two kinds. 16 Rjumati and Vipulamati. The minimum which the former is capable of knowing is two or three past or future births of oneself and others, while the maximum that can be known is seven or eight past or future births." Besides, it can cover the space having a range of two miles to eight mles. 18 The minimum that the latter can know is seven or eight past or future births, whereas the maximum that can be known is innumerable births in the past and in the future.'' Again, it can cover the space within the range of eight miles to the entire abode of human beings.20 Apart from these distinctions the Vipulamati is everlasting and purer in contrast with the Rjumati which is less pure and liable to disappear.21
From what has been delineated regarding Avadhi and Manaḥparyaya, it follows that the Jainists simply by experiencing them in their own selves by severe disciplines arrived at the aforementioned conclusions. It is perhaps right to say that by virtue of the experience of saints, these thoughts have been made accessible to us. It is to be noted here that the modern counterparts of Avadhi and Manahparyaya are clairvoyance and telepathy respectively. Experimental procedure launched by the science of parapsychology has led us to believe that there exist the phenomena of clairvoyance and telepathy.
Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
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