Sramana 2016 01

Author(s): Shreeprakash Pandey, Rahulkumar Singh, Omprakash Singh
Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram Varanasi

Page 73

66 : Sramaņa, Vol 67, No. 1, January-March 2016 Īhā is a knowledge having inclination to know the object with its property, and the ascertaining knowledge about the object is called avāya. When that avāya goes into retention, then it is named as dhāraņā knowledge. These four stages are very important in learning process, Why children do not learn the lesson properly? Its answer is lying in the Jaina principle of learning through stages of matijñāna. This principle is useful in the educational psychology. This is a psychological science of learning that if a learning process is up to retention, then memory takes place. Without retention memory cannot take place. Consciousness as Prāņa Prāņa (vitality) is another technical term in Jaina scriptures which shows consciousness in a living being. This ‘prāņa' word has a different meaning from the meaning which is referred in Yoga philosophy. In Yoga philosophy word prāņa has been used for vital airs which are of five kinds- prāņa (air inhaled and exhaled), apāna (air goes out through anus), vyāna (air pervaded in the whole body), udāna (air in throat), samāna (air in the stomach). In Jainism prānas are of 10 types 1. auditory sense, 2. visual sense, 3. olfactory sense, 4. gustatory sense, 5. tactile sense, 6. mental force, 7. power of speech, 8. power of body, 9. respiration and 10. karma related to life span (āyușya karma). The prāṇas depict the living power of the five sense organs, body, speech, mind, respiration and āyuşya karma. Every sense organ has power to work. If that sense organ is damaged or harmed then that does not work as knowing instrument. A person can live life even in the non-working position of some sense organs, but the working power of sense organs denotes consciousness. I hear a word, I see a bird, I smell a flower, I taste a candy, I touch a chair- all these knowing activities show consciousness of sense organs and also of a knower. A knower remains the same in knowing process with the help of different sense organs. We feel consciousness in the functioning of mind and speech. We feel consciousness in the whole body also. In the violence these prāņas are affected and at the time of death these prāņas are destroyed. According to Jainism sense organs, body, mind, speech are made of