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EXAMINATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF SELF-SUFFICIENT VALIDITY'
1347
It has been argued by the Mimāmsaka) under Text 2869, that "If, even after due effort at seeking for it, no other sublating Cognition is found, on account of there being no basis for it, then no Cognition sublative of the first Cognition would be found, etc. etc.".
The answer to this is as follows:
TEXTS (3010–3017). UNDER THE THEORY OF THE SELF-VALIDITY OF COGNITIONS. THE VALIDITY
BEING ASCERTAINED BY ITSELF, WHY SHOULD AN EFFORT BE MADE TO PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF A SUBLATING COGNITION ?-BECAUSE, WHEN THE VALIDITY OF A COGNITION IS NOT DEFINITELY COGNISED BY ITSELF, ITS SUBLATING COGNITION IS GOT AT WITHOUT EFFORT, THUS, WHY SHOULD THERE BE SAID TO BE 'three COGNITIONS FOR THE INVESTIGATOR? IN FACT THERE IS NOT ROOM FOR A SINGLE ONE; THE CONVICTION REGARDING IT HAVING COME ABOUT BY ITSELF.
IF IT BE HELD THAT—"EVEN WHEN NO SUBLATING COGNITION IS ACTUALLY FOUND, THERE ARISES SUSPICION DUE TO DOUBT; BECAUSE THE non-apprehension OF SUBLATING COGNITION IS NOT ALWAYS CONCOMITANT WITH ITS ABSENOR”;-THEN, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHY HAVE YOU BECOME SATISFIED WITH ONLY three (CogNITIONS)? BECAUSE, AS BEFORE, EVEN WHEN THE SUBLATING COGNITION IS NOT THERE, ITS PRESENCE COULD ALWAYS BE SUS. PEOTED; AND THIS SUSPICION OF SUBLATION COULD NOT CEASE UNTIL ONE MET WITH CONFORMITY TO EFFECTIVE ACTION; HENCE THE RESTRIOTION To three ONLY IS ENTIRELY FUTILE.-THUS THEN, EVEN IN A CASE WHERE NO SUBLATION HAS ACTUALLY APPEARED, ITS PRESENCE CAN ALWAYS BE SUSPECTED; SPECIALLY AS CASUISTRY CAN NEVER LEAD TO THE ASCERTAINMENT OF TRUTH.-EVEN THOUGH A MAN MAY HAVE HAD THE UNSUBLATED COGNITION OF THE CONCHSHELL AS yellow, THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, SUCH COGNITION CAN NEVER BECOME VALID.(3010-3017)
COMMENTARY.
If Validity is ascertained by itself, then Validity being invariably concomitant with conviction, where there is no conviction, there, by implication, would be Invalidity; so that the presence of its sublating Cognition becomes secured without any effort ; hence any effort to prove the existence of the said sublating Cognition would be futile. So that there is no room for even a single Cognition on the part of the investigator; what to say of three? Hence when it is said that the Cognition of the investigator does not proceed beyond three', it is something entirely irrelevant. This is what is pointed out in the Text beginning with the word 'Atah' (Text 3012).
The following might be urged-" The absence of the sublating Cognition cannot be ascertained by mere non-apprehension of it; because even when a
