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1470
TATTVASANGRAHA: CHAPTER XXVI.
TEXTS (3325-3330).
THIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOCTRINE OF 'NO-SOUL 'AS DESCRIBED DOES NOT
BELONG TO Vardhamāna AND OTHERS; IN FACT, ALL PHILOSOPHERS HAVE BECOME LOST IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE SOUL' --ALL SUCH DOCTRINES AS THE 'Syādvāda' AND OTHERS INVOLVING THE NOTIONS OF THINGS BEING not-momentary, ARE DISCARDED BY DIRECT PERCEPTION; HOW THEN CAN PERSONS WHO HAVE ASSERTED MANY SUCH UNREASONABLE THINGS BE OMNISCIENT'? PEOPLE WHO TREMBLE OVER THINGS THAT ARE PERCEPTIBLE AND KNOWN EVEN TO THE PLOUGHMAN, HOW COULD THEY EVER HAVE ANY CLEAR KNOWLEDGE OF THINGS THAT ARE BEYOND THE SENSES? THUS THE FACT OF THESE PERSONS BEING NOT-OMNISCIENT IS CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD FROM THEIR BEING ATTACHED TO WRONG DOCTRINES AND EXPOUNDING WRONG TEACHINGS; JUST IN THE SAME WAY AS ANY OTHER MAN WHO PERCEIVES THE man IN THE Post IS SAID TO BE mistaken.- ONE IS TO BE RECOGNISED AS OMNISCIENT ONLY WHEN HE HAS BEEN FOUND TO SATISFY ALL TESTS AND ALL REASONS, AND HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THINGS. -THUS THEN OUR REASON SHOULD NOT BE REGARDED AS BEING ONE WHOSE CONTRARY IS OPEN TO DOUBT. (3325-3330)
COMMENTARY If the said knowledge of Truth belonged to Vardhamāna, Kapila and others, then they also might be omniscient. As a matter of fact however, all these persons have been held in the clutches of the crocodile of the false doctrine of the Soul', which is the root of all evil,--and have taught that things are not-momentary and so forth, which are all annulled by Perception and other forms of Cognition ;-being thus found to be tripping even in regard to things known even to the veriest child, how could their knowledge of supersensuous things ever fall within range of possibility,-in view of which it could be asked " what proof is there that Kapila is not omniscient ?" [as has been asked by the other party under Text 3149).-Because there is the following proof available which can be clearly stated People who are attached to false doctrines cannot be omniscient;e.g. the man who mistakes the Post for the Man ;-Vardhamāna and others are actually attached to false doctrines ;-hence there is apprehension of something pervaded by its contradictory; as "attachment to false doctrines' is pervaded by being non-omniscient', which is the contradictory of 'omniscience':-The Reason here put forward cannot be regarded as 'inadmissible'; because by all sorts of tests it has been shown that all these Teachers have taught false doctrines. Nor can the Reason be said to be 'inconclusive', on the ground of its exclusion from the contrary of the Probandum being doubtful; because omniscience has been held to depend upon the full knowledge of all things without exception; and a person who possesses True Knowledge can never have any false idea of things at all.-(3325-3330)
