THE FACULTY OF COGNITION
OF THE SOUL.
Kg. I, 100a 133b, II 10a;
Ps. 10 et seq.; Lp. III 701 et seq.; Tattv. II 8,9.
The first and most
important characteristic of the soul (jiva) is its capability of
cognition. If the soul is completely free from the disturbing influence of
matter, it is capable of recognizing everything in the present, past and
future, all the substances and all their conditions. If it is however
infected by karman-matter, this absolute cognition disappears. Matter
veils the omniscience of the soul, as a dense veil of clouds hides the
light of the sun. But as, although the sun may be veiled, some light is
breaking through the clouds, so there also, in spite of the influence of
matter, a fraction of the faculty of cognition is preserved to the jiva:
for, if the jiva would also lose this, he would no longer be a jiva. This
fraction of cognition is of different dimensions in different beings. In
some it is very large: they are capable of perceiving absent material
things and even the thoughts of others by means of transcendental
perception; in most of them, however, it is only small, as they can only
perceive by means of their senses.
The cognition of a thing
can be of two kinds: either it is restricted to the grasping of it in its
general outlines, in its notional generality; then it is called darsana
"undifferentiated cognition"; or it grasps a things with its individual
attributes; then it is called jnana "knowledge". Darsana is therefore
formaliter not differentiated cognition (anakaraupayoga), jnana formaliter
differentiated cognition (sakara-upayoga).
Darsana occurs in 4
species, namely as:
1) caksur-darsana,
when produced through the medium of the eye.
2) acaksur-darsana, when
produced through the medium of the other four senses and the manas.
3) avadhi-darsana, if it
occurs on its own account, without the mediation of organs.
4) kevala-darsana, if it
is unlimited, absolute and direct.
The acksur-darsana is
existence in all beings, the caksur-darsana in all who possess an organ of
sight. The avadhi-darsana, the transcendental cognition of corporeal
things, only exists innately in celestial and infernal beings, but can
also arise in fully developed animals endowed with reason and in men,
through ksayopasama. The kevala-darsana only occurs with kevalins, with
men the darsanavarana-karmans of whom are completely annihilated.
There are 5 species of
jnana, namely:
1) mati-jnana,
the knowledge through the medium of the 5 senses and manas.
2) sruta-jnana, the
knowledge which is based on the interpretation of signs, the understanding
of words, writings, gestures, etc.
3) avadhi-jnana, the
transcendental knowledge of corporeal things, occurring without the medium
of organs.
4) manahparyaya-jnana,
the transcendental knowledge of the thoughts of others, occurring without
the medium of organs.
5) kevala-jnana,
unlimited, absolute, direct omniscience.
The kevala-jnana only
exists in kevalins, the manahparyaya-jnana only with men on a high
spiritual plane, who have true belief. The 3 other species of knowledge
can occur however- the avadhi-jnana with similar limitations as the
corresponding darsana-in all beings endowed with reason, even in
unbelievers. But as knowledge is bad (kutsita) as long as it is not
supported by the true belief, because the unbeliever "conceives things
existing and non-existing without distinction and arbitrarily, the jnana
of the mithyadrsti is called "a-jnana" "bad knowledge, ignorance." Thus to
the foregoing 5 species of knowledge three more must still be added,
namely the ajnanas of the above-mentioned 3 species of knowledge (mati-,
sruta-, ajnana). All jivas have therefore ajnana until they have reached
the true belief, but jnana from the moment of the attainment of samyaktva.
Beings whose belief consists of true and false elements, have partly jnana,
partly ajnana.
In worldly souls occur 1
to 4 of the 8 species of knowledge and 1 to 3 of the species of
undifferentiated cognition. The kevalins, however, have only kevala-jnana
and kevala-darsana, be it, because in these two, already all species of
knowledge and undifferentiated cognition are implicitly existing-as in the
ownership of a village the possession of its ground and land is included
(Kg. II 11a)- or be it, because the absolute knowledge so outshines every
kind of partial knowledge, that no longer attention is paid to them, as to
the stars at sunrise (Lp. III 964).
THE ACTIVITY OF THE SOUL.
Kg. I, 85b et seq., 98 et
seq., 123 a et seq., 146a ; II, 44 a et seq., 93b , 99 et seq., 102b; KP.
3 a et seq.; Ps. 4 et seq., 17 et seq., 32 et seq., 88 et seq., 719 et
seq.; Lp. III, 1243; Tattv. II, 26 V, 44, VI, 1, 7, 9; Gandhi 57.
The jiva possesses not
only the faculty of cognition, but also activity. The Jaina philosophy
occupies herein, as well as Nyaya and Vaisesika, the position of the
kriyavada, in contrast with most of the other Indian systems, which deny
every activity to the soul.
The soul has virya
"energy" "infinite capacities of activity ". This innate quality manifest
itself only if the jiva is free from all karman-matter. As long as the
virya-antaraya-k is operating, the virya is, although not completely
eliminated, nevertheless exceedingly restricted. It does not manifest
itself spontaneously, as is the case with released souls, but it is bound
to matter. It needs an organ as "accompanying cause" (sahakarikarana), in
order to be able to act; it needs the medium of the body, the organ of
speech and manas, in order to manifest itself. This form of virya, bound
to matter, is called yoga (activity).
The characteristic mark
of the activity is its causing the movement of the particles of the soul.
It attracts the matter which is necessary for the body, the organ of
speech and manas, changes it into the specific essence of these organs
and, finally, emits it again. Because it continually conveys matter to the
soul, it is the chief cause of the assimilation of new karman; salvation
is therefore only possible, if every yoga has disappeared.
The activity of the soul
is threefold: it consists in thoughts, words and deeds and is, therefore,
produced through the manas, the organ of speech and the body. The two
first species of activity are subdivided into 4 groups, the last into 7.
mano-yoga, activity of the
organ of thinking. It has 4 species:
1) satya
"true". The manas occupies itself with the thinking about a thing that is
true.
2) asatya "untrue". The
manas occupies itself with the thinking about a thing that is not true.
3) satyamrsa "true and
untrue". The manas thinks of something that is partly true, partly untrue.
For instance, it thinks: "this is an Asoka-wood". But in reality, it is
the question of a wood, in which truly there are many Asoka-trees, but in
which there are also growing Dhavala-, Khadira-, Palasa- and other trees.
4) asatyamrsa "neither
true nor untrue". The manas thinks of something that lies outside the
sphere of true and untrue, e.g. "Devadatta, give me the cow".
vag-yoga, activity of speech. The 4 species
correspond to those of the mano-yoga.
kaya-yoga, activity of the
bodies, namely:
1) audarika-kaya-yoga,
activity of the physical body.
2) vaikriya-kaya-yoga,
activity of the transformation-body.
3) aharaka-kaya-yoga,
activity of the translocation-body.
4) karmana-kaya-yoga,
activity of the karman-body; it manifests itself chiefly during the period
between death and re-incarnation.
5) audarika-misra-kaya-yoga,
activity of the physical body mixed with the activity of the karman-body.
6) vaikriya-misra-kaya-yoga,
activity of the transformation-body mixed with that of the karman-body or
with that of the audarika-body.
7) aharaka-misra-kaya-yoga,
activity of the translocation-body, mixed with that of the physical body.
The 3 last mentioned
species of activity take place as long as the physical body, or one of the
other two bodies, is not yet quite developed that is to say, if united
with the karman-body shortly after birth, or if united with the physical
body during the time when the translocation or transformation-body of the
ascetic is not yet quite ready.
