Form of Omniscience

The form of Omniscience or Keval gyana of the Sarvagna has been described extensively by acharya Kunda Kunda in Pravachansar. It has also been defined by acharya Bhutabali in in Mahabandha in the following way :

The knowledge which knows all knowables and there does not exist a knowable , which is not known to him. He knows all in the aspects of dravya , kshetra, kala and bhava simultaneously.

 It is correctly postulated that if it took some time for him to know then it would take infinite time to know all, which is not feasible. Hence it has to be at same time together. All bhavas  implies all paryayas of all dravyas which itself tell that all possible future mode are not hidden from him. It definitely is not devoid of time or kala also since all knowable have to be known to him and future for us is a knowable. In fact it  would be ironic to say that keval gyana does not know future while avadhi gyana or Manah Paryaya gyana know the future.

In this regard there are a few misconceptions which I would like to describe and submit my arguments against them :

A. First misconception is that omniscient does not know all. He knows himself and is engaged in self contemplation all the time but he does not know other knowables. His knowing of others is described in Vyvhara sense only but he does not know others in real view or nischaya sense.

If we believe this to be correct then we will have to discard a considerable amount of scripture. Our scriptures are  written by Gautam Ganadhara based on the divine sermon of Bhagwan Mahavira. We cannot suppose that Gautam Gandhara described all on his own , or his knowledge was greater than that of Bhagwan Mahavira. Without the knowledge of the Omniscient we would not know the following at all :

1.                          The sequence of  24 tirthankaras with  Bhagwan Adinath being the first. After all historically we know only upto Bhagwan Neminatha . Who told us of Bhagwan Adinatha if not the Omniscient ? In fact the entire Prathamanuyoga is  attributed to Omniscient.

2.                          The existence of jiva in the forms of  trasa or sthavar as known to us. Only an Omniscient could have described that Jivas are in the one sense form also as we know today.

3.                          The existence of parmanu which is not visible or even imaginable was known to Omniscient .

4.                          The concepts of kala, dharmastikaya, adharmastikaya  and akasha  which are highly scientific and remarkable , could not have been conceived without Omniscient describing them to us. The entire loka description is also based on his sermon.

5.                          Even the concepts of karma which is in particle form for attaching with the soul and energy or vargana form  on fruitation  and the entire karma theory could not have been known without an Omniscient.

These are only few of the examples . In fact one can easily go on and on. The reason Jainism is different from other religions is that here every thing is attributed to be known from Omniscient while in others the knowledge is based upon the imagination of some authors  which cannot withstand a critical scrutiny.

        Hence it would be correct to conclude that Omniscient knows all in totality that includes self as well as others and based upon his knowledge only we know  Jainism in the form we know today and not based upon the imagination of someone else.

B . Second misconception is that Omniscient knows all that has past and upto present but not the future. Some people have described that his knowledge is like a mirror in which all up to present is seen but not the future. 

        It is a surprise that when the knowledge of the Omniscient is so magnificent that he knows the entire space to the minutest degree to total infinity, people do not believe that his knowledge would also know the other dimension of time from beginningless time to the endless time in future. In fact Space and time are two dimensions   in which knowledge extends totally. It  would be wrong to believe that while one dimension  that of space can be known in totality , the other dimension that of time can be known in a limited way only. However some people think that future is unknowable. We have following examples which prove otherwise:

1.      The prediction of Bhagwan Adintha that Marici would be 24^th Tirthankara  Bhagwan Mahavira.

2.       The prediction of burning of Dwarka by Bhagwan Niminatha

3.      The knowledge of  cycle of time as known today i.e the sixth kala Dushma Dushma would follow in future and its reversal subsequently.

4.      Prediction of King Shrenik being the first tirthankara in future.

5.      Existence of Simandhar Bhagwan in Videh Kshetra.

Here too considerable number of examples may be quoted. In conclusion, it is wrong to believe that a knowledge as perfect as Omniscient’s would be imperfect in respect of future and inferior to that of avadhigyani or manahparyaya gyanis.

Implication:  The implication is important since there are few misconceptions. This is a direct consequence of the acceptance of the fact that omniscient knows all present , past and future.

        It implies that whatever we do is already known to the omniscient. In fact he also knows each deed we will do in future.

        This statement perturbs some people since they think that it means everything is predestined  and if such is the case , then what is there for them to do ?

        Actually it is incorrect to presume that  just because Omniscient knows everything, he controls our destiny. For example if he knows that we will make effort and achieve salvation. It implies we will be making effort also and achieving salvation also. Salvation would not come by sitting idle and not making effort. He cannot change our future. Hence why this dilemma ?

        But some people still think that it leaves  them without scope for purushartha and dependent on his knowledge . To clarify this , we should understand what is purushartha itself.

Purushartha : Acharya kundakunda  has clearly defined what is purushartha for the Jiva in Samaysaar. In real view it is realization of the self, understanding / knowledge of the self and finally contemplation of the self and remaining with the self. This is real purushartha. Everything outside this is Vyvhara which has to be discarded. Even the thoughts of charity or devotion are Vyvhara which  only contribute to the karmas. If one believes that he can do purushartha  by doing any act of the body then he is ignorant or Mithya Drishti. Samaysar tells that even the Bhavas are due to karmas hence they too have to be discarded. Hence firstly the belief  has to be corrected that one can do purushartha any way other than the real way. In turn this means that one has to realize the form of the self which is that of the nature of omniscient , understand the capability of this omniscience and contemplate upon the same to achieve it. This is the only and true purushartha .Everything outside this is nothing but ignorance and the dance of the karmas.

Finally : The omniscient has stated the law of total independence of the soul. It is absolutely independent to achieve salvation and nothing… repeat… nothing can stop it. It is for us to act upon it.