Dr. N.L. Kachhara
In the Agama period, jnana is identified as a means for the ethical progress of the soul; it was one of the constituents of the path of Moksa. Jnana which did not help in obtaining Moksa was ajnana or mithyajnana (perverted jnana). The difference between jnana and ajnana was not objective, but subjective. The cognition of a samyakadristi (a soul with an enlightened worldview), whether logically correct or incorrect, was inherently samyakajnana (enlightened jnana). Similarly, the cognition of a mithyadristi (a soul with a deluded worldview) was ajnana. In the period of logic, jnana was redefined as the property of the soul to apprehend reality. Jnana now became an objective fact.
Cognition, with its two aspects of jnana and darshana, is a permanent feature of the soul. It is not an accidental phenomenon produced by external factors. Different forms of cognition are modes or paryayas of the guna property of the soul.
Gautama: O Lord! Is the soul jnana or ajnana?
Mahavira: O Gautama! The soul is jnana as well as ajnana, but jnana is positively soul.
Thus, both jnana and ajnana are part of the soul.
In the mundane existence of the soul, the jnana is clouded by karma. However, irrespective of this karma veil some jnana always manifests. The manifested jnana is divided into four classes based on its possible applications, which depend on the intensity of the karma veil. When the veil is thicker the manifested jnana is known as matijnana (empirical knowledge), which takes the help of the senses and mind to cognize an object. The jnana is known as srutijnana (articulate knowledge) when the soul cognizes an object that was cognized earlier by another soul. Srutijnana requires matijnana for its manifestation.
When the karma veil is thinner, the soul can directly cognize objects without the help of the senses or the mind. In this state, the soul can perceive objects which are beyond the range of the senses and mind. Direct cognition is of two types. Avadhijnana (clairvoyance) directly perceives both external objects and the self. Manahaparyayajnana (mind reading) directly perceives the thoughts of other mundane souls. When the psychical karma veil is completely eliminated, the pure jnana of the soul, kevalajnana manifests, and can cognize the self in all of its aspects as well as all objects: small and big, near and far, past and future.
