Dr. N.L. Kachhara
Clairvoyance is knowledge that is dependent on only the self (soul) and that takes stock of material substances as its objects. Clairvoyance is a limited form of cognition. In the case of the denizens of heaven and hell, clairvoyance is congenital: it appears immediately upon genesis. Cognition does not require the assistance of sense organs but emerges in the soul directly and immediately. This happens only if the veils of obscuring karmas are held in check. In the case of denizens of heaven and hell, their very birth brings about the relevant destruction-cum-suppression of karma, and this is the direct cause of clairvoyance knowledge. In the case of other beings, i.e. humans and animals, clairvoyance is due to the occasional destruction-cum-suppression of the relevant obscuring karmas. Clairvoyance is limited to objects with a shape and form; it does not cognize formless substances like the soul, space, or time. Clairvoyance transcends the barriers of time and space that result from the destruction-cum-subsidence of the karmic veils. The highest type of clairvoyance will cognize all objects with a form, irrespective of their relative position in time or space; the lowest type can perceive a very small fraction of objects and can penetrate only a small part of time and space, and only a part of all modes. When a person has substantially destroyed the influences of karma, he or she acquires the power of direct knowledge of objects that are too distant, minute, or obscure to be observed by the ordinary senses and mind. Clairvoyance differs by degrees, according to the four parameters of space, time, matter, and modes. For example, from the point of view of space, clairvoyant perception extends from an infinitesimal part of space to the whole loka. Similarly, from the point of view of time, it extends from a fraction of a second to a large measure of time, including both the past and future.
Clairvoyance is six-fold: (1) what follows the clairvoyant, (2) what does not follow the clairvoyant, (3) expanding clairvoyance, (4) contracting clairvoyance, (5) clairvoyance vulnerable to loss, and (6) clairvoyance not vulnerable to loss. Clairvoyance is also classified into three kinds: clairvoyance of space (desavadhi), corresponding to non-congenital form, and ultimate and universal clairvoyance (paramavadhi and sarvavadhi), which are possessed by monks and the Omniscient only. The former is liable to reverse, but not the latter two types.
Clairvoyance can also occur in perverted souls (mithyadristi); this is known as vibhangajnana. In this case the soul is not in a state to have a direct perception of objects. How do we explain the process of vibhangajnana? In this case the soul contacts some distant object beyond normal sight. This means that the sense of vision and the brain are not participating in the experience. What else is at work? Perhaps the prana body helps here. As mentioned in Chapter 3, the prana body can produce a kind of wave, prana waves, which could help in making contact with a distant object. It is possible that prana waves are emitted from the prana body, reflected by the object in question and received again by the prana body. The received signals are processed by the conscious mind and the soul knows the target object. Prana, being subtle, is able to work at supernormal speeds and make fast communication possible. This kind of ability is also possessed by many yogis, who can contact distant objects and extend their field of knowledge. The range would depend on the strength of the prana waves and the ability of the mind to analyze the signals received. The image of the distant objects could be blurred or clear depending upon the performance of the mind. It is clear that such super-sensual experiences are beyond the capacity of the gross body and fall into the domain of the subtle cosmic world whose existence and laws have not been discovered by modern science.
Modern science has made great progress; today we are able to communicate with persons in distant parts of the planet via audio and video messages with the help of advanced communication facilities. We are also in a position to see any part of the globe through satellite imagery, such as Google Maps. In a way, these abilities can be said to compare with clairvoyance abilities, but these utilize the powers of pudgala and not that of the soul. This supports the view that vibhangajnana is a physical phenomenon and the application of the prana body in the process proposed above is a likely model of the event.
