Dr. N.L. Kachhara
Mind-reading, or the cognition of mental modes, is the revealer of the modes of the substance of which mind is made. Mind-reading is the direct knowledge of the thoughts of others. Scholars are divided as to whether mind-reading should be conceived as perceiving the states and modes of mind alone, as held by Jinabhadra (7thCE), Hemchandra (11thCE), etc., or if it can also perceive external objects known to the mind, as held by Pujyapada Devanandi (6thCE). The latter view holds that, since minds are conscious of objects, objects can also be perceived by mind-reading.
Mind-reading is of two varieties: Simple Direct knowledge (Riju-mati) of simple mental things, viz., of what a person is thinking now; and Complex Direct knowledge (Vipulamati) of complex mental things, viz., of what a person is thinking now, what he or she thought in the past and what he or she will think in the future. Naturally, the latter is of purer quality and more lasting, more vivid though narrower in scope, and therefore superior in the spiritual sense.
Mind-reading is superior to clairvoyance in respect to purity, scope, and knowing the subject and content. Mind-reading takes cognizance of a larger number of details than clairvoyance does. Clairvoyance is possible in all four realms of existence (human beings, animals, and denizens of heavens and hells). Mind-reading, on the other hand, is possible only in human beings. Clairvoyance perceives all material objects that are possessed of colour and shape, whereas mind-reading is limited to the perception of an infinitesimal part of the substances known by the object person. A closer study will reveal that the line of demarcation between clairvoyance and mind-reading is not very clear; qualitatively, they appear to be of the same type.
