Some Problems In Jaina Psychology - Book Summary

This document is a summary of the book "Some Problems in Jaina Psychology" by T. G. Kalghatgi, published in 1961. The author's aim is to interpret Jaina psychological concepts in relation to Western thought, particularly 18th and 19th-century psychology. Kalghatgi acknowledges the difficulty of directly comparing ancient Indian thought with modern psychology but seeks to identify potential similarities and highlight the unique contributions of Jaina philosophy to understanding the human mind.

The book systematically explores various facets of Jaina psychology through a chapter-by-chapter analysis, drawing parallels with Western philosophical and psychological concepts where appropriate.

Key Themes and Chapters:

Introduction:
- Aim: To present Jaina psychological problems in light of Indian and Western thought.
- Jainism's Nature: Realistic philosophy, older than Pārśva and Mahāvīra, with influences from the interaction of orthodox Indian thought.
- Indian Mind: Characterized by a synthetic approach, integrating knowledge into a comprehensive view.
- Philosophy and Psychology: In ancient India, psychology was part of philosophy, dealing with the mind. Modern psychology is more empirical and detached.
- Method: Jaina psychology relied on introspection and the insight of sages, not experimentation.
- Plan: The book aims to be analytic and interpretative, comparing Jaina concepts with Western psychology to show potential similar developments.
Chapter I: The Jaina Theory of the Soul:
- Problem of the Soul: A perennial issue in religion and philosophy. Modern psychology replaces "soul" with "self."
- Jaina View: Dualistic (jiva/ajiva). The soul (jīva) is a distinct, permanent, eternal substance. Plurality of souls.
- Noumenal vs. Phenomenal: The soul is viewed from its pure essence (niscaya naya) and its empirical manifestations (vyavahāra naya).
- Characteristics: Pure soul is formless, pure consciousness. Phenomenal soul is associated with karma and embodied existence.
- Upayoga: The essential characteristic of the soul, interpreted as 'horme' (a drive or urge to action).
- Cetanā (Consciousness): An intrinsic quality of the soul, distinct from consciousness as a mere product of physical processes (contrasting with Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika).
- Size of the Soul: Jainism attributes a variable size, conforming to the body, but intrinsically existing in innumerable spatial points (pradeśas).
- Prāṇas: The soul is described with four prāṇas (sense, energy, life, respiration), reflecting psycho-physical factors.
- Types of Souls: Classification based on sense organs (one-sensed, two-sensed, etc.) and completeness (paryāpta/aparyāpta).
- Stages of the Soul: Bahirātman (identification with body/external), antarātman (conscious self), and paramātman (pure, perfect self).
- Upward Motion (ūrdhva gati): The inherent tendency of the soul towards liberation.
- Melioristic Outlook: The universe is a struggle for perfection.
Chapter II: Mind in Jainism:
- Problem of Mind: Elusive, analyzed metaphysically and psychologically.
- Jaina Approach: Mind and nature are distinct and opposed, though with elements of interdependence. Predominantly realistic.
- Mind vs. Soul: Mind is distinct from the soul; non-living substances don't have minds.
- Evidence for Mind: Its operation is inferred from experience, memory, and the necessity for cognition beyond mere sense-object contact.
- Two Phases of Mind:
  - Dravya Manas: The material aspect, the structure composed of fine matter particles (mano varganās).
  - Bhāva Manas: The psychic aspect, the thinking self, mental processes.
- Comparison: Similar to C. D. Broad's distinction of bodily and psychic factors.
- Instrumental Nature: Mind is a 'quasi-sense organ' (no-indriya), different from the five sense organs.
- Aprāpyakāritva: Mind does not physically contact objects, unlike some sense organs. The Jaina view contrasts with the Nyāya view that mind is prāpyakāri.
- Body-Mind Relation: A form of psycho-physical parallelism, with awareness of interaction. Jiva is the substantial cause of psychic changes.
Chapter III: The Jaina Theory of Upayoga:
- Upayoga: The fundamental characteristic of the soul, the source of experience (cognitive, conative, affective). Interpreted as 'horme' (a drive or urge).
- Upayoga Types: Anākāra (formless, indeterminate cognition - identified with darśana) and Sākāra (determinate cognition - identified with jñāna).
- Jñāna and Darśana: Distinguishing between indeterminate (anākāra) and determinate (sākāra) cognition. Darśana is intuition of the general/universal or the self, while Jñāna is specific cognition of external objects.
- Simultaneity vs. Succession: Debate on whether jñāna and darśana occur simultaneously or successively, especially in the case of the omniscient (kevalin).
- Consciousness (Cetanā): An intrinsic, eternal quality of the soul, distinct from the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika view of consciousness as an adventitious quality. Jaina cetanā is pure consciousness, not a product of material elements.
- States of Consciousness: Division into cognitive, affective, and conative aspects.
- The Unconscious: Acknowledged implicitly, with the doctrine of karma bearing resemblance to Jung's 'Collective Unconscious' and its archetypes.
- Pāśyatā: A mental force related to vision, interpreted as 'mneme' (the power of the mind to retain past experiences, forming the basis for new ones).
Chapter IV: The Sense Organs and the Senses:
- Indriya: Sense organs as instruments of knowledge, leading to parokşa jñāna (indirect knowledge).
- Number of Sense Organs: Jainas recognize five sense organs, excluding motor organs (karmendriyas) from being classified as indriyas.
- Structure: Distinction between dravyendriya (physical structure) and bhāvendriya (psychic function).
  - Dravyendriya: Subdivided into nivṛtti (organ itself) and upakaraṇa (protective cover), and further into antaranga (internal) and bahiranga (external).
  - Bhāvendriya: Subdivided into labdhi (manifestation of specific sense experience) and upayoga (hormic force).
- Prāpyakāritva: The capacity of sense organs to come into actual contact with objects.
  - Prāpyakāri: Tactual, gustatory, olfactory senses have direct physical contact.
  - Aprāpyakāri: Visual and auditory senses, and mind, do not have direct physical contact. This contrasts with Nyāya.
- Sense Qualities: Detailed classification of qualities for touch (8 types), taste (5 types), color (5 types), smell (2 types), and sound (7 types). Comparisons are made with modern sensory psychology (e.g., Trichromatic theory vs. Jaina color classification).
- Primacy of Touch: Jainas consider touch primary, as it pervades the whole body.
- Gradation of Animal Life: Classification based on the number of sense organs possessed, reflecting a gradual development of sensory and mental capacities.
Chapter V: The Jaina Theory of Sense Perception:
- Epistemology: Empirical and realistic, with pratyakṣa (direct) and parokşa (indirect) knowledge. Later, mati and śruta were also called saṁvyavahāra pratyakṣa (empirical perception).
- Conditions of Perception: Sense organs, contact with objects (except for vision, according to Jainas), and psychic factors like removal of karmic veils (jñānāvaraṇīya karma), selective attention, and mental set.
- Stages of Sense Perception:
  - Avagraha: Sensation, divided into vyañjanāvagraha (stimulus condition/threshold of awareness) and arthāvagraha (awareness itself/sensation).
  - Īhā: Associative integration, striving to cognize specific features, bringing meaning and coherence.
  - Avāya: Perceptual judgment, determinate cognition, ascertainment of specific features.
  - Dhāraṇā: Retention, absence of lapse of perception, forming mental traces (saṁskāra) and condition for recollection.
- Psychological Significance: The stages represent a breakdown of the perceptual process comparable to structuralist psychology.
Chapter VI: Other Sources of Empirical Knowledge:
- Retention (Dhāraṇā): Condition for memory/recollection, forming mental traces (saṁskāra). Jaina views on its function are debated, with Hemacandra reconciling it as a condition for recall.
- Recollection (Smṛti): A form of memory, revival of past experiences. Validated by Jainas as a source of knowledge (pramāṇa), as it leads to successful action. Conditions include mental dispositions, external (associative laws) and internal (conative urge), and removal of psychic impediments (karmic veils).
- Recognition (Pratyabhijñā): A synthetic judgment combining perception and recollection, establishing identity, similarity, or difference. Considered a valid source of knowledge, distinct from perception and recollection. Contrasted with Buddhist and Nyāya views.
- Inference (Anumāna): Mediate knowledge through a sign (liṅga) and recollection of universal concomitance (vyāpti). Discussed in terms of svārtha (for oneself) and parārtha (for others) inference. Psychological analysis of reasoning, syllogism structure, and conditions like doubt and desire to know are presented.
Chapter VII: Supernormal Perception:
- Pratyakṣa vs. Parokşa: Empirical experience (saṁvyavahāra pratyakṣa) is indirect, while direct soul apprehension (pāramārthika pratyakṣa) is supernormal.
- Indian Recognition: Almost all schools (except Cārvāka and Mimāṁsakas) accepted supernormal perception. Nyāya distinguishes laukika and alaukika pratyakṣa.
- Jaina Classification:
  - Avadhi: Clairvoyance, direct perception of form, varying in intensity, space, and time based on merit and karma destruction. Compared to Western clairvoyance and psychometry.
  - Manaḥparyāya: Telepathy, direct cognition of others' mental states. Restricted to humans with specific characteristics and discipline. Contrasted with Western telepathy and its theories.
  - Kevala: Omniscience, perfect, direct knowledge of all substances and modes, achieved through total karma annihilation.
- Western Psychical Research: Acknowledges phenomena like clairvoyance and telepathy, with increasing experimental investigation.
Chapter VIII: The Journey of the Soul (Doctrine of Guṇasthānas):
- Self-Realization: The soul's inherent capacity to achieve perfection, hindered by karma.
- Guṇasthānas: Fourteen stages of spiritual development, representing the soul's journey towards liberation, linked to karma subsidence and destruction.
- Stages:
  - 1-4: Primarily intellectual, involving perception of truth but lacking moral effort (compared to Plato's Cave parable).
  - 5-14: Involve moral effort, self-control, gradual elimination of passions and karmas.
  - 1-4: Mithyādrsti (wrong belief), Sasvādana samyagdṛṣṭi (transitory right belief), Samyagmithyādrsti (mixed attitude), Avirata samyagdṛṣṭi (right attitude without self-control).
  - 5-8: Deśavirata samyagdrsti (partial self-control), Virata (limited self-control), Pramatta virata (imperfect self-control), Apūrvakarana (new spiritual effort).
  - 9-12: Anivrtti karaṇa (advanced effort), Sūkșma samparāya (subtle passions), Upśānta kaşāya (suppressed passions), Kşīņa kaşāya (destroyed passions).
  - 13: Sayoga kevali (omniscient while embodied), comparable to jīvanmukti.
  - 14: Ayoga kevali (omniscient and liberated, disembodied), the final state of perfection.
- Comparison: Guṇasthānas are compared to Vīraśaiva sat-sthalas, though differences in emphasis (e.g., bhakti in Vīraśaivism vs. self-effort in Jainism) are noted.
Conclusion:
- Summary: Reiteration of Jaina psychological concepts as shades of epistemological and metaphysical inquiry, not a separate science.
- Soul: Pure consciousness, characterized by Upayoga (horme) and Cetanā (intrinsic consciousness).
- Mind: A quasi-sense organ with material (dravya manas) and psychic (bhāva manas) aspects, linked to psycho-physical parallelism.
- Sense Organs: Five sensory organs, with psychological significance in their structure and function (labdhi, upayoga), and the prāpyakāri/aprāpyakāri distinction.
- Sense Perception: Analyzed into four stages (avagraha, īhā, avāya, dhāraṇā), highlighting psychic factors and comparing with structuralist psychology.
- Other Sources: Retention, recollection, recognition, and inference are discussed as contributing to empirical knowledge and memory.
- Supernormal Perception: Avadhi (clairvoyance), Manaḥparyāya (telepathy), and Kevala (omniscience) are direct apprehensions of the soul, distinct from empirical perception.
- Journey of the Soul: The fourteen guṇasthānas represent the soul's path to self-realization through moral effort and karma destruction, compared to Plato's Cave parable.
- Overall Value: The study provides a synoptic view of Jaina psychology by interpreting its concepts within the framework of both Indian and Western thought, emphasizing its philosophical and logical insights rather than empirical science.

The book aims to bridge the gap between ancient Jaina thought and modern psychological understanding, offering a comprehensive overview of Jaina perspectives on the mind, soul, perception, and spiritual development.