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Kevala jnana (Sanskrit:केवल ज्ञान,IAST:kevala jñāna) orKevala gyana, also known asKaivalya, meansomniscience inJainism and is roughly translated as complete understanding[1] or supreme wisdom.[2]
Kevala jnana is believed to be an intrinsic quality of all souls. This quality is masked by karmic particles that surround the soul. Every soul has the potential to obtain omniscience by shedding off these karmic particles. Jain scriptures speak of twelve stages through which the soul achieves this goal. A soul who has attained kevala jnana is called akevalin (केवलिन्).[3] According to the Jains, only kevalins can comprehend objects in all aspects and manifestations; others are only capable of partial knowledge.[4]
The views of two sects of Jainism,Digambara andŚvētāmbara Jains differ on the subject ofkevalins. According to Digambaras, a kevalin does not experience hunger or thirst, whereas according to Svetambaras, akevalin has normal human needs and he travels and preaches too. Digambara Jains believe that they do not act in the normal sense of the word, that they sit motionless inpadmasana, and that their bodies emitDivyadhvani, a sacred sound which is interpreted by their followers as the fundamental truth.[5][6] According to both traditions, the lastkevalin was a disciple of one of the eleven chief disciples of the lasttirthankara,Mahāvīra; his name is recorded asJambuswami.[7] It is also known that no one after Jambuswami will have the ability to obtain kevala jnana for next tens of thousands of years.
The claim of existence of omniscience by Jains, who deny the existence of a creator god, is a unique phenomenon.[8] TheSutrakritanga text of the Svetambara school, elaborates the concept as all-knowing and provides details of his other qualities.[9] Another text, theKalpa Sūtra, gives details of Mahavira's omniscience:
When the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira had become aJina and Arhat (Arihant), he was a Kevali, omniscient and comprehending all objects; he knew and saw all conditions of the world, of gods, men, and demons: whence they come, whither they go, whether they are born as men or animals or become gods or hell-beings (upapada), the ideas, the thoughts of their minds, the food, doings, desires, the open and secret deeds of all the living beings in the whole world; he the Arhat (Arihant), for whom there is no secret, knew and saw all conditions of all living beings in the world.[10]
Immediately after the death of Mahavira, his discipleIndrabhuti Gautama became akevalin.[11] As per the tradition, the teachings of the tirthankara were memorised and preserved over many centuries.[12]
In the secondUpanga Agama, theRājapraśnīya, there is a dialogue between Kesi, a disciple ofPārśva, andPayasi, amaterialist king. In this dialogue, Kesi proves the existence ofjiva and its ability to obtain kevala jñana to the king.[13]
The Jains have a long debate withHindus andBuddhists regarding omniscience.BhikkhuDharmakirti criticised the Jain notion of omniscience in hisPramanavartika. The Hindu philosopherKumarila argued that onlyVeda had the authority to define human moral values since they were "beginningless, authorless and of self-sufficient validity". In response, theJain monkHaribhadra (c. 5th century CE) wrote that humans already had knowledge of everything knowable. It only had to be illuminated or uncovered.[14] Omniscience was, according to Haribhadra, inherent to living beings.[15]
Samantabhadra was the first philosopher-monk in the history of Indian philosophy who tried to use inference as a method to establish the existence of omniscience.[16] In his famous work,Aptamimamsa, Samantabhadra asserts:
Objects that are minute (like atoms), past (like Lord Rama), and distant (like Mount Meru), being the objects of inference (anumeya – and, therefore, also objects of knowledge –prameya), must be perceivable directly by someone; like the fire on the hill is an object of inference for a distant person but is perceived directly by the one who is in its proximity. The one who perceives directly the objects of knowledge that are minute, past, and distant is the Omniscient (sarvajña); this way the existence of the Omniscient is truly and firmly established.
— Āptamīmāṁsā (5)[17]
Akalanka (c. 720–760 CE) put forward the concept ofsuniscita-asambhavad-badhaka-pramana as a reason for the existence of omniscience. This concept is a well-known fact which is "we have no valid methods of knowing to deny the existence of omniscience."[18]Hemacandra (c. 1088 – c. 1173) combined Samantabhadra and Akalanka's ideas ofsarvajña in hisPramanamimasa to establish the existence of omniscience.[19]
In Jain epistemology, there are two kinds of valid methods of knowledge:pratyakṣa or "direct knowledge" andparokṣa or "indirect knowledge". Kevala jñana is consideredpratyaksa.[20] Five ways of obtaining knowledge are defined:matijñana acquired through sensory perception;srutajñana acquired through understanding of verbal and written sentences;avadhijñana,manhaparyaya jñana andkevala jñana.[21]
Jains contrast all attempts to proclaim absolute truth withAnekantavada, which can be explained through the parable of the "blind men and an elephant". In this story, each blind man felt a different part of an elephant (trunk, leg, ear, etc.). All the men claimed to understand and explain the true appearance of the elephant, but could only partly succeed, due to their limited perspectives.[22][self-published source?] This principle is more formally stated by observing that objects are infinite in their qualities and modes of existence, so they cannot be completely grasped in all aspects and manifestations by finite human perception. According to the Jains, only theKevalis—omniscient beings—can comprehend objects in all aspects and manifestations; others are only capable of partial knowledge.[23] Consequently, no single, specific, human view can claim to representabsolute truth.
According to Jain texts, there are fourteen stages (gunasthana) of spiritual development. The soul can gradually free itself, firstly from the worst, then from the less bad and finally from all kinds of karma, and manifests the innate qualities of knowledge, belief, and conduct in a more and more perfect form. The first fourgunasthana are related to belief or rationality in perception. If and when the soul acquires rationality in perception, it moves on to the 4thgunasthana. Stages 5 to 14 relate to conduct. The purity in conduct determines thegunasthana from 5th stage onwards. Those who have taken theanuvratas {minor vows} may reach up to the 5thgunasthana. The 6th to 14thgunasthanas can only be attained by those who have taken theMahavratas (major vows) ofJain ascetic.[24] Following are the stages of spiritual development:[25][26]
| No. | Gunasthana | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | mithya-drishti | The stage of wrong believer |
| 2. | sasvadana-samyagdrsti | The stage of one who has a slight taste of right belief |
| 3. | misradrsti | The stage of mixed belief |
| 4. | avirata-samyagdrsti | The stage of one who has true belief but has not yet self-discipline |
| 5. | desavirata | The stage of partial self-control |
| 6. | pramatta-samyata | The stage of complete self-discipline, although sometimes brought into wavering through negligence |
| 7. | apramatta samyata | The stage of self-control without negligence |
| 8. | nivrtti badra samparaya | The stage of one in whom the passions are still occurring in a gross form |
| 9. | annivrtti badara samparaya | The stage of one who practices anivratti karana; however, the passions are still occurring |
| 10. | suksama samparaya | The stage of one in whom the passions occur in a subtle form |
| 11. | upasana kasaya vitaraga chadmasta | The stage of one who has suppressed every passion but still does not possess omniscience |
| 12. | ksina kasay vitaraga chadmasta | The stage of who has annihilated every passion but does not yet possess omniscience |
| 13. | sayogi kevalin | The stage of omniscience with activity |
| 14. | ayogi kevalin | The stage of omniscience without any activity |
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