Perception is direct knowledge and definite truth

 

For Hindu Nayaya, perception is the definite and true knowledge. Knowledge because of stimulation of sense organs perceiving objects directly is definitely a cognition. Nyaya Sutra defined perception as a definite cognition which is produced by sense object contact and it is therefore true or unerring. For example, seeing a cow with four legs, two horns, tail and same shape give us knowledge that cow is coming from opposite side. Similarly, a table in front of me and a fan on the roof hanging over me is the plane definition of perception.

Now Nayayaikas went deep in describing the concept of perception, they said that there are classified into two types in which first is ordinary (laukika) and another is extraordinary (alaukika). The ordinary perception is a simple way in which usual way sense comes into contact with the objects presented but in extraordinary perception in which an object as such is not ordinarily present to senses but is conveyed to sense through perception. That means, seeing a cow is an ordinary perception and feeling humidity is the perception of perspiration or up coming rains. Nayaya, again divided perception into two different kind, external (abhyaya) and internal (manas). The external is because of the senses like touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste and the internal is when the stimulation comes into contact of mind and it is called state of process. For example, we see a cow as an external perception but the cow is hungry or thirsty is an internal perception.

Nayaya went deep into explaining the concept of perception because for them, the reality or the knowledge is possible only through perception and therefore it is important to understand the concept to reach and prove that knowledge through perception is the right cognition. Nayaya as per Nayaya Sutra, in ordinary perception divided perception into six kinds- visual, auditory, tactual, gustatory, olfactory and mental perceptions.

In extraordinary perception there are common character, knowable character and mediating character. Nayaya, after introducing the extraordinary perception explained the concept in brief and said that common character extraordinary perception is like when we ask whether all men are mortal. In such perception the query and knowledge are required and to get the perception that all men are mortal we should ask whether there is any man who had not died or at present there is any man who will not die. Nayaya explained that, how do we know about the while class of men. We cannot know anything about the whole class through ordinary perception but with common character we can perceived that all men are mortal or all cows eat grass or water flows from high to lower ground is the remarkable way of class perception as Nayaya advanced forward.

Similarly, the knowable extraordinary perception is that we know about the character of an object or a class like when we say ice, we know ice is cold or fire is hot or stone is hard. We perceive without coming directly into the contact of an object through extraordinary perception that the house is on fire means the place went hot and thus, Nayaya tried to explain the knowable character as the source of knowledge.

In mediating character of extraordinary perception, Nayaya, advanced that the perception is intuitive of objects in past, present and in future. There are two schools that described differently to the mediating character of extraordinary perception in which the first one talks about the extraordinary power of human to understand and describe the future or the past of an object, man or of a class and said that such intuitive knowledge can be possible through the meditation of mind. But another school said that by mediating character of extraordinary perception means that we already know about the past or future through our past experiences such as when we see curd, we know that it was milk before or when we see cotton, we know that it will turn into a cloth.

Nayaya move far forward to make perception understand and therefore divided again ordinary perception into two more kinds, indeterminate or indefinite (nirvikalpaka) and determinate or definitive (savikalpaka). The indeterminate perception is the primary cognition of an object. For example, if we see a mango on our table and immediately, we apprehend the color, shape taste and smell of that mango. We apprehend the general character of an object but not the real character of the object which is a mango on our table. The general character is not the definite character of the object which we perceive.

But in determinate ordinary perception, we, personally, see the color of the mango on table, then taste it, smell it and confirmed that these are the character of this mango which was lying on my table and confirm directly the knowledge of the object is the determinate way of ordinary perception as per Nayaya school of thoughts.

Nayaya also introduced concept of recognition (pratyabhijnaa) in which we immediately know that the thing which we now cognize is the same as that which we had cognized before. The principle of recognition is the process of knowledge and we recognize similar things, similar people and similar animals. Without the concept of recognition, we have to develop and re-develop the characters of mangos everyday.