Imagine an ancient scholar streamlining the endless chatter of the world into five clear streams—no small feat when every whisper felt like a roar. The Sthananga Sutra’s outline of knowledge feels surprisingly modern, almost like today’s data scientists sorting terabytes of information. Here’s how that venerable text breaks it down:

1. Mati-jñāna (Sensory Knowledge)
   What the five senses pick up: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell. It’s the foundation, akin to gathering raw data from sensors or user inputs.

2. Śruta-jñāna (Scriptural or Textual Knowledge)
   Insights drawn from teachings, traditions, and texts. Think of it as diving into peer-reviewed articles or official documentation—relying on trustworthy sources rather than gut feeling.

3. Avadhi-jñāna (Clairvoyant Knowledge)
   Perception beyond immediate senses, limited to a certain range. Feels a bit like next-gen radar or remote-sensing satellites detecting hidden patterns.

4. Manahparyaya-jñāna (Telepathic or Mind-to-Mind Knowledge)
   Direct reception of another’s thoughts, bypassing any physical medium. In today’s lingo, it’s almost like seamless neural interfaces or brain-to-brain data transfer.

5. Kevala-jñāna (Absolute or Omniscience)
   The ultimate, unfiltered truth—no shadows, no blind spots. Comparable to achieving perfect, bias-free AI or unlocking a universal search engine that dives into every corner of existence.

These five categories weave a tapestry that still resonates—whether pondering quantum computing’s limits or the ethics of AI vision. Cutting through the noise, the Sthananga Sutra reminds that every form of knowing carries its own strengths and blind spots. It’s a blueprint for anyone striving to see the forest for the trees, even in the age of Big Data and neural networks.