________________ CONCLUSION 221 That field is shaped by our own intentions, motives and desires together with the drive with which we conduct our activities. Our activities influence the field and that field influences us. Our present interactive field thus holds the key to our present status and can also help in molding the future. In the East, however, emphasis has rested on the impact of previous Karma, almost to the exclusion of the present one. That needs to be changed and the attention should be drawn to the importance of the present Karma. It should be remembered that if the impact of previous Karma is termed as Prarabdha, the present Karma is termed as Purushartha. Both these aspects have to go hand in hand. Jainism therefore lays emphasis on undertaking Purushartha so as to get rid of Karma and to reach an increasingly higher state. Thus, instead of being a fatalistic concept, the theory of Karma shows how to reach a higher and superior level by steadily removing the Karma. It confers the conviction that the human life is not meaningless. Soul is embedded with infinite bliss, which is not presently manifested on account of the impact of Karma. Tattvartha Sutra explains how to remove that impact. Its concept of Karma relates to the possibilities of liberating ourselves from all its limiting and restraining influences and thereby to attaining the blissful state. It, however, needs to be admitted that the theory of Karma does lay the concept of indelible Karma. That concept pertains to those cases in which a soul might have indulged in a wrong activity with utmost sense of cruelty or wickedness. Thereby one can acquire indelible Karma, which is termed as Nikachit Karma. One cannot be freed from that without bearing the consequences. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
