Unknown Pilgrims

SR No.: 007014
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: N Shanta
Publisher: Sri Satguru Publications Delhi
Publication Year: 1997
Total Pages: 820
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

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The Unknown Pilgrims
many separate units, each occupying a pradeśa (unit of space) and together forming one single pradeśa, while the other substances, including the jiva, contain innumerable pradeśas that intermingle.44 The Dravyasamgraha gives this frequently cited comparison: precious stones heaped together form a mass of precious stones, each one nonetheless remaining what it is; in the same way, each region of the universe possesses a unit of time different from the rest; so, the regions being innumerable, kāla is an infinite dravya and kālāņu, each unit of time, is an independent dravya.45
C - Karman: A highly subtle form of matter
Up to this point we have described the essential attributes of what may be called the pure state; now we are going to observe them, within the human person, in the clutches of an external element which bids fair, under different guises, if not to destroy them utterly, at least to tarnish their absolute purity, becloud them to a greater or lesser extent. The element that is here operating is karman, which is of immense importance.46 In the sutra with which this chapter commences the word karman does not appear; in fact, after ajiva comes asrava, which signifies the penetration of the jiva by karmic matter. Before studying in more detail the modes of operation of asrava and its direct repercussions upon the jiva, let us try to elaborate further the idea of karman. According to Jaina doctrine, karman is an extremely subtle form of material substance; it is raja, a very fine dust.47 So karman, as a material substance, belongs to the pudgala category of ajiva. Pudgala, like everything else that is ajiva, is an acetana-dravya, a non-conscious substance. We know, furthermore, that jiva is essentially cetana-dravya, i.e., living and conscious
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44 Cf. PSa II, 43; TS V, 8-9.
45 Cf. DravSam 22-25; TS V, 40
46 Cf. § A where this idea has already been mentioned. Karman means action, either ritual action or a conscious, voluntary act. In Jaina doctrine, yoga denotes action and karman is the consequence of yoga; cf. § D.
47 Cf. PSa II, 95-96.