Scientific Foundations Of Jainism

SR No.: 022772
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: K V Mardia
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd
Publication Year: 1990
Total Pages: 146
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 16 MB

Page 67

6
EXTREME ABSORPTION OF KARMONS (AXIOM 4B)
Axiom 4B "Violence to oneself and others results in the formation of the heaviest new karmic matter, whereas helping others towards moksa with positive non-violence results in the lightest new karmic matter".
6.1 THE AXIOM
FROM THE PREVIOUS chapter we know the agents which make the karmic flow possible. In Chapter 5 we have also mentioned that under positive yoga, the karmons get converted into light karmic matter whereas under negative yoga, the karmons get converted into heavy karmic matter. Conversely, the emission of that light karmic matter leads to good fruits while the fusion of that heavy karmic matter leads to bad fruits, e.g. light karmic matter may provide a better environment for spiritual progress whereas heavy karmic matter may lead to a lower form of life in future cycles.
Now there arises the question of how one gathers the lightest or the heaviest karmic matter. The actions which are responsible for these two extremities of fusion are violence and non-violence respectively (see, Fig.6.1). Here, the word violence is used broadly. One commits violence to oneself or to others through volitional activities of body, mind and speech, or by urging others to commit violence or by approving violence committed by others. Further, the term violence implies any action accompanied by the giving of pain and the heightening of passion. Of course, the term includes killing which is reprehensible not only for the suffering of the victims but more for the highest degree of passions which significantly strengthens the killer's karmic bondage.
From Axiom 1 we are aware of the aspiration of all living beings to remove their karmic matter. Helping them towards this objective with dynamic non-violence rather than self-pity is positive nonviolence. The intrinsic property of the soul is to "live and help others to live" (Appendix 3B, q.6.1) i.e. the function of every soul is to gain mutual benefits by interacting with all others for the common good