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The soul is the foundation of all the thinking, contemplation and deliberation of Jain philosophy. The soul is an all-powerful, independent force. It is the creator of its own happiness and sorrow, and it is also the one who experiences the fruits of its actions. The soul itself is formless, perfectly pure, but it is embodied with the body and wanders in the world in an impure state. Even though it is itself the embodiment of supreme bliss, it is being ground in the cycle of happiness and sorrow. Even though it is immortal, it is flowing in the stream of birth and death. The soul, which is endowed with supreme power, is also suffering in the form of the poor, the miserable, and the destitute. What is the reason for this?
Jain philosophy, while examining this reason, says that karma is what makes the soul wander in the world. Karma is the root of birth and death - "Kammam cha jai maranassa mulaṃ" - this statement of Bhagwan Shri Mahavira is literally true, a fact. Due to karma, this world is constantly changing in its diverse and strange cycles of events. While theistic philosophies have attributed this diversity of the world and happiness and sorrow to God, Jain philosophy has attributed the cause of all happiness and sorrow and the diversity of the world primarily to the soul and its main helper, karma. Karma is not an independent force, it is itself pudgala, inert. But when karma is performed by the soul, which is under the influence of attachment and aversion, it becomes so powerful and potent that it binds the doer in its own bondage. It makes the master dance like a servant. This is the strange power of karma. What is karma, the main seed of all the changes in our life and the world, what is its nature? How do its various results come about? This is a very serious subject. In Jain philosophy,