________________
3T
65/4, 3tra-f
ore 2012
73
being fully worked out in this life, need a future life for their consumption. The doctrine of immortality of the soul which justifies the belief in a future existence of the individual, equally justifies the pre-existence of the Law of Karma.
Karma, according to Jains, is of material nature, is a matter in a subtle form, having a substantial force. It has the property of developing the effects of merit and demerit. The soul, by its dealing with the outer, becomes associated with the particles of subtle matter scattered throughout the universe. These become Karma and build up a special body called Karmanasarira, which does not leave the soul till its final emancipation. As per Jain view, each Karma works in such a way that every change which takes place leaves a mark on our character. It produces effects on character, disposition, instincts and tendencies of the doer. The word saskaara is meant for the physcial, moral and mental traits with which a person is born. They form part of his personality and are borne by him in this life time and carried into a future existence. This leads us to conclude that all that exists and happens in the phenomenal world is if,. Thus, it may be said that all our miseries as well as happiness are due to our own Karmas. (the outcome our own deeds of. So, if our deeds are good, the results are also good and they are bad they lead to bad results.
The general maxim, 'As you sow, so shall you reap', which formulates the essence of the law of Karma, has no evidence in the empirical world. If we try to look into the lives of individuals, the law is operative in its negative form. You do wrong, and still you lead a happy life. You are virtuous still your life is full of miseries. Such cases have, no doubt, been attempted to be reconciled with the law of Karma on the other grounds, specially the present one. But what is the scientific basis for the acceptance of the past life cases? Cases have been reported wherein some persons are believed to be narrating the incidents of past life. But we have not as yet found an instance which has received universal acceptance as the scientific laws. Observation and experiment are the two important steps of scientific procedure. It is on the basis of verification that scientific laws are established. Can the law of karma be verified? The analysts would surely brush aside such laws for the simple reason that they are meaningless, because this theory cannot be verified empirically. So we have no scientific evidence for the law of karma. The law of causation itself is a presumption which has not been proved conclusively. Still moral arguments adduced in support of the law of karma can at best put in the category of a postulate of morality. Not only morality but also the entire structure of Indian philosophy rests
