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अनेकान्त 65/4 अक्टूबर-दिसम्बर 2012
Part-C
Socio-Spiritual Analysis of Karma Theory
Karma and rebirth are the two most important presuppositions of all schools of Indian Philosophy with the solitary exception of the system of carvaka. The Indian religions are intensely theistic and believe that God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient and hence possessing absolute authority. The carvakas were a school of total materialism and didn't believe in
any metaphysical reality be it soul or God. Both Buddhism and Jainism didn't believe in God as the creator, sustainer and destroyer of this universe. They believe that the universe is anadi, without beginning and ananta, without an end. Among the systematic schools, only the Nyaya Vaiseika admits God as the necessary condition for the fruition of the karman, which remains as an unseen potency (ada) consisting in merit and demerit in the soul. The yoga philosophy admits God only as an object of worship or meditation, and not as an agent in the fruition of the karman. Sacara accords a provisional place to personal God in his monistic vedanta. Even Christian religion also asserts God
but does not believe in the concept of rebirth. The entire ethics of Jain Philosophy is based on the strong foundation of the theory of karma. Now let us proceed to the relevance of this theory. Change of Karma VS Doctrine of Self-effort (puruarthavada) In Jainism, the moral responsibility of each and every karma is not endorsed to the God, but it falls under the orbit of the individual self. This novel concept of moral responsibility of the individual self, which is based on the philosophy of karma can restrain the human race from blaming others for ones good or bad actions. Although it is sure and certain that bound karmas must be experienced by the self someway or the other, after the completion of the duration of karmas. As per Jain philosophy, there are two types of karmic bondage,5 dalika karma and nikacita karma. When the intensity of a bondage is extremely strong, it has to be suffered as it is,it cannot be mitigated. Such karmas are of nikacita nature, they can't be changed in any case.6 The other part of dalika karmas, which occupies the maximum space in the karmic range, is changeable. The unchangeable part of nikacita karma is very small. On the basis of that small part of unchangeable karma, we can't declare that we can't change our destiny or bound-karmas. In Bhagavati Sutra, we get the reference of two types of vedana (sensation) namely, evabhuta and anevabhuta vedana. Evabhuta means to experience the karmas as it is bound. Anevabhuta means to experience the
