Bhagvana Mahavira

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 56

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Bhagavān Mahāvīra.
One is reborn as a man or an animal in accordance with his karma. A man who practises fraud, deceit and speaks untruth is reborn as an animal. On the other hand, man who is by nature gentle, meek, compassionate and without jealousy, is reborn as a man.
Bhagavān Mahāvīra explained the nature of Bondage and Liberation to another visitor called Mandita. The Bhagavān said, “Maņdita, the soul becomes bound by karma. You are confused by the question whether this bondage has a beginning or not. Your contention is : If the bondage has a beginning, one has to accept anyone of the following three alternatives:
1. The existence of the soul is antecedent to that of karma, or
2. The existence of karma is antecedent to that of the soul, or
3. The soul and karma came into existence simultaneously.
"All these three alternatives are, however, unacceptable. Now if the bondage of karma were beginningless, nobody would be able to get out of it and there would be no liberation.
"My dear pundita! your confusion is because you are taking a onesided view of things. Looked at from the point of view of anekantavāda (i.e., by considering all the aspects), the relationship between the soul and karma has a beginning as well as it is beginningless. There was no time in the past when the soul was not bound by karma. Past karmas leave their effects on the soul and present actions wrap it in new layers of karma-atoms. Looked at this relationship as a process, it has no beginning, but looked at it from the point of view of a particular karma, it has a beginning."
The Bhagavan explained to Maurya and Akampita the nature of heaven and hell respectively.