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NIRGRANTHA DOCTRINE OF KARMA-A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BHAGAVATI).
enjoy an admixture of happiness and misery.
A number of instances, contained in Bhagavati, depict the consequences in terms of karma-bondage, of the day to day affairs of the persons, hailing from all walks of life viz. monks, laymen warriors, physicians, merchants etc. The routine affairs and activities like laughing, licing, litting-fire have been made subject to karma-bondage.
Bhagavati maintains that knowledge and belief of the present existence will continue in the next existence but conduct, asceticism and self-discipline will not.22 Beings without self-discipline, not observing commandments, and not renouncing bad karman may become gods in the abode of Vaṇamantaras etc. On account of unwillingly suffered, thirst, hunger etc. Jaina monks because of doubt, desire, uncertainty, defection and blemish, bind Kamkṣamohaniya karman."T1. consequences, for a monk, of taking food intentionally prepared for him results in binding all eight karman, except quantity of life." The İryapathika karman bound, by monks is consumed within two samayas. The activity of monk is due to pramāda (carelessness) and due to Yoga (activity). Teacher (Upadhyaya), serving his gana, well, will attain liberation.27 A monk transgressing prohibitions and enjoying prohibited objects, binds seven types of karman, except age determining Karman."
In hundreds, thousands and millions of years, a
hellish being does not cosume as much karman as a monk annihilates in an instant.
If a layman, having practised samayika, stays in an upāśraya (monasteries), performs an passional influx action and not an passionless influx because his self is attached to activity.30 A layman giving virtuous food to monks etc, brings about annihilation of karman. Even though the food is impure, the annihilation of karman, he brings about is still greater than the inauspicious act he commits.31 If a monk gets an arsa and a physician gently cuts it off, in that physician binds karma where as the monk does not.32 Again if two equally strong men fight, the one whose karman results in Viriya wins.33 A buyer and a seller bind karmas due to special cases of bying and selling." Bhagavati mentions that whenever a person, who
by their ownselves. The souls are reborn on the strength of their own Karmas. 10 The actions of livig beings are always experienced by the mind." The single being and indeed the entire (animate world) acquires its diversity as a result of karman.12 All the beings acquire a certain ayu without being aware of it."3 The soul, who has already bound karman may or may not again bind bad karman in present and future," The state of one who is free from Karman must be conceived as a state of being unconnected, undefiled and of distinct condition going undisturbedly to the target i.e. attaining Siddhahood at Siddhasthana."
In Bhagavati, Mahāvīra is also seen as refuting the postulates of other systems relating to karman doctrine." The heretics maintain that those, killed in wars reborn among the gods. Refuting it Mahavira cites a few examples of wars, with the number of killed therein and the name of their existences in the next world. For example, in Rathamusala Sangrama (War of the chariot with the mace.) out of the 9,600,000 men killed, 10,000 of whom were reborn as the roe of a fish, one was reborn among the gods, one in a good family, the others among hellish and animals.
The contention of heretics is that living being at the same instant acquires karma, determining two life spans the span of this life and that of the next. Against this Lord maintains" that a living being acquires karma, determining one life-span only, may be of this or of the next.
Against the postulates of others that a living being performs two activities at the same time, which are activity due to movement and that due to passions, Lord Mahāviral preaches that a living persons at one time performs only one activity.
A living being experiences, at anyone time, one lifespan, may be life span of this birth or the life-span of the next.19
Also against the postulate of heretics that the perception (Vedana) of all the four types of beings always corresponds with the actions performed, Nirgrantha doctrine maintains that beings may or may not correspond.
Jainas also refute the contention of the heretics that all beings only experience suffering. According to Mahavira, some of the beings suffer only misery and rarely happiness, while some of these experience only happiness and rarely any misery. There are also some who
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