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COMPENDIUM OF JAINISM
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undertaken voluntarily as acts of self--purification. There is no evil object behind it and the mind is full of calm and balance. A surgeon causes pain but his object is to cure the patient from the disease so as to free him from pain and further suffering.
These are the eight kinds of Karmas which infect the purity of the soul and obscure all or some of its inherent qualities. They are like foreign forces changing the direction of the course of soul and leading to entanglement in worldly existence. They are the real causes of ignorance, suffering, short-comings in life and inequalities in status. Our mind, speech and body are the real causes of their influx.
The theory of Karma is not the theory of fatalism. It is the law of cause and effect. It is the moral law of causation which shows that we are the makers of our fortunes or misfortunes. If a man enjoys or suffers, he does so as a consequence of his actions, thoughts or speech. The sense of fatalism comes in only when we overlook the element of choice. Under the influence of desire for champagne, a man may choose to drink it, though he may understand quite well that his body will be better served by choosing milk. The desire does not compel, it is only the instrumental cause of man's choice to drink champagne in preference to milk. He has the power of choosing to drink milk. When this is remembered, then there is no sense of fatalism in the act performed.29
It would be further evident that this law of causation is not machanical because consciousness is its essential factor. Life is a long journey; the living being moves on; if it desires its journey to be smooth and free from accidents, the brake of self-control has to be applied constantly. The passions are the forces that may try to derail the train but the knowledge of the real path and the faith in the efficacy of our vision must lead it to its real destination.
All living beings are born in a state of existence (gati) with a body with its span of life, colour, its environment and other
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