________________
Karma element
153
of Karma lies in right knowledge that is opposed to ignorance and annihilation of attach'nent and jealousy, i.e., self-control because Karma persists due to ignorance and is also born of attachment and jealousy, The rest of the means--austerity, meditation, devotion etc.,--are accepted as the means of knowledge and control mentioned above,
Thoughts on the element of Karma and its knowers
Persons who believed in the Dharma of actionlessness, had to discuss and analyse the nature of emancipation as also its means; they had also considerably to ponder over the element of Karma. They fixed up the technical terms of Karma and its distinctions; variously analysed and classified the element of Karma from the point of view of cause and effect; they also discussed the capacity of Karma to bear fruit. They also pondered over the time-limit of different consequences and also considered the mutual relations of Kuras. This brought into a system a wbole series of Scriptures of the persons who believed in Nivartaka Dharma with regard to Karma. Again, this continued to develop further with new questions that arose and the answers that were evolved in due course. Different isms in this Nivartaka Dharna held different views according to their own convenience. Exchange of thought continued amongst them as far as rejection of Pravartaka dharmarada was concerned, and unanimity of views also continued in the matter. Even though the literature of Nyāya-Vaiseșika, Samkhya-Yoga, Jaina and Bauddha philosophies available to us today, was mostly composed at a time when the mutual good-will of these views towards each other had considerably declined, still, we find very great similarity in their literature on karma with regard to technical terms, thought content, classification etc., both in words and their purport.
The promulgators of liberation faced one difficult question right from the beginning. It was this. Infinite are the karmas bound to the soul in previous births, and new actions continue to bind themselves round the soul every momect. If this be the case, how is total aanihilation of all Karmas possible? They found out an answer to this very cleverly. To-day we come across brief and
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
