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capabilities and then deludes the conduct i.e. spiritual practice to make progress in its journey to attain Jinahood.
Two processes are required for de-bonding of karmas from soul, namely: Samvara (stoppage) i.e. no bonding of new karmas and Nirjara i.e. dissociation of accumulated karmas. Stoppage is instrumental in dissociation. Stoppage is affected by attitudes of restraint / control and carefulness in activities, virtues (ten characteristics of the soul), Contemplations, Endurances of bodily afflictions and practice of conduct. Nirjara (Dissociation / annihilation of bonded karmas) is affected by observing twelve types of Tapa (austerities) along with stoppage.
Complete annihilation of bonded karmas from the soul is called Moksha or liberation and the pure soul stays in this state forever enjoying its inherent nature.
Besides the above, another interesting aspect of Jain karma doctrine is the capability (energy or Virya) of soul to make efforts to change the state of most of karmas bonded with it thereby changing the inauspicious results to auspicious, extending the duration of auspicious results and reducing the results of inauspicious karmas.
Logic in Jainism Distinguishing characteristic of living being is its being sentient i.e. having consciousness and its manifestation as awareness / intuition and knowledge. Hence knowledge exists nowhere else except in the soul of each and every living being. Pure soul is just consciousness or pure or full knowledge and empirical soul has lower levels of this manifestation of knowledge that is directly proportional to the level of bondage of the awareness and knowledge obscuring karmas. The state of this knowledge capability of the soul can be understood by the state of moon on full moon night and its gradual decline over the period of its movement to no moon night, even though moon with its full glory exists but the veil of clouds or other obstructing objects like sun etc cause the decline of luminosity of moon light to us.
Pg.234 Gandhi & Jainism
