Historical Development Of Jaina Philosophy And Religion

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Z_Jaina_Literature_and_Philosophy_a_Critical_Approach_001936_HR.pdf

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Historical Development of Jaina Philosophy and Religion
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flux of kārmic matter ), not the cause of bondage. Bondage is possible only through the Yoga in association with perverse attitude and passions. The perverse attitude (mithya-darsana ) and the passions (Kasayas) are mutually cause and effect of each other just as the egg and the hen or the seed and the tree. We can not fix the priority of one over the other, passions are due to the perverse attitude and perverse attitude is due to the passions. Early Jaina Doctrine of Karma/Bondage
According to Jaina philosophy every activity of mind, speech and body is followed by the influx of a finer type of atoms, which are technically known as karma-varganā-pudgala. In the presence of passions, this influx (āsrava ) of kārmic matter cause bondage, which is of four types – 1. Kind ( prakịti), 2. quantity (pradeśa ), 3. duration ( sthiti ) and 4. intensity (anubhāga) (Tattvārthasūtra, 8.4). The activities of mind, body and speech, technically known as yogas, determine the prakrti and the pradeśa of kārmic- matter while the passions determine the dura-tion ( sthiti ) and the intensity (anubhāga -mild or intense power of fruition) of the Karma. Karma, in Jainism is the binding principle. It binds the soul with the body hence responsibile for our wordly existence. Karma has the same place in Jainism, as unseen potency ( adrsta ) in Nyāya, Prakrti in Sankhya, Maya in
naya in Vedānta, Vāsanā in Buddhism, Sakti in Saivism and Pāśa (trap ) in sākta school. Karma is something foreign which veils the natural faculties of infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss and infinite power. It is also responsible for our pleasant and unpleasant experiences and worldly existence. According to Vidyānandi, two functions of the Karma are to obscure the natural faculties of soul and to defile the soul. Jainism also believes in the same modus operandi of karma. According to it karma itself is compe-tent to produce its fruit in due course of time and there is no need of God or other external
power for its fruition.
The Karmas are of eight types — (i) jñanavarana : knowledge obscuring, (ii) Darśanīvarana : perception obscuring, (iii) Vedaniya : feeling producing, (iv) Mohaniya : deluding, (v) Ayu : age determining, (vi) Nama : body or personality determining, (vii) Gotra : status determining and ( viii) Antarāya : obstructive (Tattvārthasūtra, 8.5).
Among these eight types of karma, Jñanavarana, darśanāvarana, mohaniya and antarāya - these four are considered as destructive karma or ghati karma, because they obscure the natural faculties of infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss and infinite power, respectively. The other four – vedaniya, ayu, nāma and gotra are called aghāti or non-destructive karma. They are only responsible for bodily existence of present life and incapable of continuing the cycle of birth and death. It is only due to the deluding karma (mohaniya karma) that the cycle of birth and death continues. This deluding karma is responsibile for perversity of attitude and the passions. The emancipation of soul is only possible when the perversity of attitude is destroyed and passions are overcome.
The Uttaradhyayanasūtra says that just as a tree with its root dried up, does not grow even though it is watered, similarly actions (Karma ) do not grow it up when delusion (moha oravidya ) is destroyed ( 28. 30). 30 ). One devoid of a right attitude (darśana ) cannot have right knowledge (jñāna ) and there can not be rectitude of will (carana-guna ) without right knowledge (jñana ). One devoid of the rectitude of will cannot have emancipation from evil will and one devoid of emancipation from evil will ( induced by karma ) cannot attain final emancipation ( 32.9).
The Ultimate End: Mokşa
The attainment of emancipation or mukti is the pivot on which all the ethico-religious philoso