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I am the Soul
497 It is evident from this that the situations through which one is passing at present are all because of the good and evil karmas. Only the karmas of the past are arising and providing their respective results. Not all jivas have similar karmas. Each jiva while in various life forms in different species at various times has accumulated various types of karmas on account of various feelings harboured. Inspired by the rise of those karmas, all jivas being affected in various ways, again accumulate various types of karmas. As an effect of those karmas all jivas undergo different interactions. That is why we notice all these disparities.
The karmic atoms, in spite of being inanimate, react in various ways with the jiva acting as the reason. So long as these atoms have not transformed into karmas, there is no difference between them, they are all identical. But the variety of the feelings of attachment and aversion in the jivas brings in a variety in the karmic atoms.
In this way, there are infinite categories of atoms in this universe, which of their own independent volition, do not cause any benefit or loss to a jiva. But the jiva absorbs these groups of atoms, and then there occurs a transformation in them and various effects become visible.
The atoms naturally join with and separate from each other. So long as it is alone it is an atom. But when two or more atoms get together, they form a group-a skandha. Without any sort of involvement of any jiva, there are infinite skandhas floating about this universe. In such skandhas, certain varying capabilities arise on their own. As a result of this, the skandhas become useful to jivas. Such skandhas are of eight types –
1. Karma category: These are the skandhas which the jiva can absorb with feelings of attachment and aversion and which have the ability to transform into karmas. They remain with the
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