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I am the Soul
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same time. If affectations are of infinite types, then karmas too are of infinite type. In a supremely pure jiva, there are infinite virtues. These infinite virtues get perverted due to karma, and that is when infinite affectations of attachment and aversion arise in the jiva. These affectations bind infinite karma. These karmas further suppress the infinite virtues. Thus the cycle of infinite goes on and on. That is why it has been said that karma is of infinite types. The sages, in their own enlightenment, have seen such various affectations and the various karmas that bind due to them. An affected jiva cannot understand this matter with its intellect and hence the sages have divided and classified these infinite affectations into eight types. Those affectations which looked similar, were classified as one category. They called it say, jnanavarniya. What covers avarana - the jnana is all a curtain. Whether thick, thin, light, heavy, strong, worn out, they are all curtains. So they believed, and categorised all these curtains on knowledge as one and called them jnanavarniya. Similarly, other karmas were also explained. Indeed, the reason why these infinite karmas were classified as eight karmas was that in the totally pure and omniscient Siddha Paramatma eight gunas appeared, which were the most valuable among the infinite gunas. For the fading of every one type of karma, one guna appeared. Thus, the karmas which could suppress eight gunas have been categorised as eight types. And thus all infinite karmas were classified within these eight types. They are - 1. Jnanavarniya, 2. Darshanavarniya, 3. Vedaniya, 4. Mohaniya, 5. Ayushya, 6. Nama, 7. Gotra, and 8. Antaraya.
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In these eight karmas, four are of the ghati type and four others are of aghati type. Jnanavarniya, Darshanavarniya, Mohaniya and Antaraya are the ghati karmas. The other four are aghati karmas.
Ghati karmas can be understood in two ways. One understanding can be that because these karmas suppress the
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