Introduction to Jainism

Author(s): Rudi Jansma, Sneh Rani Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 81

KARMA
79
Minerals, water, air, fire and invisible beings also have a soul, a consciousness, according to Jainism. This means that every creature has a measure of responsibility for itself, and consequently the energy of their conscious activities creates bondage to karma. For every single creature the biblical saying “as one sows so shall one reap" applies. The Bible has summarized the doctrine of karma in this one line. “Do as you would be done by others” (even without thinking of any result for oneself) and "give as you would want to receive” are the popular sayings, which actually mean nothing else than to practice karma. However, the result may not show itself quickly - perhaps karma will not into fruition until a future embodiment. Karma is like a seed and its flower, where the seed is an act of consciousness. Some seeds lay in wait for years or centuries to germinate. Others germinate immediately and grow and bloom. Still others germinate, but the sapling remains small until the environmental circumstances are suitable for its growth. Then it may grow and bloom very quickly and unexpectedly. According to Jainism bad karmas manifest themselves first, thus testing the stamina and tolerance of a person. Thereafter good results come. Karmic results may present themselves to us in various ways, as we can easily recognize in daily life. Some karmas manifest almost unnoticed in the beginning, and then slowly increase to their highest effect level, thus bringing more and more joy or trouble, as the case may be. Then suddenly it comes to an end. We may experience periods of increasing luck in our lives which we can not explain, but that period seems to be over at once, and we can not explain that either. But it is one of the ways in which karma manifests. Another possibility is that a particular karmic effect suddenly appears in full bloom, as is the case in an accident, but after the accident recovery takes place slowly, until finally the karma is completely exhausted. A third possibility is that it grows slowly to its highest manifestation and then slowly subsides. Many diseases run this course. Also important is that one seed may bring forth many other seeds, which will each have its own way, but are