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ghatin or obscuring and four aghatin or non-obscuring. The four, ghātin karmas viz. jñānāvaraṇīya, darśanāvaraṇīya, mohanīya and antarāya obstruct the soul's infinite knowledge, faith, bliss and power respectively. The four aghatin karmas viz. ayus, nāma, gotra and vedaniya determine the age, personality, species and pleasure and pain which a soul would obtain in a given span of life. They however, do not obstruct the soul's perfection.
JAIN JOURNAL
From the point of view of the spiritual ascent, mohaniya karmas are the most important. These are twenty eight in number and are classified into two main categories: dar san mohaniya and căritra mohaniya. The darśan mohaniya, three in number obstruct the faith and right attitude of the soul and are responsible for keeping it at the three lowest rungs of spiritual ladder. The twentyfive caritra mohaniya karmas prevent the soul from undertaking right conduct and are responsible for desires and passions and for various grades of immoral conduct. These are of two types: those responsible for sixteen kaṣāyas and those responsible for nine no-kaṣāyas. There are four kaşayas or evil tendencies or passions viz. anger, egoism, deceit, and greed or attachment (krodha, māna, māya, lobha). Each of these has four degrees.
1. anantānubandhi - intense, deep-rooted and permanent.
2. apratyakhyāni-voluntary and uncontrollable.
3. pratyakhyānt-voluntary and controllable.
4. Samjvalana-mild, in seed form only.
When a person neither considers anger etc. as evil nor abstains from acts prompted by them, he is said to have anantänubandhi karma, since it would entail ananta or infinite bondage. Next, although one may not justify one's evil tendencies, but when due to long-standing habit they become instinctive and uncontrolled, they are said to belong to the second degree i. e., apratyākhyāni. When however one is able to control them at will they are called pratyakhyant, and finally when these passions persist only in their seed form, without external manifestation,
2 Kasaya is generally translated as 'passion'. We have however used both 'passion' and 'evil tendency' for it.
3 The words maya and lobha have different connotations in Jainism than their prevalent meaning. Maya means deceit and crookedness of thought, word and deed, lobha means greed as well as attachment.
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