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Transmigration, Evolution, and Jain Karma Doctrine
Dr. Subhash C. Jain*
Introduction:
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According to the Jain karma principle, living beings have been wandering in the cycle of life, death, and rebirth since beginningless time and will continue to do so as long as they carry the karmic load of their karmic (kārmaṇa) body with their soul. The soul of living beings transmigrates in the four birth categories (gati): infernal (nāraki), celestial (deva), human (manuṣya), and subhuman (tiryañca)'. The gati of a living being in the next birth is determined by the nature of karma performed by the living being. The causes of lifespan (Āyu) karma have been described in the Tattvärtha Sutra2. For example, virulent aggression and extreme possessiveness lead to birth in the infernal gati3. deceitfulness is the reason of birth in the subhuman gati; attenuated aggression, attenuated possessiveness, and a softhearted and straightforward nature lead to birth in the human gati. and self-restraint with attachment, partial restraint, involuntary purging of karma and the austerities of misguided people lead to birth in the celestial gati. In other words, auspicious karma leads to birth in higher gatis, such as human and celestial gatis and inauspicious karma leads to birth in lower gatis, such as infernal and subhuman gatis.
The questions of superiority between higher gatis and inferiority between lower gatis are not discussed a great deal in scriptures. If a human being that performs auspicious karma in the present life is born as a celestial being in the next birth, then it means that the celestial gati is superior to the human gati, because the auspicious karma
* Research Scholar, Dept. of Jainology, University of Madras, Chennai.
