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1912]
Jain Conference Herald
[273
at this stage of the enquiry-a subject too vast in itself to be adequately handled here. Both govern more or less the conduct of the soul. Jainism postulates five categories (samavayas) as governing the actions of the soul, of which the karma or predestination, and free-will or the liberty of action unhampered by the stress of the karma, are two. They seem opposed to each other-each the negation of other-but that is not the case. Out of the five categories, only one is predominant at a given time, the rest pying subordinate position and hence less powerful but never totally inoperative.
occu
The union of the soul with Karma dates from the beginning of Time. Did Time, in its absolute sense ever start running? No. Then the Samyoga-union of both may best be described as Anadi or beginningless. The chain of cause and effect may be lengthened back into the hidden Past without ever stopping. None can fathom this profound mystery except the Supreme Being, the Kevalin.
It may be doubted "The very word 'Union' is in itself a sufficient argument that there must be a point of time when they may have been united. To use the word Samyoga and not to assign a time when it occurred is a contradiction in terms." The answer which the Jainism vouchsafes is that the human language is quite an inadequate medium for conveying the right sense. What really is proposed to be conveyed is that at no time were they united. None, Kevalin not excepted, can point to any time when the union may be said to have taken place. The soul was never free from Karma at any time in the past. This negative mode of expression is more favourite with Jainism than the positive one, as the latter fails to convey the proper sense. The word 'union' is employed only to signify that though united, their respective attributes are never affected in the least nor absorbed one by the other into itself beyond reclamation. The simile employed by Jainism to typify this, is the union of water with milk. When mixed up they present to all intents and purposes, an ap
