Jain Society Greater Atlanta 2008 11 Pratistha

Author(s): Jain Center of Greater Atlanta
Publisher: USA Jain Center Greater Atlanta

Page 39

Smart Matthew Pagya
FORTUNE AND SELF EXERTION - ARE THEY TWO OR ONE?
A man sitting in his room was enjoying the cool air reaching Purushartha - self exertion. The effort you make so shall him from the running fan. Suddenly the flow of current you receive. You can't expect your stomach to be filled went off. He was annoyed with this. Nothing seemed to be without You moving your hands. Work and enjoy. special here. But when he blamed the electricity for it, his son was surprised. His son asked, when the fan has stopped Niyati - fate. This is the universal law. There are certain to move why do you get mad on the electricity which things governed by the universal law. Man dies, he can is not even visible to you. To this the father discloses a never quit death. It is universal law. reality. He says, "the fan is a mere tool in the visible world but the culprit is always in the subtle world. The current Thus we see that, universe is governed by different rotates the fan. It lies in the subtle world and manifests in faculties. Here I am trying to deal with one problem where the gross. The electric flow stopped and thus the fan." the role of self is significant. Usually there is a mention
about a cycle. The effort we do, so shall be our karma. As This is not only applicable in the physical world but is the is our karma so shall be our fortune. Thus the fortune is end same in our abstract world too. In our life there is something product of karma, and karma is an end product of effort. visible and physical. The visibility and physicality is closely But is this statement rightly understood? To what extent related. Beyond this physical realm is a world which is this statement is true? What is the difference between subtle, abstract and spiritual. Man dwells in these two. Man Fortune and self exertion. Are they two sides of a single walks on two legs. Of the two legs one is physical and the coin or there is big difference in them? other is spiritual realm. One without any one of these legs encounters problems and need artificial tools. When our Let's talk about the fortune (understood, it is the good life walks on the two legs of physical and spiritual, it is a fortune)- The Jain philosophy has a list of eight karmas.. The balanced walk. Now a question arises, do we walk on two four ghati karma are both the auspicious and inauspicious. legs? Of course I am not talking about the bodily legs but The other four are merely sinful. the legs of our life. We focus more on the physical, material, visible world but the world of spirituality stays in oblivion. Auspicious karma- the good karma are:
How could we deal with the abstract? How could we understand the unseen? What is that invisible which governs our world? Who creates this invisible world as it is now? Who can tap into this power and mold it or change it? and more questions ponder as soon as we open the doors of abstract world. The five governing factors are:
Nama karma Gotra Karma Vedaniya Karma Ayushya Karma
These are the four fortune renders.
Time - every seedling fruits with time. We need time to grow, to ripe. It is a saying, "time will make it happen". Time controls many changes in this world.
Nature- as is the seed so shall be the fruit. the mango seed gives mango fruits and not apples. Matter cannot transform into having power of cognition. Nature governs the non indulgence of the one into the other.
1. Nama Karma - we have heard the stories of men being famous just for nothing. there was a man who got famous for having killed nine in one attempt. When he was famous, a child asked an innocent but relevant question, "what nine did he kill?" He had killed nine flies in one attempt. It doesn't take much to have fame and name in life. We say it is his Good fortune. Some might work hard but yet lack the good fortune. He might not get applauded and commanded for his endeavor. What makes the difference is once nama karma. The king never goes for war. But the credit of winning the war is crowned on the king. The big
Karma - the karmic particles which we bind by our action and further gives its result.