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Jaina Perspective in Philosophy and Religion
which fills all cosmic space. “The soul by its commerce with the outer world becomes literally penetrated with the particles of subtle-matter."1 Moreover the mundane soul is not absolutely formless, because the Jainas believe in the Doctrine of Extended consciousness like the Doctrine of Matter ( Pudgala) in Buddh'sm and the Upanişads, and so to some extent in Plato and Alexander. While in Sankhya-Yoga, Vedanta, Nyāya-Vaiseșika and the Buddhists kept consciousness quite aloof from the matter, the Jainas could easily conceive of the inter-influencing between the soul and the Kármic-matter, hence the relation between the soul and Karma becomes very easy. The Karmic matter mixes with the soul as milk mixes with the water or fire with iron. Thus the formless Karma is affected by the corporal Karma as consciousness affected by drink and medicine. This is the relation of concrete identity between the soul and the Karma.
Without the Karma phenomenology, the diversity of the variegated nature and the apparent inequalities among human beings and their capacities remain unexplained. Moreover, Karma explains the problem of the original Sin, Good and Evil, Heredity and many unexplained problems of science, say in ethnology and astronomy. The proper understanding of the Law of Karma destroys the causes of envy and jealousy and ill-will, impatience and even fear of death. This attitude enables the Jainas to reject many other theories such as Temporalism ( according to which the root cause of diversity is Time which is the highest God, all-pervasive and all
1. Radhakrishnan, S. : History of Philosophy, Vol. 1, George
Allen and Unwin, London, 1948. 2. (a) Anonymous : Svetāśvatar Upanişad, I. 1, 6, Gita
Press, Gorakhpur, 2009 ( Vikrama Era ). (b ) Anonymous : Kacha Upanişad, IV. 12, Gita Press,
Gorakhpur, 2008 (V. E ). (c) Price, H, H. : Ibid.
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