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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
rise of the wholesome karmas. Thus birth in the diseased house and in the intellectually perverse and dull, or financially poor and destitute family is the result of the rise of unwholesome karmas. Similarly, birth in the country ruled by bad government can also be regarded as the result of the rise of the unwholesome karmas. Again, birth in the degenerate society with harmul social structure can also be considered to be the result of the rise of the unwhoesome karmas. After having born in the diseased condition of the house, when man grows up he may improve and make it conducive to health; but if at all it happens so, it happens after a long time. Similarly, after having born in a poor and destitute family, when man grows up he may improve its financial position; but if at all it happens so, it happens after a long time. Thus to be born in miserable circumstances and environment and to experience pains and miseries on that account in spite of one's sincere efforts, till the circumstances improve and become favourable, is the result of the rise of the unwholesome karmas.
Here our question pertains to the social structure. Of several defective social structures, one is the degenerate caste system in which a person is held high or low on the basis of his birth and occupation. One who is born in the caste imagined to be low by society ridden with such a debase social structure has to be the victim of the degenerate social structure and has to endure the tortures of contempt and insulting and hurting looks from persons considering their caste to be high. This type of unjust humiliations and sufferings are due to the social structure not natural but imagined by society. The revolutionary and reformist brave men may try to reform and improve society; and due to their continuous persistent efforts through ages, there may take place reforms in the social structure and there may come about change in the rigid attitude of men, which views a person as high or low on the basis of his birth and occupation; and as a result of this, men may not have to experience humiliations and insults which are due to discrimination of high and low concerning castes—the discrimination imagined by the society. But so long as there is no proper spread and acceptance of such reforms, those who are born in the so-called 'low' caste have to suffer humiliation and insult in spite of their best efforts, and the karma which causes this experience of humiliations and insults is called 'nīcagotra-karma (= low status determining karma).
As stated above, there may dawn an age when the social structure may
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