Jaina Psychology

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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JAINA PSYCHOLOGY It is also obscured by comprehension-obscuring karma and the like. As regards the removal of the obscuration of the self, it is possible by the practice of the prescribed course of meditation etc., just as the obscuration of the sun etc., is removed by a blast of wind.
It can be accepted that an obscuration having its origination in time is liable to be removed by some means. But the Jaina says that the obscuration of the self is not a historical fact. It is from time immemorial. Such being the case, how is it possible to remove the obscuration? The Jaina thinker does not agree with this view. For him, the fact of origination is entirely irrelevant. It is a common experience that the dross found in an ore of gold is as old as the gold itself, still it is found to be removed by the action of an alkaline substance, or by calcination in a sealed vessel. Exactly like this, the removal of comprehension-obscuring karma and the like, though without beginning, is possible by the practice of the prescribed course of meditation etc.
There is another objection regarding the obscuration of the self. How can an immaterial being like the self be obscured by material particles? The reply is as follows: The power of consciousness, although immaterial and amorphous, is found to be obscured by the consumption of spirituous liquor, intoxicating drugs, and the like. Likewise, the immaterial self can be obscured by material karma. Moreover, the worldly souls are not absolutely immaterial, since they are always associated with material karmas. Hence, the objection is baseless.
What is the argument in admitting the material nature of karma? Karma is possessed of material form, inasmuch as its effect, viz., the body etc., is material in nature. It is our common experience that the causes of various effects having a material form are also possessed of the same form. The atoms which are the cause of a pot that is material in character are also material. One may raise an objection: Pleasure, pain, etc., are also effects of karma, and since they have no physical form, it may be argued that karma is not material. To this objection, the Jaina replies: The rise of pleasure, pain, etc., is not wholly independent of corporeal causes, since the experience of pleasure etc., is found to be associated with food etc.
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i Pramāņa-mimāmsā, I, I, 50-2.