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Jaina View of Life
This susceptibility finds expression in the affective states. Through the Yoga (kāya-van-manh-karma yogaḥ) the soul puts into motion the material substrata of its activity, and fine particles of matter are drawn to unite themselves to become Karma, and enter into union with the Jiva. This mixing up is more intimate than milk and water, than between fire and iron ball.29 The matter once entered into the soul separates itself into a greater number of particles, karma-praksti, with varying effects. Their number and character are determined by the conduct of Jiva. If the activity is good, Jiva assimilates good Karma; if it is bad, there is bondage of Karma.
The soul's embodiment in the wheel of Saṁsāra is an empirical fact; and beginningless nature of this bondage is also a fact, a presupposition as some would like to say. The problem as to how the immaterial soul gets mixed with Karma and is involved in the empirical life has been considered from different points of view. Schools of philosophy have analysed it on the basis of their metaphysical views. For the Buddhist, soul is nāmarūpa, psycho-physical in nature. Nescience (avidya) is the seed of worldly existence; and nescience is formless like consciousness, for, according to the Buddhists the formless can alone affect the formless. The material rūpa cannot affect the formless nama. But the Jaina contends that emancipation would not be possible, as the seed for the emancipation would then be within consciousness itself. The Yogācāra school avoids the difficulty by making the physical world unreal. But the Jaina is a realist, and he asserts the reality of the material world. He says that it would be consistent to believe that the materia would affect the mental, as consciousness would be affected by intoxicating drugs.
The Nyāya-Vaišeşika believes that conditions of bondage belong to the soul, and the unseen potency expressing in merit
29. Glasenapp, Von. (H): Doctrine of Karma in Jaina Philosophy
Introduction.
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