Jainism

Author(s): M R Gelra
Publisher: Createspace

Page 50

4. Karma - Mechanism According to Jain philosophy, when a soul or bio executes a tendency, it simultaneously attracts and repels the fine karmic substances (karmasomes, as defined earlier in this text). It is the righteousness of the tendency that decides whether the detachment outclasses the attachment or not? These properties of attraction and repulsion are due to the four-touch properties of a karma. As elaborated in the chapter of pudgal, karmapudgal are said to possess four properties of Snigdha, Ruksha, Ushna and Sheit. First two properties of karma-exhibit the philic- or the phobic- tendencies towards the soul. This affinity between soul and karma could be one of the three types: • Electric - as in positive and negative charges
Magnetic - as in north and south poles Gravitational - as in cosmic bodies. Here it is necessary to mention that the gravitational force is not essentially attractive but could be repulsive as well. Various studies involving the concept of gravitons have revealed this fact.
(i) Attraction-repulsion Here it must be understood that the affinity of soul and karma does not necessarily mean that the two amalgamate with each other. They unite to form a pair while retaining all their individual characteristics. It is as if the negatively charged electrons orbit around a positively charged nucleus. There is one more similarity, the bondage between soul and karma could be weak or strong. In Jain Agams, the dynamics of Karma attraction-repulsion has been described when a soul, in its process of liberation is elated to the thirteenth state (Gunsthan). As the soul is in its penultimate state of ecstasy, it cannot accumulate any more karmasomes (karmic pudgals), because it has to be fully free form karmas at the moment of salvation. In this state, the physical activities of the body attract the karmasomes, but the bond is so weak that it is broken instantly. Karmas decay as fast as they accumulate, so that the net result remains naught.
(ii) New Reasoning In the Acharanga aphorism, it has been said:
• Those who attract Karma; bind them, • Those who bind Karma; attract them, • Those who do not attract Karma; do not bind them, • Those who do not bind Karma; do not attract them.
This universe is completely filled with fine matter. According to science, there is no region of the space which may be empty. The gravitons and the photons are available at the most distant corners of the Universe. The network of the micro matter is extremely mysterious. Today, the science is engaged in the effort of knowing, both the micro and macro through the medium of mathematics. Every event of the past can stay for a long
50