Jainism a Glimpse

Author(s): Punyadarshanvijay
Publisher: Sanmarg Prakashan

Page 32

With the exception of the Arhatas (Omniscient) and the Sidhdhas (the liberated) who have dispelled the passions which provide the glue for Āśravas, all Souls are in Karmic bondage to the Universe. They go through a continuous cycle of death & rebirth in a personal evaluation that can lead at last to Mõksa (Eternal-release). In this cycle there are countless souls at different stages of their personal evolution : immobile earth bodies, water-bodies, fire bodies, air bodies, vegetation bodies, and mobile bodies ranging from bacterias, insects, worms, birds, and larger animals, to human beings, infernal beings & celestial beings.
The Soul eternally infected by matter, its union with Karma has no beginning, and at every moment it is gathering new matter, it has in the natural course of things no ending. The deliverance of the soul from Kārmana is therefore only possible by artificial means, through a series of special processes. The 'Jiva' must hinder the absorption of new Kārmaņa and eliminate the Kārmana already accumulated, before they come into realisation Through the eradication of the physical cause, he succeeds in restricting new Kārmana as well as through the methodical subjugation of the senses in annihilating the potential Kārman already in existence, he will become free from all Kārmaņa. Then all obstacles which impede the development of his true nature are automatically overcome. Thus released from the power of Kārmana, he can without obstruction make manifest his own innate capabilities.
"The Kārmaņa Doctrine has been propounded by Jainism into a remarkable system accurately worked out in the most minute details".
31