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The Existence Of The Soul –
The Jaina answer to the question “who gets bound by the karma and who suffers the retribution due to it?' is that it is the soul that is bound by the karma and it is the soul that suffers the inevitable retribution due to it. It is for this reason that we must establish the existence of the soul before we proceed any further with the subject of 'Karma Theory'. The following seven proofs prove the existence of the soul: -
1. The self-experience, 2. Absence of any evidence to the contrary, 3. Denial also proves the existence of the denier, 4. Logic that like everything else in nature that exists in
opposite pairs, the sentient soul exists as an opposite of
insentient inanimate matter, 5. Scriptural proofs, 6. Opinions of the present day scientists, and 7. Rebirth.
The Beginningless Association Of Soul And Karma -
We have mentioned earlier that soul by itself is an independent entity, which is held in bondage by the karma-matter bonded with it. This bondage itself is the cause of its worldly existence and transmigration in various classes and species of worldly creatures. When the soul frees itself from the karmic bondage, it liberates and resides in the abode of the liberated souls called Siddhaloka or Siddhasilā, never to return from there. This forces us to think as to when the initial association of the soul and the karmic matter took place. As the worldly soul, with its karmic encumbrance (without the karmic bondage the soul will not be a worldly soul but a liberated - siddha one), is supposed to be in this world from the beginningless time, from ever in the past, and no particular time or epoch can be assigned to its association with the karma-matter. Thus, as it is not possible to
KARMA-SIDDHĀNTA (DOCTRINE OF KARMA): 185
