Jinamanjari 1996 04 No 13

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 11

are substance characterized by intelligence, and differences among souls are due to the degree of their connection with matter."S Desires plunge the soul ever deeper into matter, driving it onward through a series of incarnations; "the self is never separated from matter until its final release. "6
So long as it is separate from the body the soul is perfect and pure, but inexplicably it "attracts" to itself some particles of "karmic matter" which "sully" its purity and force it to enter the embodied state.? Once embodied, the soul, bewitched by the instrumentality of the body at satisfying its own desires, attracts further "karmic matter," which "pours itself into the soul and sticks there by coming into contact with the passions of the soul."8 The process becomes self-sustaining
To reconcile this soul-body dualism with atomism, Jain texts recognize two classes of particles, both evidently material: gross particles that make up physical bodies and very fine ones that make their way into the soul and stick or cling there; this matter composed of exceedingly fine particles is karmic matter.
Karmic matter is conceived in the traditional Jain texts as somehow "in" the soul. "The passions of the soul...act like viscous substances in retaining the inpouring karmic matter."9 "Karma is an aggregate of the material particles which are very fine and are imperceptible to the senses.... Through the actions of the body, mind, and speech, the finer matter gets into the soul and is tied to it."10 Jain texts use various images to express the relationship between the soul and karmic matter. The idea of "sticking to" is most common; and the image of a stained cloth is often used. An alternate translation of karma varna is not karmic matter, but karmic dirt. "The soul, disturbed by the activity of mind, speech, or body, attracts the dirt of that substance (karma).... The passions of anger, conceit, crookedness, and greed give direction and intensity to that dirt. The stronger the passions, the longer will the dirt of karma last.... The way to salvation demands a deliberate attempt by