Karma and Rebirth

Author(s): T G Kalghatgi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 41

T. G. Kalghatgi
the Lord).38 The answer to the charge of fatalism was that by our own efforts we can annihilate the existing Karma and neutralise its effects.
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But it is difficult to determine the nature of this objection. We are told that from the point of view of higher morality Karma theory cannot escape the charge of determinism. Yet, the objection is determined by and based on the individual's status in a particular caste. It is more a sting against caste system than a criticism of Karma theory. The objector appears to confuse the essential from the accidental. It is a fallacy of Ignoratio Elenchi. Caste system is a sociological problem, and it is not essential for understanding the nature and operation of Karma. In fact determinism is, here, interpreted in a narrow sense as a mechanical operation of Karma to produce its effects, as does the law of gravitation. The present condition and nature of an individual is determined by the past Karma, yet the individual is free to act in such a way as to mould his own future by reducing or destroying the existing Karma. The present is determined, but the future is only conditioned,"40
In general, the principle of Karma reckons with the material in the context in which each individual is born, a But the spiritual element in man allows him freedom within the limits of his own nature. '42 There is room for the lowliest of men even of animals to rise higher and purify their selves. Attempts were made to reconcile the law of Karma with freedom of man, Karma is compared to a fire which we can, by our own effort, fan into a flame or modify it..
Human effort can modify Karma. Such a saving of the soul is possible by one's own efforts. Grace of God has no place in Jaina ethics. Self-effort in the direction of purification of the soul is the the one way towards perfection. A thief, for instance, undermines his own character and being every time he commits theft. No amount of prayer and worship will erase the effect that has been accumulated, although it may create a mental atmosphere for eliminating such future possibilities.
Shri Aurobindo says "It has to be recognised knowledge and ignorance are not absolute contraries, and liberty and the compulsion of Karma are not unbridgeable opposites. It is demanded of a man a choice between the right and the wrong way, between the will to an impermanent existence and the will to an absolute spiritual being. As such there is something in
38. Smart Ninian Doctrine and Argument in Indian Philosophy, p. 164.
39. Ibid. p. 164.
40. Radhakrishnan (S): Hindu View of Life, p. 75.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.