Prashamratiprakaran

Author(s): Umaswati, Umaswami, Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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THE DOCTRINE OF KARMA :
The doctrine of Karma has been universally accepted in Indian thought. Ordinarily Karma means human deed and is usually conceived by Indian philosophers as leading to the good or bad results in this life aw or life hereafter which the performer of the action is to enjoy or suffer. The soul takes many bodies and goes through the cycle of births and deaths to enjoy the fruits of good and bad Karma. Man is held responsible for all the ills of life due the result of his actions. He is only reaping the consequences of such actions. Indian sages and thinkers, argue, therefore that the endeavour should be to get rid of Karma and to obtain a state where the Karma has no longer any effect.
This doctrine of Karma has special significance in Jaina philosopy and is in fact a driving force of this system. Karma is not a mystic force as some philosophers think. It is conceived as something essentially material, forming a subtle-bond of extremely refined matter which gets attached to the soul, as dust gets attached to the oily body. This Karma principle is accepted as the key to the understanding of all the unexplained facts of life and universe. The essence of Karma principle is that every being of this vast universe is guided by its own Karma. The heavenly bodies and even gods are not exceptions. Every event of life is due to the Karma of pervious life. Birth and death, pain and pleasure, suffering, disease, everything is dependent on the Karma. On account of good or evil Karma a leaving creature would be reborn into any species, particularly suited to and measured by the action, from the vilest insect to a god.
The soul is perfect in its real state. It has infinite knowledge, insight, power and bliss. But the mundane soul is imperfect and limited by Karma. The subtle particles of matter enter into the soul and make the mundane soul bound and put limitations to its capacity from beginningless time (past).
The subtle particles of matter which flow into the soul and cause its bondage, are called Karma. It is Karma that binds the soul to the body. It is caused by the union of the soul with Pudgala (matter). Passions along with wrong belief, attachment to wordly pleasure or want of control, inadvertance and psychophysical activities of mind, speech and body attract fresh material particles which get transformed automatically into karmic particles and engender empirical bondage of the soul.
In bondage, the karmic matter unites with the soul by intimate interpenetration, just as water unites with milk or fire unites with the