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KARMA AND THE
ever attaining omniscience (Kevalajñānāvaraṇīya). But Jñānāvaraniya karma not only impedes us in gaining true knowledge and sound learning, but actually gives rise to false and hurtful knowledge and misuse of the intellectual powers. For instance, weapons are invented which eventually kill people owing to Mati ajñāna, or the misuse of the intelligence; again the knowledge gained through reading the scriptures may be misunderstood or misapplied (Śruta ajñāna), and this might lead to the practice of bhakti (devotion to a personal god) or to obscenity; or karma may hinder and falsify all spiritual insight (Vibhanga jñāna) as well as physical sight. All this obstruction to knowledge and gaining of false knowledge can be traced back to a former life in which the jiva has been jealous of another's knowledge, or has failed to help another to gain knowledge, or has actually tried to prevent any one from gaining knowledge by employing them in ways which left no time for study, thus acquiring this evil karma.
The second of the eight great divisions of karma is Darśanavaraniya, the karma which prevents our beholding the true faith. As a door-keeper may prevent our getting into the presence of a chief, or a peon hinder our gaining access to an English official,1 so Darśanavaraņiya karma may prevent our ever seeing the true faith, however much we may long to follow it. There are nine divisions of Darśanavaraṇīya karma which we have already studied. It affects those jiva which in a previous birth have acquired evil karma by showing want of reverence to sacred books or to saints, or by hindering those who would like to believe in Jainism, or by imputing faults to Tirthankara, or by manifesting ill feeling to other religions. iii. Veda- Vedaniya karma, the third of the great divisions, causes
us to experience either the sweetness of happiness or the
ii. Darśanăvara
ṇīya karma.
niya karma.
1 A frequent cause of misunderstanding in India is the way in which a peon often manages to prevent Indians from approaching British officials, until he receives a sufficient douceur.
