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Chapter - 8
Samayasāra is the rise and fruition of one's own inauspicious karma. So from this aspect, since nobody can give or take away from the fruition of karma, nobody can cause suffering to others. In the same way the rise and fruition of auspicious karma is the sole determinant of one's pleasures and worldly happiness. So from this point of view, altruism has no ultimate value, since it cannot provide karına or karmaphala for worldly happiness.
In all the above cases, killing, saving, inflicting miseries or providing comforts-distinction is made between the substantive or primary (Upādāna) cause and external or secondary (nimitta) cause. For instance in the case of saving, it appears that life of an organism “A” was saved by the efforts of someone “B”, and therefore, B is considered to be the saviour of “A” s life. Now, transcendentally or ultimately, “A” was saved because there was some balance period left in its life-span, according to its āyusya ka ma, and it could not have been saved, inspite of best efforts.
On the part of “B”, if the life-span of “A” would have been exhausted. Thus, “B” only is a secondary or external cause in the process of saving, the primary cause being the balance period of life-span. Nothing at all can save “A” if the life-span has come to an end.
Same is the case with “A” being happy or miserable in the worldly state. In the worldly life, rise and fruition of auspicious karina (punya) alone is the primary cause of pleasures and happiness, while rise and fruition of inauspicious karma (pāpa) alone is the primary cause of suffering and miserableness. This being the eternally unalterable rule, the function of “B”, who may be apparently instrumental in the happiness or misery of “A” could be regarded only as an external causative influence-nimitta.
It should be carefully noted that in all these cases the author does neither praise the efforts of B in saving A's life or being instrumental in A's pleasure, nor does he devalue them by saying that they are of secondary importance. The author's purpose, clearly, is to establish that B's efforts as A's saviour or benefactor must be viewed in porper perspective and “B” need not arrogate himself to be the ultimate, saviour or benefactor. In other words, while B's efforts are, no doubt, to be regarded as Good Samaritan acts from
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