________________
132
Soul Science: Samayasara by Jain Acarya Kundakunda
about the bonded Karma, and the bonded Karma means the Karma bonded by the soul concerned. For the Karmika bonding of soul 'A', the actions of 'A' are responsible. In verse (Kalasa) 168 written along with the commentary of these stanzas in Atmakhyāti, Acārya Amṛtacandra explicitly writes that every occurrence of death, life, unhappiness, and happiness happens in accordance with the rise of the Karma bonded by oneself, not by others.
Question: Can the fruition of bonded Karma alone bring the food on the table?
Answer: (i) Karma theory cannot be applied to hypothetical
situations.
(ii) When a commercial bank says that an account holder can get money in accordance with the rules of the bank and the balance available in his account, then it does not mean that for getting money from one's account from the bank, an ATM machine or the help of a cashier is not needed. Here the emphasis is over this point that one gets money as per one's own balance in the account.
(iii) Through these stanzas Acārya Kundakunda also wants us to realize similar roles of ours, sometimes as a 'cashier' and sometimes as a 'customer', in various walks of life. Just as a cashier of a bank knows that a customer receives money through him in accordance with the bank balance of the customer and the rules of the bank, just as he knows that he does not give money from his pocket, in the same way while doing one's duty one should also keep in mind the relationship of others' happiness and unhappiness with their own Karma. (iv) Further, in the example of commercial banks, sometimes one may not get money from the bank despite one's ample balance in the account, but the Karmika bank is such an
