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A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
Karma is material in nature. The bondage by chain is material. It is of lesser strain that the bondage of jiva by karma. The kārmic bondage is subtle, yet material in nature. The karmic particles enter the soul and vitiate its purity. The effect is very subtle and strong. The karmic particles affecting the soul are called karma-vargaņās. The particles of matter which are responsible for constituting the body are called 'Nokarma-vargaṇās'. The two are the finest particles of matter and we can say that the atoms constituting karma are the material objects. The body is also material. The relation between the two is samavāyī (inherent). The earth particles are physical in nature, so also objects formed out of earth particles.
Palatable food brings the experience of pleasure. While injury by Sastra (weapons) brings dukha. These two are paudgalika (physical) and so are the experiences of karmas paudgalika.
From the point of view of bondage (bandha), jīva and pudgala (matter) are not different, but are correlative. From the point of view of their nature they are different. Jiva is immaterial and formless and is characterised by cetană. While pudgala is material and is unconsciousness (acetana).
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The objects of sense-organs are the experiences of touch, taste, smell, form and sound. They are murta (having form). So are the indriyas (sense organs) which are the medium of experiences and expressions. Similarly, the experience of pleasure and pain are murta and so are karmic particles which are the causes of these experiences.1
The murta experiences mūrta only, murta binds the murta. Jiva is amurta but it gives occasions for the bondage of karma. Therefore, jīva becomes occasion (avakāśarūpa) of the bondage of karma.
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In the Upanisads & the Bhagavadgītā, the auspicious and inasuspicious activities have been referred to as karma. But the Jainas use the word karma in the sense of the after-effect of activities,"
Jiva attracts the karma-vargaṇās by the activity which is threee., bodily, speech and mind. The karmic encrustations with
1 Pañcāstikāya 141 2 Ibid 142
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