Karma Theory of Jains

         Introduction

In Indian philosophies karmas have been recognized by quite a few of them as the causal agency for the fruition of good or bad occurrences for any person. Perhaps karmas can be called as an accountant of the deeds carried out by a person. In Hindu mythology Chitragupta has been entrusted with the task of keeping record of the person’s doings. At the end of his life, his record is checked from a written account and then accordingly he is sent to heaven or hell to face the consequences of his doings. Probably this was one way of  ensuring that people follow the righteous path. On the other hand it seems logical that there should be some higher purpose in life than merely eating and drinking. Hence people had to have certain goals to pursue. In that context karmas acted as imaginary enemies against which a person had to be constantly battling to overcome them so as to gain desirable riches in the next birth. It may be added that karmas also served the purpose of an  enemy who can be blamed for all the miseries which befell upon a person. Although it is rarely seen that karmas are given the credit for the good happenings for the person. At that time people give credit to their acumen and effort.

                In Hindu philosophy  karmas are recognised and accepted as responsible for the happenings in a person’s life, however it is quite vague as well as contradictory. The trouble is that if we accept karma as accountant of the good or bad deeds , then we have to accept that the person was independent to do that deed with free will. If this is so then what is the role of God ? Since, on the other hand it is believed that a person enacts the wishes of God. Further , how the same person could pray to God to forgive him for the deed , and not punish him. Because if pleasure of God were so simple to attain , then what about the wronged side ? Would he not complain of bias to the God ? Therefore even though karmas are accepted as imaginary accountant to the deeds, the details are not really available.

                In Jain philosophy the Karmas serve the purpose of God of Hindu philosophy. They are the accountant of the person’s deeds and also entrusted with the task of meting punishment ruthlessly. In fact creator God has no role here since karmas themselves decide upon the quantum and duration of punishment. Further there is no scope of begging  forgivance to the God. If at all , a bad karma can be compensated by good karma , but no other way. If we look carefully , we will find that the theory is quite comprehensive and logical without leaving scope for loopholes. More importantly the Karma theory of Jains preserves the free will of a person for doing his deeds in a beautiful manner. In fact if one goes into the details with an impartial mind , he will be forced to acknowledge that there cannot be any other way of life. No other philosophy is so comprehensive to explain all the events of the universe. Even the objective of life is clearly defined , as well as the path to attain it. The only unfortunate thing is that people have not really applied themselves in examining and understanding it.

                A question which arises generally that if we hold karmas as responsible for cause and effect of any deed then how can a Jiva be independent having free will and by the same logic , how can he get rid of them ? How can Moksha be possible if karmas keep blocking his path to overcome them? This is a very important aspect which has been answered beautifully in Jain  scriptures which makes the entire philosophy very clear and independent. In fact the answer to this question is the essence of Jainism.

                The answer , in brief, is that from beginingless time the Jiva has been having wrong belief , known as Mithyatva. This has resulted in him having false conception about the self, body and others. At no time he has realized his true form and nature. So long as he does not realise his nature, he will continue to be the doer of karmas and would enjoy  the good or bad fruits of his deeds. Once he realizes his true nature  and believes in it, he would not be constrained by Mithyatva and would become a right believer. Subsequently the accrual of karmas would be diminished as he would purify himself by the process of contemplation of the self. This process would continue till he destroys all the karmas attached to him. Therefore the attachment of karmas is subject to his knowledge and faith of  himself. No other external influence is required to overcome the karmas. This destruction of karmas also he can achieve by himself, independently without any assistance. The only requirement is that he has to understand and  realise himself.

                It seems simple but  truly this is the cause of endless transmigration suffered by Jivas . Here the role of karmas is described in some details. 

                                                          What are Karmas ?

                In Jainism alone, the karmas have been defined very clearly. However before knowing Karmas it is important to know Dravyas so that one can get a true overall picture. There are six Dravyas which form the universe. These are six constituents of the universe and there is no other element. These six are  1) Jiva 2) Pudgala 3) Akash 4) Kala 5 ) Dharmastikaya 6) Adharmastikaya

1)      Jiva :  The sentient one which are undergoing transmigration from one birth to other which have no specific form and are non corporeal.  

2)      Pudgala : The insentient corporeal  matter which have the properties of touch, taste, colour, smell, sound  which have the smallest size of atom and joins with each other to form skandha or molecules in aggregate form. These are visible  in large skandha form only.

3)      Akash : This consists of two parts. Lokakash is the universe  in which all Jivas, pudgalas and other five dravyas are existent. This is finite having specific shape. The smallest unit of space is called Pradesh.  Alokakash is space outside the Lokakash which is endless , infinite and in which no other dravya is existent.

4)      Kala : This is the unit of time having the size of one Pradesh. On each spatial unit of lokakash , the kala dravya units are present like jewels. They are responsible for manifestation of all other dravyas.

5)      Dharmastikaya : The single dravya occupying the entire Lokakash  which is responsible for the movement of other jiva or pudgala just as water is for fish.

6)      Adharmastikaya : The single dravya occupying entire Lokakash which is responsible for the rest of other jiva or pudgala just as tree shade for pilgrims.

Now karmas are pudgala matter. However pugala has been divided  into  different  forms depending  upon its size starting from single atom or permaanu to very large size skandhas ( aggregates). Karmas are skandhas of permaanu which are still very small and are invisible . Still they may have infinite numbers of atoms in each skandha. Such karma particles are spread over the entire universe at each and every space. It may be interesting to read about the existence of dark matter as being conjectured by scientists these days. (http://yashkjain.blogspot.com/p/jainism-scientific-look.html) . However it is important to note that karmas as per Jains are physical particles of very small sizes which are filling the universe with their presence. They are so small that they can be present in the space occupied by other Jivas or pudgalas without obstructing each other.

                                                          Do the Karmas affect Jiva ?

                 Before we venture into this topic , it is important to learn that in Jainism the statements are made from two view points which are known as Nishchaya ( Real) and  Vyvahara( Practical). For example a person X is owner of a house. This is a perfectly simple example of practical or vyvahara statement made in day to day life. But if we ask that which part of house really belongs to the Jiva X , the answer is none. Because the house is made of physical matter while Jiva X is just sentient invisible non corporeal entity. Therefore saying that house does not belong to him is real view or Nishchaya statement. Only for the convenience of dealing in day to day existence, such as statement is made and accepted. Therefore the statement though untrue , does serve a purpose. Because in daily life if we want to identify the house, we use the term that the house belonging to Mr X though we know in reality that the house is brick and mortar.

                Similarly if we ask in a hotel to bring a cup of tea, the waiter  brings tea in a ceramic cup , not a cup made out of tea. This is another example of Vyvahara statement which was understood perfectly by waiter and acted upon. In reality he could never bring a cup made out of tea. This is how in daily life , we speak something which implies something else. The purpose of such statement was to get a cup of tea to drink. So long as that purpose is served, it does not matter how it was spoken. However if we take it literally to be as per speech then there is bound to be confusion and difficulty in conveying information.

                   In Jainism these are defined very clearly as nayas or view points. One is vyvahara naya which describes a thing from practical view while, other is Nishchaya naya or real view which describes the reality. It is important to understand which view point is being conveyed since many a times the view point is hidden and implicit. Still every statement is made with a view point by the speaker.

                    If we say that sun has risen because lotus has bloomed , it is a perfectly simple vyvahara statement because we know that lotus blooms only in sunlight while it closes in the night. However did sun cause lotus to bloom ? Just the two things are independent but simultaneous. In reality sun did not touch lotus, nevertheless it was time for it to bloom. Hence in Nishchaya view the lotus bloomed on its own when its time came which happened to be morning. It is important to realise that for an event to occur there may be several entities who may be present at the same time but the event occurs in the material without assistance. When a boy studies an passes exam there  are several entities present like light, books, teacher etc but they are not the cause for boy to pass. It was the effort of boy only which made him pass. The other entities are called Nimitta or catalysts which are present in the happening.

                This is a very important principle of Jainism where a thing is totally independent and owner of its manifestation at all times. The mud only transforms to pot while potter, wheel, water etc are present but are not the cause of mud becoming pot. They are called Nimitta  only. The reason  is that if one entity could change other entity then no entity would retain its original form. The gold would never be seen as gold and it would have transformed into some other material. This is known as the real view or Nishchaya naya which represents the reality. However gold is seen in impure form and potter is seen making the pot. These are practical views or Vyvahara Naya. Together it is known as Pramana or the total knowledge of a thing which includes its all  pure and impure  states.

                This has an important bearing on the function of karmas. If we look at Adhyatma  Shastra like Samaysaar, it says that manifestation of Jiva is independent of karmas and he alone is responsible for his paryaya. On the other  hand if we look at Siddhanta Shastra like Dhavala , it says that karma is responsible for Jiva’s  impure manifestation into states of animal, human , deva or Naraka. This is why an understanding of Nayas or view points is quite essential. Samaysaar represents the Real view in which Jiva dravya can never be impure and it is his manifestation only which can be pure or impure. Dhavala represents the Practical view wherein karmas cause the Jiva to manifest in impure form under its influence. In reality Karma do not change the state of Jiva , however they are present when the state of Jiva is changing hence they are called Nimitta or catalysts whose presence denote the happening of an event. Just as thermometer does not cause fever but does record temperature of body, same way Karmas do not cause impurity but are a measure of the impurity present in the manifestation of a Jiva at given time.

                Normally Karananuyoga or the Siddhanta shastras describe the states of Jiva with respect to the presence of karmas hence they always treat karmas as the causal agency for the states. In reality if Karmas control all the manifestation of Jiva then he can never hope to achieve salvation since karmas would never permit it and there is no karma which causes salvation. The fault actually lies with the Jiva. From beginingless time he has believed himself to be of the form of body and doer of all transformation of matter. This is known as Mithyatva , which is a karma ever present with Jiva at all times. Hence all activities of Jiva are impure and corrupted by the wrong belief which causes future karmas to be accrued of similar nature. This leads to formation of an endless cycle from which a Jiva cannot rid himself. Truly if karmas were really the cause of his wrong belief , he would never ever rid himself from it. Most of the literature describes the influence of karmas in this manner only. Therefore one may tend to think in the same manner. However it is necessary to know the nayas before one should wrongly conclude. The reality is that Jiva himself manifests in ignorant form at all stages and does not make any effort to rectify his belief. At appropriate moment when he makes the effort to understand his own nature, he realizes himself and thus becomes Samyak Drishti or right believer.

                Presently in this article the narration is in practical manner i.e. holding karmas responsible for the manifestation of Jiva but we should keep it in mind that this is just a convenience of description. Karmas function as record keeper or accountant of the manifestation of Jiva. In reality it is Jiva only responsible for his state. Karmas are the nimitta which are present during that manifestation.

                One may wonder that why all this effort is made to explain practical view since it is anyway irrelevant. Why not use the real view all the time. The answer is that no communication is possible without practical view. Since in reality Jiva is always pure hence there is no need for him to attain Moksha either. Nor does he undergo any transmigration or suffering. Practical view only provides knowledge of his ignorance. With karmas as a measure of his spiritual advancement, he can make effort to purify himself of the various ignorances and  desires etc which prevent him attaining his true state. Thus knowledge of karmas help him  in climbing the gradual path of purification.

                From beginingless time Jiva has been bound with karmas all the time  due to which he is continuously endowed with Mithyatva or ignorance and he does not realise his true nature. Further due to influence of karmas he directs his attentions to acts of possessions, enrichment, desires etc which cause accrual of more and more karmas. His true knowledge is obscured and he thrives in thoughts pertaining to possessions only. Never does he experience his true Vitaraga (detached) form so where is the opportunity for him to get rid of influence of karmas.

                With this background we can proceed to description of types of karmas.

                                                                 Types of Karmas

                There are eight types of primary karmas which are further divided into 148 types. However in reality there will be infinite types since every one of them would have finer categories.

1.       Knowledge Obscuring karmas ( Gyanavaraniya) : Karmas which obscure the knowledge. However it is never blocked totally otherwise the Jiva would become same as insentient matter. Hence the lowliest of Jiva which happens to be ekendriya ( one sensed jiva) may have knowledge equivalent to infinite times less than that pertaining to single letter of vocabulary. But lack of knowledge alone is not cause for accrual of more karmas otherwise Jiva would never ever gain knowledge. It is the lack of knowledge accompanied with Mohaniya karma which leads him to acquire karmas of different types. In liberated state all the knowledge is unobscured which leads to omniscience  who has capability to know all elements the universe corresponding to all times, at the same instant. Truly the magnificence of omniscience is beyond description.

2.       Vision Obscuring karma ( Darshanavaraniya) : Karmas which obscure vision. Vision also includes sensing though touch, smell, hearing, taste, besides through eyes. A one sensed insect may just have sense of touch while five sensed jiva has all senses. Fruition of such karmas function like a curtain which blocks the vision and prevents sighting of an object. Even sleep is a form of such karma. In the liberated state Jiva is endowed with total vision i.e. vision of all objects of universe simultaneously.

3.       Karmas causing pain/pleasure ( Vedaniya) :  As the name indicates it is of two types causing happiness or unhappiness to the Jiva. However this happiness or unhappiness is notional and not really in the nature of Jiva. It is under the influence of Mohaniya wherein he may deem a situation causing pleasure or pain. For example eating food may be pleasure but same food may not be enjoyable to another.

4.       Karma causing delusion ( Mohaniya): This is the primary karma which is the cause of all the suffering of all jivas in the form of transmigration since jiva is deluded from beginning. He believes his body to be self and tries to protect and serve it all the time. In lowly forms he cannot even think for himself but he cares for self under this delusion. At higher level of animal, man, heaven or hell resident , he still may perceive himself to be body. Further he may also be deluded under the influence of false teachers.  As part of this karma 25 types of passions are also included. Anger, pride, deceit, greed have four types of levels which thus form 16 types of passions. Further there are 9 types of lesser passions named nokashaya. These are three types of gender, love, hate, laughter, sorrow and aversion. One can perceive them as a sort of colored filter which colors the thoughts of a jiva accordingly, never leaving it to be pure. For example a male jiva thoughts may be pertaining to woman and so on. Never for a moment he is without passions and attachments.

5.       Age deciding karma ( Ayu karma) : How long a jiva would stay in a typical birth is decided by his age deciding karma. This karma is bound in the previous birth itself and upon  death , the next birth is dictated by this karma for his period. Before dying he would definitely bind ayukarma pertaining to next birth.

6.       Naam karma :  This  karma decides the various body features of the jiva and his other attributes. Four types of gati decide where he would be born as animal, human, deva or naraki. Animal form includes insects of lowest form also.

7.       Gotra Karma : This karma decides the type of family the jiva would have at the time of birth. A lower birth would imply a family with poor means, improper eating and drinking practices, with fewer opportunities to realise his own self.

8.       Antaraya Karma: This karma causes obstruction in various acts of jiva , like opportunity to realise self, to practice charity etc.

Thus it can be seen that the karmas are extensively dealt in Jainism to cover every single event that happens in his life.

Karmas are categorized in four ways by their function when they are accrued i.e. when jiva is bound with a specific karma there are four parameters which come into play:

1.       Nature ( Prakriti) : The type of karma  pertaining to one of the eight categories described above is the nature of karma.

2.       Numbers ( Pradesh ): The quantum of karma particles which are attached at a specific instant of time. Generally infinite particles are attached at any given moment.

3.       Duration ( Sthiti ): Once a karma particle is attached, it does not give rise to its fruit immediately. Each karma particle has a certain duration after which it gives rise to its fruit and then withers away as a pudgala permaanu, its job being completed. Typically infinite particles are accrued in a group at any given instant which may have a minimum to maximum duration. Generally the maximum duration only is assigned to the group for that given instant. While karma particles of Mohaniya may have highest duration of 70 koda kodi sagar , the minimum duration may be Antarmuhurta  ( less than 48 mins) depending upon the kind of thoughts being entertained by the jiva.  Ayu karma is minimum of less than antarmuhurta which is 1/18 of the duration  of single breath to maximum of 33 sagar in highest deva or Narak manifestation. Humans/ Animals have maximum ayu of one poorva koti  in karma kshetra.

4.       Intensity ( anubhag) : Each particle has a predetermined intensity with which it would fructify when time comes for it to mature. It could be weak or very intense. Thus there are enormous possibilities varying from lowest to highest. In a given group accrued at any instant there are infinite particles and each have different intensities.

Function of Karmas

                To explain the effect of karmas a typical scenario is envisaged. A person X indulges in anger which gives rise to accrual of 7 types of karmas except Ayu Karma which is bound only at specific moments in life. These 7 types of karmas have different durations as well as intensity. Let us say that an anger generating karma was fructified after 10 years. Now what happens ? For 10 years the karma was lying dormant but now at specific instant it is ready for fruition. As mentioned earlier the karmas and Jiva are independent entities and they really do not effect each other and Jiva alone is responsible for his act. But in practical sense it is described in different manner. Karma is said to be the cause of his impure thoughts. At that moment when anger related karma fructifies, it causes a field like an influence on the thoughts of the person X which are sensed in his mind. Mr X perceives them as thoughts of anger and believes them to be his own and acts accordingly in anger. This pollution of thoughts is called Bhava Karma while collection of anger particles was Dravya Karma. When X indulges in anger, simultaneously another set of karma particles sense them and get attracted towards him and get bound. Thus present anger causes accrual of new set of karmas for future. This process continues endlessly since every time karma gives fruit, new karma is bound. Thus apparently there is no way to get rid of karmas.

                     This is where the Jain theory comes into play. If it were cause and effect relationship then the two are inseparable with Jiva attracting karma and fructified karmas causing Jiva to impure manifestation. But Jain principle puts them entirely independent. Just as potter is not cause of pot  but only mud transforming itself,  the jiva alone is responsible  for his acts while karmas alone are responsible for their binding or separation. In this case Mr X was responsible for the anger no doubt but it was his impure manifestation alone although in presence of karmas which happened to be manifesting at the same time. The two were simultaneous but unconnected. Now consider that Mr X directs his attention to his own soul rather than towards the provoking thoughts entering his mind. In that case since nature of Jiva is knowing self, he would not be affected by the fruition of karmas.  Thus we have a situation where karmas have fructified on their schedule but the Jiva is unaffected and in the process he has not attracted future karmas either. This is precisely the solution to the problem.

                      Jain philosophy says that it is the nature of Jiva to remain within himself but from beginingless time he has been distracted and he indulges in fantasies wherein he imagines people and objects as belonging to him and is  therefore perturbed when they do not follow his wishes. In reality every single object, every single Jiva is independent and do not have anything to do with others. The true nature of soul is knowing and seeing the self and in the worldly state Jiva manifests in impure form under false beliefs. This realisation  is only called right belief or samyak darshan which occurs with the right knowledge of self.

                        No Jiva can do anything for another jiva or matter. The space within which a Jiva can rule is his own space but nothing beyond this. He cannot even lift one single parmaanu of matter nor can he impose his thoughts on other jiva. It may look quite extreme because we are so much used to think of changing the world , improving others. But in reality we do not control even our own body. Not even a finger can be raised by the Jiva. Yes when the finger is raised , Jiva believes that since he wished , the finger was raised. Actually the two occurred together and it it is Jiva’s wrong belief that he is the doer of the acts of body. Till he does not realise it, he will continue to attract karmas which will bind and fructify in an endless chain. Only when he realizes the true nature of self then he can make effort to break this cycle. The true nature of self is really knowing and seeing self and not a single bit more. This alone is the cause of his unperturbed nature which results in endless peace and tranquility. We can easily realise it if we analyse that a Jiva cannot be peaceful , unperturbed if he has a list of jobs to be completed all the time. Only a person with no responsibility can be peaceful. Further we have an immense appetite for knowledge. We want to know everything but cannot , which results in perturbation. A person who does not need to know anything , because he knows all, has no reason to be perturbed. Nothing can disturb his tranquility. Thus he is at peace with himself , and this is the only state which can be believed to be everlasting.

                Thus even though karmas can be bound by the Jiva in a practical  scenario, he can disassociate himself from them and their fruits by contemplating on the self. So long as he experiences the self , he is immune from the influence of karmas. In practice , it is not possible to be totally immune also. To a limited extent he is effected by their influence. But since he is a right believer and knows the nature of self, he does not give credit to karmas, but he knows that it is his weakness only which has resulted in the impure manifestation of self. In this condition the accrual of karmas is far weaker and is called insignificant. In this manner by practicing contemplation upon the self he can climb the ladder of spiritual development. Automatically he will tend to have equanimity towards all without love or hate relationship. Ultimately this alone leads to total veetraga state which is state of total detachment from every single matter. This condition signifies the utmost purity of thoughts without any desire or wish. Karmas shed themselves away from his spiritual body since nothing can bind them to him. Ultimately this leads to his attaining Moksha which is the highest goal for a Jiva to attain after which he does not need to do anything more.

                Where does one start ? The essential condition is the belief which can happen by proper understanding of the nature of a thing. Interestingly it cannot happen on our own. At least for the first time it is required to be explained by someone knowledgeable about the subject , then only he can absorb it. Then in future , or even next birth he can recall the same in the presence of suitable catalysts. This brings to fore the importance of a Guru who can enlighten. Any guru will not do since he can pass his ignorance only if he is ignorant. So one should search and choose the right guru to direct him onto the right path. After this it is his efforts only which would matter.

                This in short is the karma theory of Jains which truly is a declaration of independence of all Jivas with a right to enjoy salvation if they wish to do so. No body else matters nor is there any hindrance.