Theory of Karma
Jain religion is one of
the ancient religions of India and has a lot of
material devoted to the theory of karma in its holy
scriptures just as some of the other religions do. I
hope that the people belonging to faiths other than
Jainism would find some ideas in this article close to
those preached by their own saints and consider using
them in their daily lives. Upon study and reflection,
many of us would conclude that the Theory of Karma
does have relevance even in to-day's world.
All of us have heard the saying 'As you sow, so you
reap'-. Several eastern religions have expressed the
same idea in different ways. In any case, I think this
simple saying contains the essence of human wisdom.
Basically it implies a strong cause/effect
relationship. And it is the same cause and effect
relationship on which the scientific and technological
world is based . The question then is: If the cause
and effect relationship is so powerful in the material
world we live in, why should it not be just as
powerful in the spiritual world ? If we accept this
line of reasoning, the Theory of Karma will be easier
to accept because it is nothing but a cause/effect
spiritual phenomenon.
What is Karma ?
The
literal meaning of the Sanskrit word Karma is deeds,
including thoughts and words. However, according to
Jainism, Karmas are invisible, fine particles of
matter prevailing all around us just like the air
particles. Our souls attract these karmas through
activities related to mind, body and speech. This
means every time we get angry, we attract karmas,
every time we kill some one, we attract karmas, every
time we deceive someone or become greedy, we attract
karmas. These karmas form layers upon layers over our
souls and keep us from realizing our true potential.
As the theory goes, the true nature of soul is pure,
crystal clear and full of true knowledge. However the
karmas keep the soul away from the truth and make it
go through the cycles of birth and death. A wordly
soul remains under uncertain condition- at one moment
it gets closer to the truth, the next moment it starts
doubting it.
Strength and duration of the Karmic bonds (layers):
The strength and duration of karmic bonds are very much dependent on the intensity of our passions (kashayas). In other words, our motives at the time of performing any good or bad acts determine the strength and duration of the bondage of karma. Thus motive counts a lot in Jainism: two people performing similar activities could acquire karma in a completely different way. For example, a person killing a deer intentionally is producing a karmic bond much stronger than a person killing insects unintentionally while walking. Both involve an act of killing but the impact is substantially different with regard to the acquisition of karma.
