Compendium of Jainism: VII ►The Doctrine of Karma

"Our deeds still travel with us from a far,
And what we have been makes us what we are"

-George Elliot

The doctrine of Karma occupies a more significant position in the Jaina philosophy than it does in the other Indian philosophies. It is a matter of common experience that happiness and misery are experienced without any apparent reason. Good men suffer and wicked persons appear to thrive enjoying life without any difficulty. Persons with merit and possessing high educational qualifications seem to rot at the bottom while people with lesser abilities with pious character are found suffering, facing difficulties of various types. These inequalities are explained away popularly by reference to fate or destiny. Others say that "there is a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will". Are men and women helpless creatures at the mercy of some force, known or unknown?

The supreme importance of the doctrine of Karma lies in providing a rational and satisfying explanation to the apparently inexplicable phenomena of birth and death, of happiness and misery, of inequalities in mental and physical attainments and of the existence of different species of living beings.

It is the basic principle of Jainism that every Jīva or soul is possessed of consciousness, and of upayoga comprising the powers of perception and of knowledge; it has no form but is the doer of all actions; it has the capacity to occupy the full dimensions of the body which embodies it: it is the enjoyer of the fruits of its actions and located in the changing universe; it has an inherent tendency to move upwards and is a Siddha in its state of perfection. From the popular point of view, it is possessed of the four prāṇas: the senses, power, span of life and respiration. From the real point of view the soul is identical with consciousness.

If these are the characteristics of J!va as already explained in the previous chapter, how is it that a Jiva finds itself entangled in the Samsara suffering life and death, happiness and misery? In the world, only a few souls are in a state of comparative develop­ment and the rest of them are in forms and bodies which are blind to their real nature.

The answer to this enigma is to be found in the operation of Karmic matter which draws a veil over the natural qualities of the soul crippling their powers in varying degrees. Jainism starts with the premise that the soul is found entangled with Karma from eternity. It is the primary function of religion to stop the influx and mitigate the presence of Karma with the soul and to show the path of liberation and the methods through which the soul could achieve perfection.

What then is the nature of Karma? In ordinary parlance Karma means action, deed or work. Sometimes, it means acts of ritualistic nature enjoined by the scriptures. In Jaina philosophy, it means a form of matter or pudgala. It is inert and lifeless. It is very fine and subtle. It cannot be perceived or discerned by any of our senses. It cannot be seen even with the most sensitive microscope, with the maximum magnifying capacity. It baffles all analysis at the hands of a chemist or physicist who r ^neither identify nor analyse it. It is millions of times finer and subtler than the waves of sound, light or electricity, or the electrons or protons conceived by modern science. Yet the matter is ever surrounding us on all sides and permeating the entire space and atmosphere. It is the primary cause which keeps the universe going. Every phenomenon in the universe is the manifestation of the Karmic effect.^[1]

How does the influx or accession of the Karma with the soul take place? The vibration of the soul is called yoga, or activity. The activity may be due to the body, speech or thought. The vibrations in the soul occur as a result of the bodily activity or the activity of the molecules composing the organ of speech or consequent on the activity of the molecules composing the mind. Just as water flows into the take by means of streams, so also the Karmic matter flows into the soul through the channel or medium of activity. Hence activity which is the cause of influx of Karma is called Asrva.^[2] The thought activity is called the Bhava-Karma while the actual matter flowing into the soul and binding it is called Dravya-Karma. Though the soul is pure and perfect, it is the flowing in of the Karmic particles that obscures its innate qualities in the manner in which the light of the sun is obscured by thick clouds or blinding dust. One may as well ask how an immaterial being like the self can be obscured by material particles. Common experience tells us that many of the inner qualities of a human being like decency, self-restraint and coherent speech become obscured and perverted by consumption of intoxicating drugs or drinks.

Karma may result in or cause the inflow of puṇya (merit) or papa (demerit or sin) according as the activity is virtuous (śubha) or wicked (aśubha). The intention underlying an activity and its consequences are both taken into account. Causing injury, stealing etc., are bodily activities which are evil. Similarly harsh speech, lying etc. are evil activities of speech. Envy, hatred, jealousy are evil activities of the mind. That which purifies the soul or brings happiness is merit. Sin produces misery, pain, or uneasiness.

Karmas differ from another point of view also. They may differ in their nature (prakṛti) or manner of effect (pariṇāma); they may differ in the duration of their effect (sthiti); there may be difference in the intensity of their effect (anubhāga or rasa) or in their quantity (Pradeśa). These depend upon the nature of the activity, depending upon the circumstances and the cause actuating such activity. The nature of the influx differs according as the activity is feeble or intense; it will also depend upon the intentional or unintentional, nature of the activity. Circumstances, both external and internal, may combine to make the feeling or activity very acute or feeble. Sometimes acts are done with intention or carelessly. Supposing a person kills another as an act of revenge or intentionally, the act is done knowingly and the gravity of the passion so aroused is strong. If, on the other hand, a person treads on an ant and kills it unknowingly, there is no intention to kill. The influx of karma also differs according as the person is or is not actuated by kaṣāyas or passions like, anger, pride, deceitfulness and greed. Apart from the five senses and four passions, there are five kinds of vowlessness: killing, uttering falsehood, stealing, unchastely and attachment. These cause the activities of the body, speech and mind and are therefore the channels of influx of Karmas which lead to the cycle of births and deaths.

Eight Kinds of Karmas

It is thus clear that apart from the fact that the soul is bound with Karmic matter from eternity, it becomes involved every moment into the influx of fresh Karmic matter. In this mundane existence, each of the infinite number of souls in the universe is a distinct entity subject to its own Karmas according to its own activities and spiritual progress. So the old Karmas become auxiliary causes for modifications of the soul's vibrations and passions. Even though the soul is pure, it becomes affected with the molecules of material Karmas due to various kinds of activities as noticed above and become causes of wrong belief, ignorance, passionate conduct etc. Just as the soul produces its thought- activities owing to the material Karmas, it also experiences the fruits of those activities due to material molecules of the Karmas.^[3] That is how the various kinds of material obstructive Karmas obscure the real nature of the soul and render realization of the qualities of the self-difficult.

Therefore, Karmas which obscure the four great attributes of the soul, viz, infinite perception, infinite knowledge, infinite power and infinite bliss, and thereby hinder it from realising them, are respectively called Darśanāvaraṇīya, Jñānāvaranīya, Antarāya and Mohanīya. While the first one obscures the attribute of perception, the second one obscures knowledge, the third one hinders soul's power and obstructs its passage to success; and the fourth one creates a delusion disabling the soul from knowing what is real happiness and what is infatuation. Since these four kinds of Karmas obscure each of the supreme attributes of the soul, they are called the ghātiya or destructive Karmas.

The remaining four kinds of Karmas do not destroy the qualities of the soul but merely affect its mundane existence. They are: Āyus, Nama, Gotra and Vedanīya. The first Karma determines the duration of life and other conditions of existence; the second one determines the character of one's personality like the body, height, colour, size, etc.; the third one determines one's family, nationality, etc., the fourth one determines the nature of the pleasure and pain that one suffers in mundane life. Since these do not affect the essential attributes of the soul, they are called aghātiya or non-destructive Karmas. Thus there are eight kinds of Karmas.^[4]

Ghāti Karmas

Now it is necessary to find out the causes of each of these Karmas so that one may prevent the accumulation of such Karmas and try to free oneself from them. Since Umāsvāmi has dealt with the Jñānāvaranīya Karma first," I shall also discuss it first.

Jñānāvaranīya Karma

Spite or hatred against knowledge, concealment of knowledge from others, declining or failing to import knowledge due to envy or jealousy, causing obstruction or impediment to others in the acquisition of knowledge, disregarding true knowledge, or disparag­ing true knowledge lead to influx of Karmas that obscure knowledge and perception.^[5] Since perception precedes comprehe­nsion, the Acarya has used the two words Jnana and Darśana together in the concluding part of the Sutra. Jnana is of five kinds: Mati Jnana, Śruta Jnana, Avadhi Jñāna, Manah-paryāya Jnana, and Kevala Jnana. Mati Jnana is that knowledge which is obtained through the senses while Śruta-Jnana is that which is obtained by the study of scriptures, either by reading or hearing others reading the same. Avadhi-Jnana is extra-perceptual knowledge enabling its possessor to perceive events happening at distant places. It may refer to the past, present or future. It is called clairvoyance. Manah-paryāya Jnana is telepathic knowledge. Kevala-Jnana is omniscience which the liberated ones alone possess.

The various acts mentioned in the Sutra are responsible for the influx of Karma which obstructs or obscures the knowledge of the soul. They are transgressions of normal rules of conduct and attitude of mind. Real learning in a man or woman should make such person humble. Knowledge is infinite and consciousness of this fact should sink down the ego. But there are some people who think that they have known all that could be known and feel envious of others reputed for learning. Here learning refers to true knowledge of self which shows the way to liberation. One should not spite another and parade one's own knowledge with a sense of vanity. Apart from exhibition of spite (pradoṣa), there are instances of concealment of one's own knowledge and declining to teach others due to envy (mātsarya). There may be cases where teachers exhibit indifference or disregard (āsādana) to what is taught by others. There may be cases of disparagement (upaghāta) or belitting what is taught by others. While the former involves lack of veneration, the latter refers to condemnation of true knowledge as false. All these are cases of varieties of perverted minds. These mental activities breed Karmas which obscure both perception and knowledge. The causes of Karmas obscuring the first two kinds of knowledge have been discussed above, The remaining three kinds of knowledge depend upon the manifestation the inner powers of the soul. The possibility of manifestation depends upon whether an individual is a bhavya or abhavya. An individual is a bhavya who is possessed of or develops right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. So long as these qualities of the soul do not manifest themselves in an individual or so long as an individual remains an abhavya, the three kinds of knowledge remain dormant and there is no hope of manifestation of any of them. He is not destined for liberation.

Darśanāvaraṇīya Karma

The causes of this kind of Karma are; attributing faults and shortcomings to the omniscient, the scriptures, the association of ascetics, the true religion and the Celestial Beings. Such activities or speech and mind lead to the influx of faith-deluding Karmas.^[6] The omniscient possess perfect knowledge and the scriptures are composed on the basis of knowledge that is passed on by the Gaṇadharas or their disciples. The ascetics form a group (sangha) or association with an Acarya as the head. True religion is one which helps an individual to destroy the Karmas and attain liberation from the Saṁsāra. Faith, in this context, consists of belief in the truth of what is stated in a scripture or the infallibility of individuals; it is firm belief in the greatness of superiority of individuals in knowledge and, purity of mind and character. Slandering the great souls and imagining defects where there are none is avarṇavāda.

Darśanāvaraṇīya is subdivided into nine classes: Cakṣu Darśanāvaraṇīya, Acakṣu Darśanāvaraṇīya, Avadhi Darśanāvaraṇīya, Kevala Darśanāvaraṇīya, Nidrā, Nidrānidrā, Pracalā, Prachalāprachalā and Styānagṛddhi^[7] Cakṣu Darśanāvaraṇīya is Karma which obscures the awareness through the occular sense or the eyes. This is occasioned by some defect in the psycho-physical mechanism which interferes with the normal condition to visual perception. Acakṣu Darśanāvaṇīya is that kind of Karma which obscures the non-occular kinds of perception. It obviously refers to perception through other than sense organs like skin, tongue, nose, ear. It is through these organs that an individual gets awareness of touch, taste, smell and sound. So long as any or all the sensory mechanisms are functioning properly, awareness through the corresponding sense-organ will be normal. It is common experience that some persons have one or more organs impaired and there is no awareness through such organ. Cakṣu and Acakṣu Darśana have obvious reference to experiences of senses in the external world.

Avadhi-darśanāvaraṇīya, like the Avadhi Jñānāvaraṇīya refers to that kind of Karma which prevents the soul from super- perception without reference to time or space. General ignorance, wrong beliefs about the reality, passions and delusions arc causes of obscuring the capacity of perfect perception. That is the effect of Kevala-darśanāvaraṇīya Karma.

The other forms of Darśanāvaraṇīya Karma which produce the psycho-physical conditions obscuring the capacity of perception are: sleep (nidrā), deep sleep, (nidrā-nidrā), sleep while sitting (pracala) which is popularly known as drowsiness, heavy drowsiness heavy drowsiness (pracala-pracala) and sleep-walking committing some bodily actions (Styānagṛddhi). This is otherwise termed as somnambulism or indulging in wicked activity while in sleep. All these are psycho-physical conditions which naturally obscure the capacity of perception.

Antarāya

The third destructive Karma is Antarāya which is responsible for creation of mental conflicts so as to prevent or create a sense of indecision in the individual in performance of beneficent acts conducive to the ethical and spiritual progress of the soul. Antarāya Karma is of five kinds: those which obstruct

1. charity or dana,
2. gain or Lābha,
3. enjoyment or bhoga of consumable things,
4. enjoyment of non-consumable things (upabhoga) and
5. effort of exertion (vīrya).

These five kinds of obstructive karmas hinder the individual from activities which are conducive to merit or renunciation. As an instance of the first one, we may refer to usual experiences of many persons. They are inclined to give something in charity but somehow, there is some feeling or thought which prevents them from giving effect to charitable decision. The mind becomes indecisive and hesitation starts resulting in cancellation of the decision to give in charity. The second prevents them from enjoying profits or gains made by him. The third and the fourth Karmas hinder them from enjoying thing or properties, consumable or non-consumable, or movable or immovable, even though they possess them and desire to use and enjoy them. There are many instances in life where men accumulate and are deprived of their use or enjoyment by some unforeseen cause. It is the result of these Karmas. The fifth one prevents them from making efforts in the direction of achieving something good and beneficial to the soul. The hindrance may be either with reference to the spiritual activities or worldly success.

Mohanīya

Creation of obstacles in the wages of others is the cause of Antarāya Karma or obstructive Karmas.^[8] Causing obstructions to others in the performance of deeds of charity, generosity, conferring of public benefit, helping those in difficulties, under­taking works of public utility are the causes for the influx of obstructive Karmas. From the point of fruition of this kind of Karma, any activity obstructive of a good act or speech is sufficient.

The fourth destructive Karma is Mahanīya Karma. It obscures the power of discrimination and creates an infatuation or delusion in the individual in his approach to various matters in life. These Karmas are of twenty-eight kinds.^[9] These are: the three sub-types of faith-deluding Karmas, the two types of conduct-deluding Karmas which cause (and which are caused by) passions and quasi-passions, the sub-types of passions and the quasi-passions, being sixteen and nine, respectively.^[10] The operation of this Karma makes the individual blind to the true nature of self. His knowledge, faith and conduct would either be false, or perverted. There are two main sub-divisions in the Mohanīya Karma: (i) the faith deluding and (ii) the conduct- deluding. In all there are twenty-eight types of Mohanīya Karmas.

As regards the Faith-deluding (Darśana-Mohanīya) Karmas, they are of three kinds. The first is Mithyātva or wrong belief. The wrong belief relates to true nature of the self, the tenets preached by the Tīrthankaras and the validity of the scriptures composed by the great saints. The second one concerns a stage of mental attitude where the right and wrong beliefs are mixed up and there is inability to distinguish between the two. This is called Samyag-mithyātva-miśra. The last one is Samyatva-Prakṛti. This is a state where the right belief is clouded by slight wrong belief, a sort of wavering. The firmness of right belief is somewhat hazy.

Cāritra Mohanīya or right-conduct deluding Karmas are of 28 types.

On the rise of the first kind of Karma, the individual turns away from the path revealed by the omniscient, becomes indifferent to the faith in the true nature of reality and is incapable of discriminating what is beneficial to him and what is not. An attitude so produced is a perverse attitude; if it is restrained by right and virtuous thought-activity, then there is no obstruction to the right faith. If the perverse attitude is mixed up with the purified state, then we have the second type. The Jainas liken the influence of these three classes of Mohanīya Karma to the results arising from taking the grain koddava. If this grain is eaten without any preparation, it causes the most intense giddiness so as to bewilder the eater greatly. Such is the effect of Mithyātva. It the husk of the grain is removed, the effect is less stupefying and resembles that of miśra, whereas, if the grain is thoroughly cleansed, the occasional slight uneasiness it may cause is comparable to Samyatva.^[11]

Cāritra Mohanīya (or conduct deluding) Karma is of 25 kinds. It is difficult to deal with them in detail in this book. The passions or the kaṣāyas are four in the main: anger, pride, deceit and greed. Each of these has four sub-divisions and conduct which is affected by them leads to endless cycle of worldly existence. The four sub- divisions are: anantānubandhin or that Karma which extends to the duration of entire life; apratyākhyānāvaraṇa or the non-preventable emotion of any of the passions'; Pratyakhyānāvaraṇa or preventable or controllable passions; Saṃjvālana or flaring up of passion but controllable by self-discipline. The duration of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th kinds of Karmas is respectively one year, four months and fifteen days. The degrees of strength of Kaṣāyas are illustrated by examples. The four species of anger are to be likened unto a line drawn in stone, in earth, in dust and in water. The first can be removed with great effort, each following one always more easily. Like­wise also, the life-long enduring anger is only combated in its effect with exceeding strength and difficulty while the effect of the three remaining species accordingly diminishes in power and can therefore, also more easily be destroyed. The degrees of pride are to be likened unto a pillar of stone, a bone, a piece of wood, and the liana of a Dalbergia ougeinensis; the inflexibility correspondingly decreases. The species of deceitfulness are to be compared to a bamboo-root, the horn of a ram, the urine of a cow, and a piece of wood. The crookedness of each of these is removed more and more easily than in the preceding one. (The zig-zag line of the cow's urine disappears through the influence of wind and weather.) The degrees of greed correspond to scarlet colour, to greater or smaller dirt, and to a spot of turmeric, which soil a garment: the scarlet is hardly removable, the dirt with more or less trouble, and the spot of turmeric can be removed with ease.^[12]

The Nokaṣāya (non-passions)

The six non-passions are:

1. hāsya, laughing or joking,
2. Rati; improper and confirmed prejudicial liking,
3. arati, improper and confirmed prejudical disliking,
4. śoka-sorrow,
5. bhaya, fear,
6. jugupsā, disgust.

All these six are Cāritra- Mohanīyas, because the soul which is subjected to them, is hindered through them in the practice of right conduct. These mere sensations of pain and pleasure do not have this retarding effect; and that is why one must distinguish between the vedanīyas and the nokaṣāyas.^[13]

This kind of Karma leads to wrong faith and arrests the spiritual development of the house-holder or the ascetic. There are nine Nokaṣāyas or quasi-passions: hāsya or laughter, rati or indulgence, gratification, arati or dissatisfaction, dislike, śoka or sorrow, bhaya or fear, or jugupsā or aversion, disgust, strīveda or hankering after or longing for women, puṁveda or hankering after men and napuṁsakaveda or longing for the neuter sex. All these are the causes of different Karmas. They can be controlled by self-restraint. All these emotional experiences upset determines the balance of thought and action and the intensity of the passions the duration of the Karmas. When one is actuated by passions or quasi-passions, there takes place influx of conduct- deluding Karmas. There are people who ridicule right faith in others and deride those in destress or misery. Sometimes laughter is a matter of aimless sport. Association with men or women of disgust ignoble character leads both to misery and sorrow. Feeling of for others or behaving with hatred, or feeling intense attachment towards persons of opposite sexes are all causes that soil the soul and attract fresh Karmas.

These are of four kinds: Āyu, Nama, Gotra and Vedanīya. Each of these has reference to beings born in any of the four states (gatis) of existence: human, celestial, hellish and sub-human.

The life-karmas determine the quantum of life in the states of existence as infernal beings, plants, animals, human beings and celestial beings. That Karma which determines the duration of life of an individual being in a particular state is called infernal-life Karma, tiryanca-life Karma, human-life Karma and celestial life Karma. It is responsible for determination of the duration of life of each individual being in its state of existence. When the duration of the Karma is exhausted, the being must die. It is therefore this Karma which is responsible for the birth and death of an individual being.

Umāsvāmi has explained the causes of influx of karmas which lead to life in different states of existence. Excessive infliction of pain and attachment cause influx of Karma which leads to life in infernal regions.^[14] The Sutra uses the two words Ārambha and parigraha. While the former word means infliction of pain and suffering on living beings, the latter refers to excessive attachment to various object in the universe. Causing of excessive pain and suffering either by killing or by serious injury is the cause of influx of this Karma which is responsible for birth in hell. Constant cruel activities and misappropriation of other's property due to excessive attachment to material possessions are the causes of this Karma.

Deceitfulness causes the influx of life-Karma leading to the animal and vegetable words.^[15] Deceitful disposition of the soul is the result of conduct-deluding Karma. That leads to birth in the animal world. The preaching of religion from a perverted attidude, lack of good conduct and propriety, desire for cheating others, blue and grey thought-colouration of the soul and mournful concentration during death are the varieties of deceitful conduct giving rise to life-Karma leading to the tiryanca gati.^[16]

Slight injury, slight attachment and natural mildness in character are the causes of life-Karma that leads to human life.^[17] Humility, gentle disposition, excellent behaviour, slight passion, freedom from distressful disposition at death, gentleness by nature are some of the causes that are responsible for the Karma leading to human birth. In other words, compassion, kindness, love, affection, honesty and truthfulness may be mentioned as some of the characteristics that lead to this life-Karma.

Right belief, restraint from attachment, self-restraint mixed with laxity, liberation from the Karmas in an involuntary manner, austerities attended with perverted faith cause the influx of life- Karmas leading to celestial birth. Self-restraint is the key to purity of conduct and thought. It often happens with some people that when they are fully restrained in their mind and speech, they are disturbed by indecision. People observe austerities under wrong beliefs. Added to it, is the right faith. Since right faith is mentioned separately, it appears that by itself it is sufficient to cause the influx of life-Karma leading to celestial birth. The only way of reconciling the two Sutras is to point out that those souls which have right faith will not be subject to any of the infirmities which affect the other souls which do not possess such faith. In fact, there cannot be right faith, unless there is awareness of the true nature of the soul and its non-connection with worldly objects.

It is this kind of Karma that determines the kind of character of the body in which a soul will be embodied. We have already noticed that a soul is born in any of the four states of existence, celestial, human, sub-human and infernal. Naturally there will be difference in the nature of the body, its size, colour, height. The nāma Karma is primarily of two kinds, piṇḍa-prakṛti or physical or concrete qualities, and apiṇḍa-prakṛti or non-physical or non-concrete qualities.

Nama Karma is an extremely interesting principle, almost anticipating many elements of the modern biological theory. It is again divided into 93 classes. Modern biology tries to explain the origin and growth of an organism postulating the enzymes and genes, microscopic factors which determine the growth of the organic body. Similarly the theory of Nama Karma formulated by the Jaina thinkers thousands of years ago tries to explain many of the biological problems such as, the difference between one genus and other genus of organisms, the bodily structure as vertebrate or invertebrate, the different methods of bone joints in the body, the systematically arrangements of the members in the structure of the sensory organs in the body, etc. These sense organs in the body whether completely developed and functionally effective or whether imperfectly developed or functionally inefficient- all these factors are explained by different kinds of Nama Karma which operate and guide the construction of the organic body in each individual.^[18]

Umāsvāmi gives the particularities of the Nama Karma on the rise of which a living being is born in another state of existence. The Nama (physique-making) Karmas comprise the state of existence, the class, the body, the formation of the chief and secondary parts, the binding (union), molecular interfusion, structure, joints, touch, taste, smell, colour, movement after death, neither heavy nor light, self-annihilation, annihilation by others, emitting warm splendour, emitting cool lustre, respiration, gait, individual body, mobile being, amiability, a melodious voice, beauty of form, minute body, complete development (of the organs), firmness, lustrous body, glory and renown, and the opposite of these (commencing from individual body), and the Tīrthankaratva.^[19]

The enumeration is. wonderfully comprehensive so as to cover all states of existence and the classes of beings with

1. the sense of touch only
2. senses of touch and taste,
3. senses of touch, taste, smell,
4. senses of touch, taste, smell, and sight,
5. and senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.

This is due to the rise of Nama-Karma of the class of one-sensed being and so on.

The Nama-Karma of the body is of five kinds; there are five kinds of śariras or bodies

1. the audārika body or the gross body which is peculiar to human beings and animals;
2. vaikriyika or transformable body which is made up of fine and subtle matter capable of modifications in form and stature as the bodies of gods and denizens of hell;
3. āhāraka or a subtle or a spiritual man-like body which issues from the head of a perfect Jaina saint who has attained full knowledge and in consequence of the highly developed occult faculties of his soul and flashes across space to the feet of the master where its doubts are solved;
4. taijasa śarīra or a body with a halo or the electric (magnetic) body and
5. karmana śarīra or the body constituted of karmic particles.

The causes of na ma-karma which are responsible for the different kinds of bodies (śarīra-nāma-karma) have been explained by Umāsvāmi. According to him crooked activities and deception cause the influx of inauspicious physique-making Karmas. Crookedness is vakratā meaning departure from the straight-forward ways, activities which are perverse and actuated by want of rectitude. Deceiving others is another form of crookedness. Both create mental vibrations of questionable character and if activities succeed, they cause misery and suffering to others. Both are unwholesome activities and do cause inauspicious physique-making Karmas. The greater the crookedness or deception, the more intense is the nature of the Karma.

The opposite of these, viz., straightforward activity, honesty and candour cause the influx of auspicious body-making Karmas.^[20] Those who are straightforward in their thoughts and speech attract the auspicious Karmas. Persons of honesty and integrity have respect for the virtuous. They honour the pious and the holy saints. Such persons are aware of the misery of worldly life and hence they are careful in thought and action.

Besides referring to the causes of auspicious physique-making Karmas, there is a detailed enumeration of the thoughts and actions which lead to influx of Tirthankara-Nama-Karma which earns a victory over the three worlds. Again according to Umāsvāmi, the influx of Tirthankara-Nama-Karma rises from the sixteen observances, viz., purity of right faith, endowed with reverence, observance of vows and supplementary vows without any kind of transgressions, ceaseless pursuit of knowledge, constant fear of the cycle of existence, giving charity, practising austerities, in accordance with one's own capacity, removal of hindrances affecting or likely to affect the equanimity of the ascetics, serving the meritorious by warding off evil or suffering, devotion to the Omniscient Lords, Chief preceptors, preceptors and the scriptures, practice of the six essential daily duties, propagation of the teachings of the Omniscient, and affection for one's brethren.^[21] These virtually cover the entire field of ethics and spiritual practices which lead to liberation of the soul. They will be discussed later.

The Aṅga-nāma-Karma is of various kinds relating to the different parts of the body like the head, chest, back, arms, stomach and feet. The Upānga -nāma- Karma refers to the five senses and parts of the main organs e.g. forehead, skull, palate, cheek, chin, teeth, lips, etc. The forms of the Nama Karma relate to the formation of sinew, ligatures, shape of limbs, their proportion, the colour of the body, the qualities of touch and the condition of existence, etc. There are twenty-one kinds of Prakṛti-nāma-Karma which relate to the nature of quality and peculiarities of the body.

Gotra-Karma is the third kind of non-destructive Karma which determines the status of the family, nationality, etc. Modern biologists accept the theory of heredity as a factor operating in the life 'of human beings and animals. "The status determining Karmas are of two kinds: the one determines the high status and the other low status.^[22] Owing to the former, individual takes birth in a - noble family of high prestige and respectability. The other is responsible for birth in a low family where fame and prestige are unknown.

Umāsvāmi has said that censuring others, sell-praise, being oblivious to the good qualities in others and proclaiming noble qualities which are not present in oneself cause the influx of Karmas which lead to birdy in a low status.^[23] There are many people who are blind to good qualities and virtues in others. They boast of themselves as the paragons of virtue and indulge in undue praise of themselves. Censuring others is a vice, vain gloriousness is equally so. On the other hand, the opposite qualities like modesty, humility and appreciating what is noble in others, etc., cause influx of Karmas which lead to birth in a family of high status.^[24] Saluting the virtuous is humility. Modesty, inspite of learning, wealth and power, discloses absence of egotism and haughtiness.

The fourth kind af aghāti Karma is called vedanīya Karma which determines the painful and pleasurable experiences of an individual. The two Karmas which cause pleasant feeling and unpleasant feeling, respectively, are the two sub-types of feeling producing Karmas.^[25] The Karma is of two kinds: sātā -vedanīya, and asātā -Vedanīya,

Sātā-Vedanīya Karma is the result of influx of Karma which creates pleasant and happy experiences both in mind and body of the celestial and the human beings and animals. The activities which lead to the influx of this Karma as stated by Umāsvāmi are: compassion towards living beings in general and the devout in particular, charity, asceticism with attachment, etc., (that is restraint –cum-non-restraint, involuntary dissociation of Karmas without effort, austerities not based on right knowledge), contem­plation, equanimity and freedom from greed.^[26] All living beings are born in different conditions of existence according to their Karmas. There are some who become aware of the nature of soul and become devoted to vows, austerities and other acts of compassion. They reduce their wordly attachments and are generous in helping others. They express sympathy for the sufferings of others and do what they can to relieve them. They restrain themselves from undesirable activities. All these activities of mind and conduct lead to the influx of Karmas that bring about pleasant feelings.

The Asātā -Vedanīya Karmas which are the causes of unpleasant or painful feelings are due to suffering, sorrow, agony, moaning, injury and lamentation in oneself, others or in both.^[27] All these experiences of pain and suffering are the results of passions like anger, greed, etc. They create a feeling of sadness because of want of self-control, injury to person or property, disgrace suffered by immoral deeds or speech and cravings for things which are either undesirable or unwanted. There is no suffering where there is no passion. Many austerities are practised by devout persons; they involve no suffering because, they are undertaken voluntarily as acts of self-purification. There is no evil object behind it and the mind is full of calm and balance. A surgeon causes pain but his object is to cure the patient from the disease so as to free him from pain and further suffering.

These are the eight kinds of Karmas which infect the purity of the soul and obscure all or some of its inherent qualities. They are like foreign forces changing the direction of the course of soul and leading to entanglement in worldly existence. They are the real causes of ignorance, suffering, short-comings in life and inequalities in status. Our mind, speech and body are the real causes of their influx.

The theory of Karma is not the theory of fatalism. It is the law of cause and effect. It is the moral law of causation which shows that we are the makers of our fortunes or misfortunes. If a man enjoys or suffers, he does so as a consequence of his actions, thoughts or speech. The sense of fatalism comes in only when we overlook the element of choice. Under the influence of desire for champagne, a man may choose to drink it, though 'he may understand quite well that his body will be better served by choosing milk. The desire does not compel, it is only the instrumental cause of man's choice to drink champagne m preference to milk. He has the power of choosing to drink milk. When this is remembered, then there is no sense of fatalism in the act performed.^[28]

It would be further evident that this law of causation is not mechanical because consciousness is its essential factor. Life is a long journey; the living being moves on; if it desires its journey to be smooth and free from accidents, the brake of self-control has to be applied constantly. The passions are the forces that may try to derail the train but the knowledge of the real path and the faith in the efficacy of our vision must lead it to its real destination.

All living beings are born in a state of existence (gati) with a body with its span of life, colour, its environment and other characteristics which are the results of past karmas. The Jaina Tirthankaras have analysed and shown us what the causes are. Each living being is the substantial cause of all that it is born with. The Karmas are the unnatural veils that obscure the qualities natural to the soul.

It is the function of religion to show the path of liberation. Those who are in an unclean or impure state must know how to get rid of impurities and develop the infinite qualities of the soul.

We shall see how man. can get rid of the impurities that hinder his soul in its progress and find out what according to Jainism are the means to achieve that end.