Philosophy In Jain Agams: Probation Periods of Karma

There are two states of karma -

1. Risen
2. Dormant

Until and unless, karmas get activated for fruition, they inflict no effect on the beings. They only reside in the units of the soul. Karmas do not possess the potency of yielding results or affecting immediately after bondage. Only after a predetermined period, do they become eligible to affect. Before that, they just exist in a dormant state (non-fruition state). This is technically called as 'abādhākāla' in the philosophy of karma.

Causes of the Fruition of Karma

When the duration of probation or dormant period (abādhākāla) comes to an end, then the karmas begin to yield results. Only in the state of rising, karmas become capable of providing good or bad fruition. This rising and maturity in karma takes place in both ways, automatically and with the help of external causes. Hence rising and fruition is through both ways - with cause and without cause.^[1] In Sthānāṅga, four causes of stimulation have been mentioned for each of the prime passions i.e. anger, ego, deceit and greed. They are as follows:

1. Atma pratiṣṭhita (Self caused) - that which is produced by one's own cause.
2. Para-pratiṣṭhita - (caused others) - that which is produced by cause other than the self.
3. Tadubhayapratiṣṭhita - (Caused by both self and others)- that which is produced by both the causes, self and others.
4. Apratiṣṭhita - (without any external cause) - that which is produced only due to the rise of anger, ego, deceit and greed etc.^[2]

The anger etc. produced due to self-ignorance of a person, when he sees loss of his interest with regard to this life or the other world is called as Ātma pratiṣṭhita cause. The anger etc. produced due to annoyance or such reactions of the other person is called as para-pratiṣṭhita. When both the self and others become the cause in evoking the anger and other passions, then it is called as tadubhaya pratiṣṭhita and when the rise of the related karma like krodha vedanīya etc. becomes responsible for it and no other known cause is found, then it is called as apratiṣṭhita karma.^[3] Even though, the fourth option is also self-dependant however since, at present it is not agitated due to the self-ignorance etc., it is thus called without any cause.^[4] On the basis of the differences in the causes of provocation of anger etc., they are divided into many types. This is a kind of consideration of effects into the cause. Actually, the anger that is manifested is of similar nature. There is no difference in that. Hence, there cannot be any division of those passions in the form of the effect.

Out of the above mentioned four types of anger etc., the first three depict the rise and fruition of karmas with cause and the fourth type expresses the non-causal rise and fruition of karmas.

Control over Karmas

In the Jain philosophy, karma has been given an important place, but it is not omnipotent. The potency of karmas is controlled by substance, space, time and mode.