THEORY OF KARMA Body Speech Mind - Nature - 8 Types - Quantity - Vigor of activities - Duration - Passions - Intensity - 4 Types - Passive

- Active - 12 Penances To do it by self Ask someone to do it Encourage someone to do it.

As a student, you have seen that some students do very well in class even they dont study, while others struggle to maintain their good grades in spite of studying very hard. In the same way, you might have heard that for some people money come easily, while others cannot even find a job. You might have also heard that some people stay sick all the time, while others never get sick. You might have heard someone lives over hundred years, while someone dies as a young child. Everybody is looking for an answer to these strange disparities. Some may say it is Gods will, others may say it is his luck, and so on. Jainism says everything happens due to the result of our past deeds. You reap what you sow and no God or someone else can make this happen or change. We and only we are the reason for our suffering or happiness. This can be explained by the theory of Karma. Therefore, it is very important that we understand this process very clearly. It also explains what karmas are, why and what role karmas play in our life (with soul), and how we accumulate different kinds of karmas as well as how we get rid of them. If you sit back and think, then you will realize that you are doing something all the time. Sometimes you might be talking or listening if you are not doing anything physically or you might be thinking. So you are always busy doing something. This is our nature. These activities may involve harm to others or help to others. We do not realize that everything we do brings karmas to our souls. When these karmas are mature, that is when they are ready to depart from the soul, that process is called fruition of karma and

results into happiness or suffering in our lives. This is how the karmas are responsible for our happiness or suffering. Karmas are the derivatives of the karman particles. The Karman particles are made up of the non-living matter (pudgals). They are scattered and floating all over the universe (Lok). They are very, very fine particles and we are neither able to see them with our eyes or with the regular microscope. A cluster of such innumerable karman particles is called a karman vargana. The karman vargana is one of the eight kinds of pudgal varganas. The karman vargana has the most subtle particles. When the soul acts with a passion like hatred or attachment; or anger, greed, ego, or deceitfulness, it attracts these karman varganas to itself. When these karman varganas get attached to the soul, they are called karmas. Karmas are classified into eight categories depending upon their nature. The karmas can be good (punya) or bad (Pap). The good karmas are the result of good or pious activities while the bad karmas are the result of bad or sinful activities. PROCESS OF THE BONDAGE (BANDH) OF THE KARMAS Once again as said earlier, whenever we think, talk or do something, karmic particles are attracted to our soul and become attached to it. These karmic particles are then called the karmas. The material karmic particles that are attached to the soul are called material karma (Dravya Karma). This process is also called the bondage of karmas to the soul. On the other side, when the souls activities are with passions, like anger, ego, greed, deceit, as well as ignorance, attachment and hatred, then this state of the soul is called state of delusion (Bhava Karmas). Passions attract, and are the cause for, material karmas to stay longer with the soul. On the other hand, material karmas will fall off immediately if our activities are not associated with our passions. Our activities are: 4. physical 5. verbal 6. mental We further do each of the above activities in three different ways, 1. We do the activities ourselves, 2. We ask someone else to do for us, or

3. We encourage someone else to carry on these activities. Thus, in different combinations, we do our activities in nine different ways that cause bondage of the karmas to the soul. At the time of the bondage of karmas to the soul, the following four characteristics are determined about the karmas. They are: I. What Kind of (Nature) Karmas will these be? (Prakruti Bandh) II. How many Karma particles (Quantity) will attach? (Pradesh Bandh III. How long (Duration) will these karmas stay with soul? (Sthiti Bandh) IV. How strong (Intensity) will be the bondage of these karmas? (Rasa Bandh) The nature and the quantity of the bondage of the karmas depend on the vigor of activities of the soul (YOG), while the duration and the intensity of the bondage of the karmas depends on the intensity of the passions (KASHAY) behind these activities. I) NATURE OF THE BONDAGE OF THE KARMAS (PRAKRUTI BANDH) Depending upon the nature of the results of the karmas, they are grouped into eight types. They are: 1. Knowledge-Obscuring (Jnanavarniya) Karma 2. Perception-Obscuring (Darshanavarniya) Karma 3. Obstructive (Antary) Karma 4. Deluding (Mohniya) Karma 5. Feeling-Producing (Vedniya) Karma 6. Body-Determining (Nam) Karma 7. Status-Determining (Gotra) Karma 8. Age-Determining (Ayushya Karma These eight karmas are also grouped into two categories, depending upon the effect of karma on the true nature of the soul: a) Destructive (Ghati) Karmas b) Non-destructive (Aghati) Karmas Ghati means destruction. Those karmas that destroy the true nature of the Soul are called destructive or ghati karmas. Those karmas that do not destroy the true nature of the soul, but only affect the body in which the soul resides are called non-destructive or Aghati karmas. The first four types of karmas from above list are destructive (ghati) karmas, and last four are non-destructive (aghati) karmas.

II)

THE QUANTITY OF THE BONDAGE OF THE KARMAS (PRADESH BANDH)

If the physical vigor of our activities is weak, then we accumulate smaller number of karmic particles, but if the physical vigor is stronger, then we accumulate larger number of karmic particles on our soul. III) DURATION OF THE BONDAGE OF THE KARMAS (STHITI BANDH)

Duration of the karmic particles on the soul is decided by how intense our passions at the time of our activities. If the passions for the activity are mild, then the duration of the bondage will be for a short time, but on the other side if the passion is stronger, then the duration of the bondage will be for a long time. The minimum time could be a fraction of a second and a maximum time could be thousands or even millions of years. IV) INTENSITY OF THE BONDAGE OF THE KARMAS (RASA BANDH)

The intensity of karmas depends upon how intense our passions are at the time of our activities. The lesser the intensity of our passions, the less strong is the resulting bondage; the greater the intensity the stronger the resulting bondage. The intensity of the bondage of the karmas to the soul is described in four different levels. a) Loose Bondage: This would be like a loose knot in the shoestring, which can easily be untied. Likewise, the Karmas which are attached loose to the soul could be easily untied (shed off) by simple thing like repentance. b) Tight Bondage: This would be a tight knot, which takes some effort to untie it. In the same way, the Karmas which are attached tight to the soul could be untied (shed off) with such efforts as the atonement. c) Tighter Bondage: This would be a tighter knot, which needs great efforts to untie it. Same way, the Karmas which are attached tighter to the soul could be untied (Shed off) with special efforts like the austerities. d) Tightest Bondage: This would be a knot, which could not be untied no matter how hard you work at it. Same way, the Karmas which are attached so tight to the soul would not shed off by any kind of efforts but we would have to bear their results to shed off. There are a few terms we should know that are related to the bondage and the manifestation of the karmas. 1. Bondage (Bandh) means when the bondage of the karmas to the soul happens. 2. Fruition (Uday) means when the karmas mature at their own set time and manifest their results. (As the karmas mature and give the results they shed off the soul).

3. Premature Fruition (Udirana) means when karmas are brought to the maturity prior to their set time of maturity with active efforts like penance, active sufferings, etc. 4. Dormancy (Satta) means when the karmas are bonded with the soul in the dormant form and are yet to mature. 5. Abadhakal means the duration of the bondage of the karmas to the soul. It starts from the time of their bondage to the soul until their maturity. 6. Modification (Sankraman) means changes of karma from one type to another. These changes are not possible between main eight types of karma, but only possible between subtypes of each karma. 7. Non-Modifiable (Nikachit) means these karmas can not be changed at all, the soul must suffer the fruition of these karmas. 8. Increase in intensity and duration of karma (Utkarshan). 9. Decrease in intensity and duration of karma (Upkarshan). Many of us do nothing special but just wait for accumulated karmas to mature (to produce their results) and fall off thinking that they cant do anything about them. But by understanding udirna, we should realize that we could do something to our accumulated karmas. We dont have to wait for them to fall off themselves; if we want to accelerate our progress. Because, we can get rid off accumulated karmas ahead of their due time by special efforts. This means we have a control on our own destiny (to liberate) and it is us not God or someone else who decides when that will happen. Now it may be clearer why many people follow austerities or take up monkshood or nunhood. CONCLUSION When the soul is in his deluded state, then passions, feelings, likes and dislikes, etc. are produced in the soul. This attracts karmic particles to the soul. Our activities are physical, verbal and mental (3) and we do activities ourselves, ask someone to do it, or we encourage someone to do it (3). 3 x 3 =9, thus, we do activities 9 ways, which attract karmic particles to the soul. The bondage of karma are four ways: nature, quantity, duration, and intensity. The soul gets rid of karma at the time of fruition of old karma or soul does meditation and prematurely shed off karma.

Questions:
1. What is the cause of disparity we see in this universe? 2. What caused the bondage of karma particles to the soul? 3. How many different ways we can accumulate karma? 4. What are the different things about karma decided at the time of the bondage? How many different kind of karma there and can you name all?