Jain Science and Spirituality

by Medhavi Jain | 2020 | 61,419 words

This essay studies the elements of Jainism and investigates how Jain science and philosophy can give the world answers to through science and spirituality. Instead of interpreting it as a confined, strict philosophy, it is shown that Jainism represents a path towards self-awakening through self-improvement....

Karma is a sort of power which constrains the soul to endure the outcomes of its good and bad activities, and this power starts in the very activity itself which is performed by the soul and at the exact second of its execution.’[1]

Just as the quality of a seed instantly depicts the health of the tree in future; the intensity of the karma performed, expresses the nature, type and duration of the same in future, at the very same time that particular karma is executed.

adya jnana darshanavarana vedaniya mohaniya yushka nama gotra amtarayah
  —(Tattvartha Sutra 8.5)

‘There are eight principal types of karmic bondage: knowledge-covering, intuition-covering, sensation, deluding, lifespan, body, status, and obstructive.’[2]

Examples of all these karma can easily be seen in our routine lives, though the degrees may vary highly for all. For example: going to school or college for a degree can be the simplest example of a step towards peeling the knowledge obscuring karma; however in terms of Jain philosophy this is much higher and refers to the direct knowledge (pratyaksha gyan).

‘There is a fundamental grouping of karma in four classifications, the four ghati and the four aghati karmas, terms which can generally be deciphered as 'harmful' and 'not destructive', the destructiveness referring to the effect that these specific sorts of karma have on the basic characteristics of soul.’[3]

They can also be seen through a different perspective, that the karma which can be shed by the efforts of the soul are ghati karma like–gaining knowledge, having a clear perception of happenings, removing delusion and eliminating obstruction;and the ones which can only be shed at maturation are aghati karma for example: age, body, societal status and feeling of affliction, be it good or bad.

‘The aghati karma determine the longevity, the personal appearance, the social circumstances and sensitivity to pleasure and pain of the individual (these varieties of karma are termed ayu, nama, gotra and vedaniya), while the ghati karma obscure knowledge, obscure faith, defile whatever bliss one experiences and obstruct the actions of the individual (gyanavarniya, darshanavarniya, mohaniya and antaraya).’[4]

However each of these karma has further subdivisions and there are ‘5 subgroups of knowledge obscuring karma, 9 sub groups of intuition obscuring karma, 2 subgroups of vedaniya karma, 28 subgroups of mohaniya karma, 4 subgroups of ayu karma, 103 subgroups of nama karma, 2 of gotra karma and 5 subgroups of antaraya karma.’[5] One may not think of any further subdivisions of karma, as it has been done in Jain philosophy. Each subgroup takes one to a newer truth and a higher plane of contemplation.

‘The basic depiction of the idea of karma in Jainism is that its substance is pudgala, which is ordinarily interpreted as 'matter'. Without a doubt Jaina scholars broke down the material universe as far as pudgala, giving point by point depictions of how pudgala particles associate to shape bigger units; these hypotheses have been contrasted with Indian just as non-Indian atomic theories.’[6]

Basically in Jain philosophy karma is materialistic and not abstract. Also karma is the law of nature, this makes Jain karma theory purely scientific that can also be helpful for us to understand symmetry in the cosmos.

‘The fundamental ethics which Jainism wishes its supporters to develop are antiquated, they depend on standards which can be transparently and judiciously talked about inside the system of the very coherent karma precept.’[7]

Indeed one may get mesmerised by the freedom Jain philosophy provides, if understood in a broader way. However the only theory, most people understand today, is of strict following of ethics, no one pays heed to its most efficient karma theory. None pays attention that even in the very roots of ethics lie karma.

Understanding of karma philosophy starts from one’s pondering over how nature works. If one is eating infected food, one is bound to have a stomach infection. If one is typing wrong spellings of a particular word into the computer, the printout will only carry the wrong spellings. Similarly if one thinks about the life beyond, one can conclude that one’s present actions also influence one’s future lifetimes.

‘Just as I can harm my health in this life by certain unwise actions, I can harm the quality of my next life by certain other actions.’[8]

Hence the karma theory not only motivates one for self-introspection, but it also enhances one’s knowledge towards understanding the workings of the universe.

No matter how strong or mild a karma is;

‘Each karma has a life and after that it separates out from the karma body. The shedding of karma from the karma body is known as nirjara.’[9]

The simplest example of nirjara, in our daily life, can be–one’s efforts towards weight loss.

‘In Panchastikaya,[10] referring to the long ago linkage between soul and karmic matter as ‘soul-karmic matter cycle’, it is mentioned that, ‘the worldly soul which is bound in the cycle of birth and death, has the impact of affection and disdain. These impacts pull in new karma. Karma prompts birth in different states. Birth creates a body, a body has faculties, faculties make the most of their subjects, enthusiasm for subjects offer ascent to love and scorn. In this way, with feelings of unremarkable soul emerge karmic pudgala, with karmic pudgala emerge feelings.’[11]

This cycle may go on till infinity, if the soul remains in an unawakened state but the moment it awakens through right knowledge and right perception, this cycle becomes finite.

To understand the human behavioural patterns and many other complicated emotional and mental issues, we must peep into the karma theory. Indeed most of one’s traits, in the present life, are genetic; but the presence of past karmic accounts can also not be ignored.

‘The pattern of human actions is set originally during embryonic development under the control of DNA which in itself is partly inherited and partly karmic.’[12]

‘Indeed, even as a light by its temperature draws up the oil with its wick and, in the wake of illustration up, changes over the oil into its body (viz. gleam), precisely so does a soul-lamp, with the properties of connection and material aggregates by the wick of its exercises and, in the wake of drawing in, change them into karma.’[13]

For example–a desire to construct a new house motivates one to earn money, buy land, prepare maps, take the required grants from the appropriate departments, hire an architect, laborers etc. and even after the house is made, one has to continuously maintain it in order to keep it clean and up to date. This is the simple example of binding karma through soul’s efforts of attachment.

When one talks about the solitariness of the infinite journey of life and death, one contemplates about why others come into touch with one, in form of different relationships etc. and how others’ karma are associated with one?

To solve this query the following statement can be helpful–

‘You don’t live with consequences of other people's karma. You live with the consequences of your own.’[14]

And these consequences are earned by oneself and none other. However to bring these consequences in front of us, different relationships come into being.

‘We have obligations that must be paid. In the event that we have not paid out these obligations, at that point we should bring them into another life… all together that they might be worked through. You advance by paying your obligations. A few spirits advance quicker than others. There will be numerous lifetimes… to satisfy the majority of the understandings and the majority of the obligations that are owed.’[15]

Be it the context of relationships or any other field; each one of us has to endure some ups and downs, that bother us a lot. But if we start to see and analyse everything under the canopy of karmic accounts, the image starts to get clearer and we start having faith in not carrying over the account further but in clearing it here and now. This is the beauty of karma philosophy that it leaves no stone unturned even in improvising a person.

Indeed,

‘Relationships are a living research centre, a field test to decide how we are getting along, regardless of whether our lessons have been learned, to find that how near we are to our pre-decided life plan.’[16]

For its relationships that keep taking tests of one to check if one has truly improved or not.

Often in our lives we are taught to focus on materialistic success, surprisingly no one tells us about what we will truly take with us when we depart from here.

One has to conclude that on one’s own, through his life’s experiences and observations that,

‘When we die and our souls progress to higher dimensions, we take our behaviours, our deeds, our thoughts, and our knowledge with us.’[17]

And not a bit of material possession.

‘We will not meet our possessions in the afterlife, but we will meet our loved ones.’[18]

The loved ones we lose during the journey of life and whose separation seems unbearable.

‘Karma in Jainism is viewed as a substance, as opposed to a theoretical astronomical law, a type of unobtrusive issue that burdens and encases the spirit. By so doing, it clouds genuine learning and comprehension of the real world.’[19]

The whole beauty of Jain karma philosophy lies in its scientific-ness; when one realises that there is no one to keep accounts of one’s karma, one becomes confident and takes command of one’s life in his own hands, and this is the need of the hour. When everyone has lost self-confidence and looking up for some divine power for help, Jain philosophy teaches one to be immensely independent.

‘Karmic matter comprises of subatomic particles, which we will allude to here as karmons. These karmons drift openly and arbitrarily in space yet they don't interface with one another. Among subatomic particles, karmons are one of a kind as in they can only be absorbed by the spirit, and can't meld independent from anyone else. Consequently karmic matter increments by retaining new karmons and diminishes by dropping a portion of its karmons in space.’[20]

Each action of the consciousness attracts karmons towards it, karmons that come and stick with it according to the intensity of the intent of the soul, which eventually decides the duration of their stay.

When a bad person comes in contact of a good human being, gradually the goodness of the other influences him, though the good one has his own journey that has nothing to do with the bad one, but still he influences him. And however the good person is not going to stay with the bad one forever but still he leaves a mark on the character of the previously bad person, for a long time.

Similarly,

‘In spite of the fact that the karmic matter does not straightforwardly touch the spirit, for the spirit is a non-material substance, the nearness of karmons around the spirit applies impact and can modify the spirit's character. Karmic matter, combined with the spirit's distorted vitality component, delivers a karmic force field (or karmic field). Thusly, the power field offers ascend to karmic-influx. Both these impacts are a piece of a part of reality referred to the Jains as asrava. This is the progression of karmons from all bearings into the spirit. Further, the karmic compel combined with the spirit's deterred vitality component meld the approaching karmons: we will call this procedure karmic combination, yet in conventional Jain terms it is a part of Bandha.’[21]

In a simpler language asrava is the door through which newer karma continuously enter into the soul and get fused with the previously present karma and the soul’s defiled vision also plays an improtant role in this process, as it decides the other factors of the newly arriving karma i.e. type, duration etc.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

As cited in TJDKTSG. pp. 29 (The Key of Knowledge by C.R. Jaina, pp. 876-77)

[2]:

TWI. pp. 191

[3]:

JTIF. pp. 38

[4]:

JTIF. pp. 38

[5]:

TJDKSG. Contents.

[6]:

JTIF. pp. 39

[7]:

JTIF. pp. 44

[8]:

JTIF. pp. 56

[9]:

TJDKTSG, pp. 29

[10]:

Panchastikaya. 34

[11]:

English Translation in TJDKTSG. pp. 32

[12]:

TJDKTSG. Pp. 35

[13]:

Tattvartha Sutra Bhashya Teeka. Part-1. pp. 343 As cited in TJDKTSG. pp. 93-94

[14]:

Tripathi Amish. The Immortals of Meluha (TIOM). Chennai, Westland Ltd. 2010. pp. 144

[15]:

Dr. Weiss Brian. Messages From The Masters (MFTM). UK. CPI Mackays, Chatham, 2000. pp. 55.

[16]:

MFTM. pp. 60

[17]:

MFTM. pp. 64

[18]:

MFTM. pp. 64

[19]:

Mardia Kanti V. and Rankin Aidan D. Living Jainism (LJ). UK: John Hunt Publishing Ltd. 2013. pp. 34

[20]:

LJ. pp. 68

[21]:

LJ. pp. 71

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