Nine Tattvas (5): The concept of Āsrava (inflow)

[Full title: Nine Tattvas: Journey of Soul towards Mokṣa (5) Āsrava]

1 Definition and its Nature

The primal and most fundamental condition of worldly existence punctuated by birth and death is unbroken successive chain of karmic inflow. The fifth tattva is ‘Āsrava’ i.e. cause of inflow of karma. For the word ‘Āsrava’ the term ‘āsava’ is used in Ardhamagadhi Āgamas and Pali Tripiṭakas, in the sense of what intoxicates, bemuddles and befoozles the soul or the mind so that it cannot rise to spiritual pursuits.^[1]

Tattvarthasūtra defines Āsrava as, “sa āsravaḥ” all activities of body, mind and speech by which the karmic particles flow in, to get connected with the soul is Āsrava.^[2]

According to Jaina Siddhanta Deepika,

“karmākarṣaṇahetur ātmapariṇāma āsravaḥ”

“Āsrava is an intrinsic mutation of soul that is responsible for the attraction of karmic matter to the soul”.^[3]

This implies that Āsrava is a door or channel of entrance for karmic particles and the means there to are called Āsrava, as in a pond water comes through the channel or pipe.

2 Types of Āsrava

According to Tattvarthasūtra, there are five causes through which the karmas get attracted to the soul. “Mithyādarśanāviratipramādakaṣāyayoga” viz. Wrong world-view, Non-abstinence, remissness, passions and activity.^[4]

Mityatva Āsrava (Wrong belief): Wrong belief refers to either a perverted attitude or disbelief in the true nature of the soul, as propounded by the Omniscient Lord.

Avirati (Non-abstinence): It is the absence of spiritual strength to abstain from the wrong (sinful) path. It obstructs the spiritual progress.

Pramāda (Remissness): Pramāda means intoxicant–‘pramādaśca madyādih’.^[5] It means the absence of vigour and enthusiasm in the soul in respect of spirituality.^[6]

Kaṣāya (Passions): Passions means the negative emotions–anger, greed, pride and deceitfulness. They are the greatest hindrances to purity of thought and action and in mystical realization.

Yoga āsrava (Activity of mind, body and speech):The activity of mind, body and speech, whether auspicious or inauspicious constitutes, the yoga āsrava^[7] and obstruct the soul from attaining salvation or siddhahood.

Although all types of āsrava (influx) are the causes of karmic bondage yet the attraction of the karmic matter is affected exclusively on account of the ‘activity’ and the duration and the intensity of the fruition is due to ‘passions’. From this point of view, according to Jainism, there are mainly two caus helle of āsrava, they are activity and passion.

On the basis of these two causes of Āsrava, there are two kinds of āsrava:

1. Īryāpatha Āsrava
2. Sāṃparāyika Āsrava^[8]

The inflow of karma due to yoga āsrava, devoid of passions is Īryāpathic Āsrava. This type of āsrava exist in Vītarāga, the enlightened mystic of eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth stage of spiritual development. The inflow of karmas backed up with both yoga and passions is Sāṃparāyika āsrava. This is abandonable to attain salvation.

3 Āsrava in Context of Mysticism

For a mystic āsravas is cause of bondage. It is obstacle in mystical realisation. Of all the five āsravas, mithyātva, avrata, pramāda, kaṣāya and aśubhayoga āsrava purely cause the bondage of inauspicious karmas and are inauspicious āsrava. They are to be given up for spiritual realisation. It is only śubhayoga āsrava that cause the inflow of auspicious karma.

Here a question arises–Is auspicious activity supportive or a hurdle to liberation? According to Jainism, the auspicious activity is both a hurdle as well as support in mystical state. The auspicious activity leads to purification of soul hence it is means to liberation, and as its second effect is bondage of new auspicious karmas, it is hurdle to liberation.

These āsrava is the cause of impure state of the soul. It attracts the karmic matter as magnet attracts the needle to itself. This chain of karma holds the self bound to the worldly existence. That is why the Jaina Ācāryas have asked and advised the spiritual seeker for purification, to exert and stop the inflow of fresh karmas and also to annihilate the accumulated karmas. It advocates first to give up the āsrava that cause pāpa karma with aśubhayoga and practice śubhayoga, and ultimately give up śubhayoga and attain mystical peak–liberation, the state of ‘suddhapayoga’.

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

Illuminator of Jaina Tenents, p. 73.

[2]:

Tattvārtha Sūtra, 6.2.

[3]:

Illuminator of Jaina Tenents, 4.16.

[4]:

Tattvārtha Sūtra, 8.1 “mithya…bandhahetavah”; Dravya Saṃgraha, 30.

[5]:

Bhagavaī, (Eng Part I), 1.141, pp. 81-82.

[6]:

Illuminator of Jaina Tenents, 4.21 “anutsāhaḥ pramādaḥ”

[7]:

Tattvārtha Sūtra 6.1.

[8]:

Source Book of Jaina Philosophy, pp. 192-193.