Jain Karm Siddhanta

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Jain Karm Siddhanta" by Shyamlal Pandaviya, focusing on the initial pages discussing the Jain perspective on karma within the broader Indian philosophical context:

The book "Jain Karm Siddhanta" by Shyamlal Pandaviya, as presented in the initial pages, delves into the fundamental concept of karma within Jainism, situating it within the diverse landscape of Indian philosophy.

Introduction to Karma in Indian Philosophy:

• Spiritual Foundation of Indian Culture: The text begins by emphasizing that Indian culture has historically been rooted in spirituality. This country's history has been significantly shaped by religion and philosophy, influenced by divine and great souls.
• Diverse Philosophical Views on Karma: Indian philosophy, encompassing schools like Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Jainism, Buddhism, and Charvaka, offers varied perspectives on human life. Except for Charvaka, all other Indian philosophies accept the notions of afterlife, rebirth, karma, and liberation. They universally believe that humans reap the consequences of their actions.
• Literal Meanings of Karma: The word "karma" has three main literal meanings:
  1. The doer (karta): The agent performing the action.
  2. The action (kriya): The act itself, with various classifications.
  3. The substance bound to the soul (skandha): This specific meaning is less common and is particularly elaborated upon by Jain philosophy.

Perspectives from Other Indian Philosophies:

• Nyaya Philosophy: According to Nyaya, human actions performed by the physical body are driven by attachment, aversion, and delusion. Good conduct generates merit (punya), and bad conduct generates demerit (papa). These are also called adrishta (unseen). Adrishta is the cause of karma-fruit production. However, since adrishta is inert, its fruit-generating power requires the inspiration of a conscious being, hence the necessity of God's inspiration for it to yield results.
• Vaisheshika Philosophy: Vaisheshika posits that phenomena like the natural movement of a needle towards a lodestone, the upward flow of sap in trees, the rising of fire flames, the oblique movement of air, and the initial vibrational activity of the mind and atoms occur due to adrishta.
• Samkhya Philosophy: Samkhya suggests that karmic seeds sprout in soil irrigated by the water of afflictions (klesha). However, if these afflictions are dried up by the summer of true knowledge, then karmic seeds cannot sprout in the barren land.
• Yoga Philosophy: Patanjali's Yoga Sutras identify karmashaya (storehouse of karma) as rooted in desires (vasana), which manifest in this world and the next.
• Mimamsa Philosophy: Mimamsa states that every action has the power to generate apurva (the unseen). Karma produces apurva, and apurva produces the fruit. Thus, apurva represents the intermediate stage between karma and its fruit. Shankaracharya viewed apurva as the subtle post-state of karma or the pre-state of its fruit.
• Vedanta Philosophy: Vedanta believes that karma generates vasana (desires), and vasana leads to the cycle of existence (samsara). It is explained that just as food can be destroyed in various ways, but free food is destroyed only by digestion, prarabdha karma (karma whose effects are currently being experienced) is exhausted only by experiencing it.
• Buddhism: Even Buddhism, which is an-atman (non-soul) philosophy, considers the diversity of actions to be the cause of the variety seen in beings. It is stated that beings are heirs to karma and are reborn according to their karma. Karma is described as a relative, a refuge, and that which divides beings into higher and lower states.

The Unique Jain Perspective on Karma:

• Meaning of "Karma": The text highlights that while most Indian philosophies accept that karma refers to actions of the mind, speech, and body (known as bhava karma), Jainism uniquely considers the relationship between the material and the conscious aspects of these actions.
• Physical Interpretation of Karma: Jain philosophers offer a physical interpretation of karma. They posit that the universe is composed of subtle particles (skandhas) or atoms. These atoms, being material, are the fundamental "cause" of things.
• Addressing Criticisms: The text anticipates the criticism that mental experiences like pleasure, pain, and suffering seem purely mental, and therefore their causes should also be mental, not material. The Jain response is that these experiences are not entirely independent of physical causes, as they are often related to physical processes like eating. Without a material basis, pleasure and pain are not experienced (analogous to the sky's lack of experience). Therefore, there are "natural causes" behind these experiences, and these are karma.
• Karma as Material Particles: Jain philosophers define karma as subtle material particles (pudgala skandhas) that, through the instigation of mental states like attachment and aversion (kashayas), enter the soul's spatial regions and bind to it. These are called ajiva karma or dravya karma. They are described as being imbued with qualities like taste and color.
• The Interplay of Soul and Matter: The Jain view is that when the soul experiences states of passion (ragadvesha), it binds to material karma particles. Conversely, these material karma particles reinforce the soul's passionate states. This creates a continuous cycle.
• Karma as the Cause of Bondage: Jainism believes the soul has been bound by karma since time immemorial. This bondage keeps the soul trapped through numerous lifetimes. While the relationship appears eternal from the perspective of continuous progeny, it is considered sadi (beginning with an end) from the perspective of individual states or modifications.
• Overcoming Karma: Because karmic bondage is sadi from a certain perspective, it can be broken. Just as a seed can be rendered incapable of sprouting by burning it (an opposing cause), karmic seeds can be destroyed.
• Karma Classification: Jainism classifies karma into two main types:
  1. Dravya Karma (Material Karma): These are the material particles that have entered and are bound to the soul.
  2. Bhava Karma (Mental/State Karma): These are the modifications of the soul's consciousness, including mental activities like desire and aversion, arising from the influence of dravya karma.

In essence, these initial pages establish that while karma is a universally accepted concept in Indian philosophy, Jainism uniquely offers a detailed, scientifically nuanced, and materialistic explanation of karma as subtle material particles that bind to the soul, influencing its states and determining its destiny. The text underscores that the development of the concept of liberation in Jainism is directly tied to the understanding and shedding of this karmic bondage.