Kamashiya Evam Unka Yoga - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, "Kamashiya evam Unka Yoga" by Bramhamitra Avasthi, focusing on the initial pages provided:

Book Title: Kamashiya evam Unka Yoga (Karmashaya and Their Enjoyment) Author: Bramhamitra Avasthi Publisher: Z_Umravkunvarji_Diksha_Swarna_Jayanti_Smruti_Granth_012035.pdf Catalog Link: https://jainqq.org/explore/210345/1

Summary:

This text delves into the concept of Karmashaya (storehouse of karma) and its implications for human experience, drawing from Vedic and Yogic traditions. The author, Bramhamitra Avasthi, begins by categorizing all human emotions and actions into two primary types: those that lead to suffering (kleshhetuk) and those that do not (akleshhetuk). Actions and emotions are considered akleshhetuk when performed with detachment or dedicated to the Supreme Being (Param Shiva).

The kleshhetuk emotions and actions are further broken down into five states within the yoga tradition: ignorance (avidya), egoism (asmita), attachment (raag), aversion (dvesha), and clinging (abhinivesha). The ultimate root of these five is identified as ignorance (avidya). Ignorance is the fundamental cause from which all other mental states and subsequent actions, such as greed, anger, and delusion, arise. These mental states and actions, when accumulated in various forms, become Karmashaya.

Karmashaya are described as existing in different states: dormant (prasupta), attenuated (tanu), interrupted (vichchhina), and active (udar). When these mental states reside in the mind merely as potential energy, like seeds, they are termed "seeds of afflictions" (klesh-beej). Upon encountering an object of perception, these seeds sprout and manifest. This dormant potential state is referred to as prasupta-karma.

The text then explains how, through spiritual practice and the dawn of discriminative discernment (vivekkhyati), these seed-like afflictions are "burnt" (i.e., their potential to sprout is destroyed). Similar to how burnt seeds cannot germinate even in fertile ground, these burnt afflictions do not manifest when encountering their objects. This state is the fifth and final stage of karma, also known as the state of dormancy.

The text outlines how various spiritual realizations and practices lead to the weakening of these afflictions:

Attenuated (tanu) state: The rise of true knowledge, discrimination between the Self and senses, dispassion, feelings of amity, and the understanding of imperishability gradually weaken ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging.
Interrupted (vichchhina) state: When one mental state (action) is temporarily suppressed by another powerful mental state.
Active (udar) state: The state where afflictions manifest and are experienced when encountering their respective objects of desire.

The author notes different interpretations regarding these states. Ramananda Yati suggests that for yogis who have attained liberation of the body (videha) and those absorbed in primal nature (prakriti-laya), afflictions are dormant. For practitioners of kriya-yoga, they are attenuated, and for those attached to worldly objects, they are interrupted and active. In contrast, the commentator Bhoja classifies afflictions based on the state of the mind itself. Dormant afflictions are those present in the mind but not yet activated due to a lack of causative factors, like the latent desires in a child's mind. Attenuated afflictions are those whose capacity to act has been weakened by opposing practices, though their latent tendencies remain. Interrupted afflictions are those whose power is subdued by a stronger affliction. Active afflictions are those that manifest and perform their function when the necessary supportive causes are present.

The text further elaborates that the mental states arising from these four types of afflictions (dormant, attenuated, interrupted, active) are called karma. In essence, avidya, asmita, raag, and dvesha, regardless of their state, cause activity in the mind and senses, and this activity is karma. These karmas generate impressions (samskaras), which are stored as Ashaya or Karmashaya.

The Karmashaya resulting from avidya and other afflictions can yield fruits in the current life as well as in future lives. These fruits can be of three types: birth (jati), longevity (ayu), and experience (bhoga). The text discusses how exceptionally virtuous or intensely negative Karmashaya tend to bear fruit in the current life, citing examples like Nandiśvara and Vishwamitra. Similarly, intense negative actions like betrayal or harming great souls can also lead to immediate negative consequences, as illustrated by the story of Nahusha.

According to the commentator Nagoji Bhatta, the primary fruit of Karmashaya is experience (bhoga), while birth and longevity are secondary, serving as the background for experiencing these fruits.

The text then addresses the inevitability of experiencing the fruits of Karmashaya. Vyasa, the commentator on the Yoga Sutras, posits that Karmashaya are only fruitful as long as the afflictions (kleshas) like avidya persist. When afflictions are destroyed, Karmashaya fail to sprout, much like de-husked paddy seeds cannot germinate. The destruction of afflictions through discriminative discernment leads to the destruction of the Karmashaya and the cessation of their fruits.

The author then begins to explore the nature of the fruits of Karmashaya, specifically birth. The text questions whether one karma leads to one birth, or multiple births, and similarly, whether multiple karmas lead to one birth or multiple births. It dismisses the idea of one karma leading to one birth or one karma leading to multiple births due to logical inconsistencies and the inability to account for the varied experiences within a single life or the sequential fruition of countless past actions. Likewise, the idea of multiple karmas leading to multiple births is also deemed problematic due to issues of sequential order and the unmanageable complexity of fruition. The text suggests that the most plausible explanation is that the aggregate of all actions performed from birth to death initiates a birth characterized by diverse and complex fruits, because this aggregate is a unified entity that gives rise to a single birth, and the multiplicity and diversity within the aggregate explain the varied experiences of that birth.

The text concludes the initial pages by stating that generally, unseen Karmashaya (adrishta janma-vedaniya) can manifest as birth, longevity, and experience, while seen Karmashaya (drishta janma-vedaniya) primarily create experiences, although sometimes longevity can also be a result. It also notes that the aggregate of actions determines the birth, longevity, and experiences, not individual actions.

This summary covers the foundational concepts of emotions, afflictions, their states, the formation of Karmashaya, and the initial discussion on the fruits of these Karmashaya, particularly birth, longevity, and experience, as presented in the initial pages of the book.