Obscuring (Ghati) & Non-obscuring (Aghati)
Karmas and their Function
Further those Karmas are of eight types
classified into Jnanavaranr, etc. Owing to the instrumental cause
of four Ghati Karmas, the intrinsic nature of soul gets
obscured. Owing to the instrumentality of Jnanavarana (knowledge
obscuring) -Darshanavarana (perception obscuring) type of Karmas,
the knowledge and perception nature of soul does not get manifested; only
according to the Kshayopashama (destruction cum subsidence) state
of these Karmas, the knowledge and perception remain partially
manifested. And owing to the instrumentality of Mohaniya (deluding)
Karma, the dispositions which are not the true nature of the
Jiva (soul), such as misbelieve, anger, pride, deceit, greed, etc.,
passions get manifested. And owing to the instrumentality of Antaraya
(obstructive) Karma, the nature of the soul, Virya
(spiritual power) of the order of accepting asceticism does not get
manifested; according to its Kshayopashama only partial spiritual
power (Virya) remains manifested.
Thus owing to the instrumentality of Ghati
Karmas, the intrinsic nature of the soul is being obscured from
eternity. It is not so that originally the soul was intrinsically in pure
state and afterwards became impure due to the instrumentality of Karmas,
resulting in the destruction of pure nature.
Question: Destruction is the name of
annihilation, so, that which existed earlier, could be stated to have been
annihilated. Here, when there is no existence of intrinsic nature, what
has been then destroyed?
Answer: The soul possesses eternally such an
intrinsic power that if the instrumental cause of Karmas be not
there then the Jiva (soul) would be found with the manifestation of
omniscience, etc., form of his intrinsic nature but since eternity the
bondage of Karmas is found, therefore, the manifestation of that
capacity has never been there. Hence, from inherent capacity point of
view, the intrinsic nature does exist; only from the standpoint of not
letting it to manifest, it is said to have been destroyed.
And there are four kinds of Aghati Karmas
owing to the instrumental cause of which the soul comes in contact with
external things. There, due to Vedniya Karma (feeling
producing Karma) various other (non-self) things acting as
instrumental cause of happiness and misery get associated either in the
body or outside the body; due to Ayu (life) Karma, the
bondage with the present body does not get released till the expiry of its
duration; due to Nama-Karma (physique making Karma)
the Gati (state of embodied form of existence), Jati (the
class of beings), the body, etc. are produced and due to Gotra-Karma
(status determining Karma) one attains high or low status.
Thus by Aghati Karmas the external things
get assembled. In their presence, due to the association of the rise of
Moha (deluding Karma), Jiva becomes happy and miserable. And
due to bondage with the body, etc., the immaterial intrinsic
characteristic, etc., of the soul do not function as per their nature. For
example, if someone catches the body then the soul also gets caught.
Moreover, so long as the rise of Karmas continues, till then the
association of external things remains as it is; does not become
otherwise. Such should be known the instrumentality of these Aghati
Karmas.
Destruction of Jiva's Natural Functioning and
Assembling of External Things by Strengthless
Material Karma
Question: Karmas are inanimate and are
not strong; how is then the destruction of Jiva's natural
functioning and assembling of external things possible through them?
Answer: If karma by acting itself as a
doer destroys the nature of the soul and causes association of
external things effortful, then karma should possess sentience and
strength. But it is not so; just cause and effect relationship (Nimitta-Naimittika
Sambandha) (between them) is a natural occurrence. When the
operative stage of those Karmas arises, at that time the soul of
its own does not function in his natural state, rather functions alienly
and the other things too are found functioning in a related manner.
For Example: Mohandhool (an enchanting
type of dust) is found lying on the head of some person due to which that
person has become mad; there that Mohandhool was neither having
knowledge nor strength but madness appears to have been caused by that
Mohandhool only. There the Mohandhool is only a Nimitta
and the person of his own becomes mad. Such only exists Nimitta-Naimittika
(cause and effect) relation-ship.
Further, just as at the time of sunrise Chakwa-Chakwi
(the male & female birds of duck family) meet together, (but) there in the
night nobody has separated them forcedly out of jealousy and in the day
time nobody has brought them together out of compassion; rather they meet
on their own due to Nimitta of sun-rise. Such only is the
functioning of Nimitta-Naimittika. In the same way the
Nimitta-Naimittika functioning of Karmas should be
known. Such is the state of soul owing to the rise of Karmas.
Process of New Bondage
`How is new bondage caused' is being clarified. The
portion of light of the sun which is not perceptible due to the layers of
clouds, that much is absent (unmanifested) in that time. And owing to the
rarefaction of the layers of clouds, the light which is manifesting, is
the part of sun's nature, is not produced by clouds. Similarly, Jnan
(knowledge), Darshan (perception) and Virya (power) is the
nature of soul; the portion of it which owing to the instrumentality of
Jnanavarana, Darshanavarana and Antaraya Karmas is not manifesting,
that much is absent (unmanifested) in that time. And owing to the
Kshayopashams (destruction cum subsidence) state of those Karmas
that part of Jnan, Darshan, Virya which is
manifesting, all that is the part of soul's nature and is not a contrary
(alien) disposition produced by Karmas. So, right from eternity,
such a manifested portion of soul's intrinsic nature never comes to an
end. Only through this (inherent faculty) the consciousness of the soul
is ascertained that the substance possessing the power of knowing and
seeing is the soul only.
And the bondage of new Karmas does not take
place due to this nature (of soul); for, if the soul's nature itself be
the cause of bondage, how could then the release from bondage be possible?
Moreover, owing to the rise of those Karmas, the part of Jnan,
Darshan, Virya attributes which is not manifesting, that also is not
the cause of bondage, for that which itself is not existing how can it be
the cause for others (bondage)? Therefore, the dispositions produced due
to Nimitta of Jnanavarana, Darshanavarana and Antaraya-Karmas
are not the cause of new bondage of Karmas.
Further, owing to the rise of Mohaniya Karma,
the perverse belief in the form of untrue faith and passions, anger,
pride, deceit, greed, etc, are evolved in the soul. All those
dispositions are although found existing in the state of soul, are not
separate from soul, Jiva himself is the doer of them, those are
assuredly the functional deeds of Jiva, nevertheless, their
manifestation is only due to Nimitta of Moha- Karma.
These (alien dispositions) come to an end on elimination of
instrumentality of karma. Therefore, these are not Jiva's
own nature but are the contrary dispositions. And due to those (alien)
disposition new bondage of Karmas takes place; hence the
dispositions manifesting due to rise of Moha-Karma are the
cause of karmic bondage.
And owing to rise of Aghati Karmas,
external things are met with; among them the physique, etc., get bonded in
one (intermingled) form with Jiva-Pradeshas (spatial units
of soul) by occupying the same one region (as that of the soul); and
wealth, family etc., are totally separate from soul, therefore, all those
are not the cause of bondage; for, the other (non-self) substances do not
cause bondage, but in those objects the soul develops the feeling of
mineness and perverse belief, etc. This alone is to be known as the cause
of bondage.
Yoga (Vibratory Activity) the Cause of
Prakriti Bandh (Type-Bondage) and Pradesh Bandh
(Space - Bondage)
Further, it should be known that owing to rise of
Nama-Karma (physique-making Karma), body, organ of
speech and mind are created; due to Nimitta (instrumentality) of
their movement, the space-points (Pradeshas) of soul vibrate and by
virtue of it soul attains the power of getting into one bonded form with
the species of karmic matter. This is termed as yoga (vibratory
activity). Due to its Nimitta at each moment, the inflow of
infinite atoms transformable into karmic form, takes place. If
Yoga is feeble then inflow of atoms is less and if Yoga is intense then
inflow of atoms is more. Further, the atoms of matter that are absorbed in
one Samaya (an unit of time) get divided into Jnanavarana,
etc., main- types and their subtypes (species) of Karmas as are
stated in scripture. According to that division atoms get transformed
into those types (species) of Karmas of their own.
Further, Yoga is of two types: Auspicious Activity (Shubha
Yoga) and Inauspicious Activity (Ashubha Yoga). Inclination
through mind, speech and body in pious acts is called Shubha-Yoga
and inclination in impious acts is called Ashubha Yoga.
Whether there be Shubha Yoga or Ashubha Yoga,
without attaining right belief (Samyaktva) bondage of all sorts of
species of Ghati Karmas continues incessantly. Even for a
single moment bondage of any species of Karmas does not stop.
However, the specific point is that in the pair of Hasya-Shoka
(laughter and lamentation), Rati-Arati (liking and
disliking) and three types of sex-passions of Mohaniya (deluding)
Karma in one time only in each group gets bonded.
Further, in the species of Aghati Karmas,
during Shubha Yoga, Sata Vedniya (pleasure
producing Karma) etc., auspicious species of Karmas, get
bonded and during Ashubha Yoga Asata Vedniya (pain producing Karmas)
etc., inauspicious species of Karmas get bonded and during
Mishra Yoga (mixed auspicious- inauspicious activity) some
auspicious and some inauspicious species of Aghati Karmas
get bonded.
Thus, the inflow of Karmas takes place due to
instrumentality of Yoga (Vibratory activity). Hence, Yoga
is Asrava (influx). And the (quantity of) atoms of karmic
matter so attracted through that Yoga is called Pradesha;
thus, the atoms so bonded get divided into main types and sub-types of
Karmas, therefore it should be known that space-bondage and
type-bondage are caused by Yoga.
