Impediments & virtues

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In the Jain religion, Ahimsa plays a major role. One might ask

why in one case practice of certain virtues come spontaneously

whereas in other cases no argument whatsoever seems to be

effective. A possible answer is given by the Jain theory of

karma:

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Types of Karmas:

 

There are 8 different types of Karmas :

 

1.Knowledge-obscuring (Gyanavaraniya) Karma:

 

Gyan means knowledge.Varaniya means stoppage. This karma

prevents the soul from acquiring true knowledge and keeps us

ignorant just as a blindfold keeps us from seeing. How can we

improve our lot unless we know what we are?

 

2. Perception-obscuring (Darshanavarniya) Karma:

 

Darshan means faith or perception. This karma prevents us

from having a rational, common-sense approach towards our

lives and surroundings.

 

3. Feeling-producing (Vedaniya) Karma:

 

This karma makes us experience either the sweetness of

physical happiness or the bitterness of misery.

 

4. Deluding (Mohaneeya) Karma:

 

This karma, like too much alcohol, confuses all the human

faculties and makes us forget what is right and what is wrong.

It makes the souls bewildered and perplexed.

 

5. Life-span-determining (Ayu) Karma:

 

This karma determines the life spans of all living beings.

 

6. Physique-determining (Nam) Karma:

 

This karma determines the looks, skin, form etc.of the bodies

of living beings.

 

7. Status-determining (Gotra) Karma:

 

This karma determines the family and status of our birth.

 

8. Obstructing (Antaraya) Karma:

 

This karma prevents us from doing a good deed or undoing a bad

action when there is a desire to do it. For example, we may

want to give donation to a charity but this karma might put

obstacles in our path and stop us from doing so.

 

The Jain system has further sub-divided these eight karmas

into 144 sub classes designed to account for almost every

conceivable experience that a living being could have in a

life time. All interactions between the wordly souls and

other entities of the world are guided by these karmas. This

is true of humans as well as other living beings. The same

rules apply to all worldly souls. These karmas keep us

trapped in the cycles of birth and death, happiness and

unhappiness.

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The above indicates that it is very unlikely to change

someone's perspective by mere arguments or by examples of

experiential data, which often are subjective. Nowhere did I

come across the explicitly detailed gamma of "assets" required

for the steep uphill way "to" nirvana/moksha and there are

good reasons why this is so:

 

1. For someone unprepared it will work as a deterrent.

2. What has to be avoided is the sense of doership so the

"assets" have to be intuited and applied, not talked about.

3. Defining one type of behavior a virtue and its opposite a

sin or an impediment leads to attachment whereas one has to be

detached. Once the understanding comes spontaneously, one has

the proper motive to apply sensibly, not before.

4. Expecting results from practice has to be avoided; unless

practice is spontaneous and pleasant it will add to the

storehouse of like/dislike, do and don't.

5. The French have a nice saying "Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera",

a kind of variant of "Self-reliance is the highest virtue".

 

One's life is like a leave on a tree in a storm; for sure it

will be blown off. The effect one can influence over "others"

by examples, poetry or reasoning can be compared to one man

blowing against the storm in order to save a leaf Apart

from that, one might consider (post from the Ramakrishna

list):

 

Excerpted from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna p.149

 

Saturday 27/11/99

 

The Master Said:

 

"All trouble and botheration comes to an end when the 'I'

dies.

You may indulge in thousands of reasonings,

but still the 'I' doesn't disappear. For people like you and

me,

it is good to have the feeling, 'I am a lover of God.'"

 

om tat sat

 

RamakrishnaVedanta-

~~~~~~om shanthi om ~~~~~~