कर्म और बंध : एक विवेचन
Summary
This text examines the concept of karmic bondage (bandh) from multiple philosophical perspectives, primarily Jain, but also Buddhist, Yogic, Samkhya, and Vedantic. It defines bondage as the synthesis of the soul (jiva) with karmic matter, with the root causes being attachment (raga) and aversion (dvesha), which are described as the seeds of karma. The text explains that the soul, like a lamp, attracts karmic particles through its emotional heat (raga-dvesha), transforming them into a karmic body. In Jain philosophy, the primary causes of bondage are identified as kashaya (passions like anger, pride, deceit, and greed) and yoga (activities of mind, speech, and body). These are expanded into five inflows (ashrava): wrong belief (mithyatva), non-abstinence (avirati), negligence (pramada), passions (kashaya), and activity (yoga). The text notes that while yoga causes bondage, it is only effective when combined with kashaya. It discusses the psychological interpretation of these concepts, comparing avirati to the uncontrollable desires of the unconscious mind (id) in modern psychology. The analysis concludes that the soul's pure and impure actions are the cause for attracting karmic particles, similar to a magnet attracting iron. It emphasizes that kashaya and mithyatva are interdependent, like heat and light, and that ultimately, it is the soul's own emotional states that determine the nature and quantity of karmic bondage.
Conclusion
This analysis demonstrates that across Indian philosophical traditions, bondage is consistently traced to internal psychological states—primarily attachment, aversion, and ignorance—rather than external forces. The Jain framework uniquely systematizes these causes as kashaya (passions) and yoga (activity), with kashaya serving as the decisive factor determining the nature and intensity of karmic influx. The text establishes that while mere activity can attract karmic particles, it is the presence of passions that transforms this into true bondage. This has profound implications for spiritual practice: liberation requires not merely cessation of action but fundamental transformation of emotional and cognitive patterns. The comparative analysis with Buddhist, Yogic, Samkhya, and Vedantic perspectives reveals a shared recognition that psychological purification is the essential path to freedom, though Jain philosophy provides the most detailed causal mapping of how internal states create external bondage.