What is rebirth ? reincarnation
Well ! for those who believe that there is no rebirth then just google the word rebirth and you will get plenty of videos with actual study.I am just adding one reference video from youtube. below.
Once you are sure that the rebirth is there then scroll below to understand the karma concepts.
We have seen that our comfortable or uncomfortable situations lie
in the activities undertaken by us during this life or earlier lives.
Thus, this assumes a theory of rebirth. It is the law of
nature that we reap what we sow. However, this reaping does not
necessarily occur in the same life. The law, moreover, is not restricted
to physical activities. It applies to our persisting tendencies and
instincts as well, even though they may not be translated into action.
Whatever thoughts we may relish, whether in the midst of mountains or
within a remote cave, they will have their consequences. No one can
escape these consequences. It is not possible to deceive nature.
The consequences have to be borne sooner or later, and no one is immune.
This law of Karma as a spiritual science is not different from the law of cause
and effect, or that of action and reaction, as from physical
sciences. In the spiritual field, the scope of this Karma law is
extended to the realm of emotions and feelings as well.
This law of Karma and theory of rebirth should not be brushed
aside as a fancy of spiritual thinkers. In fact, recent
psychological research bears testimony to their validity.
Modern psychologists have been increasingly moving to accept
it. Dr. Alexander Cannon, during his experiments of age regression
observed that the causes of his patients’ phobias lay in earlier lives.
The reasons for such ailments in many cases could be traced back, to the
Roman period. After surveying the results of 1382 reincarnation sittings,
as he calls them, he compiled a book entitled ‘The Power Within’.
The following is a quote from the book.
·
“For years the theory of reincarnation was a nightmare to me and I
did my best to disprove it but I have to admit that there is such a thing as
reincarnation. It is therefore only right and proper that I should
include this study as a branch of psychology, as my text bears witness to the
great benefit many have received psychologically from discovering hidden
complexes and fears, which undoubtedly have been brought over from past lives.
·
This study explains the scales of justice in a very broad way
showing how a person appears to suffer in this life as a result of something he
has done in a past life through this law of action and reaction known in the
East as Karma. A person cannot see why he suffers one disaster after
another in this life, yet reincarnation may reveal atrocities committed by him
in lives gone by.”We can consider ourselves fortunate that we can obtain, as
part of our heritage, what science has only now been revealing.
Most of us have in the background of our minds the consequences
of what we are now doing. That
helps us in restraining our emotions and
tolerating adversity. We should not react violently even when hurt
physically or otherwise. It is worthwhile to examine the impact of
this theory of Karma for the broad spectrum of society.If everyone knew that
one day, he is surely going to bear the consequences of whatever he does or
thinks, no one would dare to indulge in any activity that would hurt others.
All conflicts and wars, disputes and violence, enmity and vengeance,
parochialism and selfishness, would come to an end. If one ponders
rightly, he can realize that hatred and jealousy may or may not hurt the person
against whom they are aimed at, but they surely will hurt him; since his sense
of discretion and equanimity would be obscured by such defilements.
In that case, no one would harbor any evil and everyone would abide by
the code of conduct that is beneficial to society. Even if someone
gets hurt by others, he would be inclined to consider it as a consequence of
his own past evil Karma and nothing else. Instead of adversely
reacting, he would therefore bear it with a sense of equanimity and
tranquility. The world would turn into a paradise.
Unfortunately,
not everybody is going to realize this, and living beings have to bear the
brunt of evils generated from passions and different types of evil instincts.
The seers have brought out the truth that every being is governed by the
inviolable law of Karma. Realizing that meritorious deeds would be
ultimately helpful in pursuit of happiness, one can try to ensure one’s own future
well-being by making use of his ability and resources for the benefit of all.
Nature has left to us whether to abide by that law and stay happy by extending
happiness to others or to learn the lesson the hard way by undergoing the
miseries and pains arising from evil Karmas.
Classification of Karma
It is well known that some students do very well in class even
though they don’t study, while others have to struggle to get good grades in
spite of studying very hard. In the same way, some people make a
lot of money without much effort, while others cannot even find a job.
You might have also heard that some people are sick all the time,
while others never get sick and some people live to be over a hundred years
old, while others die as young children. Everybody is searching for
an answer to these strange disparities. Some may say it is
the God’s will, others may say it is his luck, and so on.
Jainism says every thing happens due to the result of our past
Karmas. You reap what you sow and no God or anyone else can make
this happen or change.
We and only we are the cause of our suffering or happiness.
This can be explained by the theory of Karma. Therefore, it
is very important that we understand this process very clearly. It also
explains what karmas are, why and what role karmas play in our life (with the
soul), and how we accumulate different kinds of karmas as well as how we get
rid of them.
If you sit back and think, you will realize that you are doing
something all the time. Sometimes you might be talking, listening or
thinking if not doing something physically. In other words you are always doing
something. This is only natural. These activities may
be harmful or helpful to others. It is important to realize that
everything we do brings karmas to our souls. When these karmas mature, that is
when they are ready to give results they bring happiness or suffering to our
lives. This is how the karmas are responsible for our happiness or
suffering.
Karmas are made up of Karman particles. The Karman particles
are made up of non-living matter (Pudgals). They are scattered and
floating all over the universe (Loka). They are invisible even with
the help of any kind of microscope. A cluster of such innumerable Karman
particles is called a Karman Vargana. Karman Vargana
have the subtlest particles. When the soul acts with a passion like
aversion or attachment; or anger, greed, ego, or deceitfulness, it attracts
these Karman Varganas to itself. When these Karman Varganas get
attached to the soul, they are called karmas. Karmas are
classified into eight categories depending upon their nature. The
karmas can be good (Punya) or bad (Pap). The good karmas are the
result of good or pious activities while the bad karmas are the result of bad
or sinful activities.
Process of the Bondage (Bandha) of Karmas
Bandha is the attachment of karma particles (karma Pudgal) to the
soul. Jainism believes that the soul has had this karmic matter
bondage from eternity. Also from eternity the soul is ignorant about its true
nature. This karmic matter is known as the Karman body or causal
body or karma.
At every moment some of the Karmas continually produce their
effects creating pleasure or pains to the soul. After producing the
effects, Karmas separate from the soul.
Also at every moment the soul continually attracts new Karmic
matter because of its ignorance, lack of self restraint, passions,
unmindfulness, and activities of body, mind, and speech.
Hence the soul, which was covered by karmic matter from eternity,
continues acquiring new karma from the universe and exhausting old karma into
the universe through the above mentioned process at every moment.
Because of this continual process of acquiring and exhausting
karma particles, the soul has to pass through the cycles of births and deaths,
and experiencing pleasure and pain. So under normal
circumstances the soul cannot attain freedom from karma, and hence
liberation.
Our activities are:
1. Physical,
2. Verbal or
3. Mental
We further do these activities in three different ways,
1. We do the activities ourselves,
2. We ask someone else to do for us, or
3. We encourage someone else to carry out these
Thus, in different combinations, we do our activities in nine
(3×3) different ways that cause bondage of the karmas to the soul.
At the time of the bondage of karmas to the soul, the following four
characteristics play an important role. They are:
What kind (Nature) of Karmas will these
be?
Prakruti Bandha
How many Karman particles (Quantity) will
attach?
Pradesha Bandha
How long (Duration) will these karmas stay with the
soul? Sthiti Bandha
How strong (Intensity) will the bondage of these karmas
be? Ras Bandha
The nature and the quantity of the bondage of the karmas depend on
the vigor of activities while the duration and the intensity of the bondage of
the karmas depend on the intensity of the passion behind those activities.
Nature of the Bondage of Karmas (Prakruti Bandha)
Depending upon the nature of the results they give when they
mature, karmas are grouped in eight categories. These eight
categories are further grouped in two main categories,
1. Destructive (Ghati) Karmas
2. Non-destructive (Aghati) Karmas
Ghati means destructive or obscuring. The karmas that
obscure the true nature of the Soul are called destructive or Ghati
karmas. The karmas that do not obscure the true nature of the soul,
but only affect the body in which the soul resides are called non-destructive
or Aghati karmas.
A. Ghati Karmas (Destructive Karmas):
1.
Knowledge obscuring (Jnanavaraniya) karma
As the name implies, knowledge obscuring karma obscures the full
potential of knowledge of the soul. Those who have less knowledge
obscuring karma are more intelligent and learn more easily, while those who
have more knowledge obscuring karma have problems retaining knowledge and
learning. There are five sub-types of knowledge obscuring
karma. They are:
·
Empirical-cognition knowledge obscuring (Mati-Jnanavaraniya) karma
·
Articulate knowledge-scripture knowledge obscuring (Shrut-Jnanavarniya)
karma
·
Clairvoyance knowledge obscuring (Avadhi-Jnanavaraniya) karma
·
Telepathy knowledge obscuring (Manah-Paryay-Jnanavarniya) karma
·
Omniscience knowledge obscuring (Keval-Jnanavaraniya) karma
2.
Perception obscuring (Darshanavaraniya) Karma
Perception means to perceive the right meaning and
cognition. Perception obscuring karma diminishes the powers of our
correct perception through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin to the extent
that we may not be able to see well, hear well, smell well, etc.
Perception obscuring karma therefore reduces the real meaning of the things we
see, hear, smell, feel, taste and read and how we correlate them with each
other.
3.
Obstructing (Antaraya) karma
The inflow of Antaraya (obstructing) Karma is caused by
obstructing others in
·
Charity (depriving food, water, and cloths)
·
Gain (depriving of their due profit)
·
Enjoyment of consumable things
·
Enjoyment of non-consumable things
·
Making use of their powers to progress
It produces the following types of result in one’s life
·
Even though a person has a large savings but not able to donate
some to charity
·
A rich person cannot eat a regular meal or cannot do meditation
because of medical problem (diabetes).
Consequently Obstructing Karma is responsible for all the
obstacles we face in our lives. There are five sub-types of Obstructing
Karma:
01 Charity obstructing (Danantaraya) Karma
02 Gain obstructing (Labhantaraya) Karma
03 Enjoyment Obstructing (Bhogantaraya) Karma
04 Re-enjoyment obstructing (Upabhogantraya) Karma
05 Will power obstructing (Viryantraya) Karma
4.
Deluding (Mohaniya) Karma
Deluding Karma creates doubts about religion and spiritual
teachers and destroys faith in the Jina. It obscures right belief and
right conduct of the soul. Deluding Karma causes attachment and hatred and
passions such as anger, ego, deceit, and greed. Deluding Karmas are
divided into two groups.
Faith Deluding Karma (Darshan Mohaniya)
This Karma is so powerful that it brings in its train all other
causes of Bondage of soul. They are undisciplined life (Avirati), Negligence
(Pramada), and Passion (Kashaya). As such it completely overpowers and misleads
the soul and not only does it vitiate Right faith but also obstructs
acquisition of Right knowledge and Right conduct.
Conduct Deluding (Charitra Mohaniya) Karma
Conduct Deluding (Charitra Mohaniya) Karma are those which obscure
or obstruct Right conduct and are further sub-divided into twenty five
categories, sixteen of Passion Deluding (Kashaya Mohaniya) and nine of
Pseudo-passion Deluding (No-Kashaya Mohaniya) Karma.
Of all the karmas, Deluding Karma is the most dangerous and the
most difficult to overcome. It is well known that the senior most learned
disciple of Lord Mahavir, Ganadhar Gautam could not attain Omniscience or
Perfect knowledge (Keval Jnan) due to this Karma and his resultant attachment
(Moha) for Lord Mahavir. Gautam Swami became omniscient only when he
realized this and gave up such delusion (Moha) after the death of Lord Mahavir.
Once this karma is destroyed, salvation or liberation is assured.
B. Aghati Karmas (Non-destructive Karmas):
5.
Feeling Producing (Vedaniya) Karma
Feeling Producing Karma is responsible for all the pleasure and
pain we feel. Some of the effects of Feeling Producing Karma are
good health, happiness, sickness, sorrow, etc.
This is divided in 2 subtypes:
Pain producing (Ashata Vedaniya) Pleasure producing (Shata
Vedaniya)
6.
Body Determining Karma (Nam Karma)
This Karma bondage determines the physique or the body that the
soul will occupy. It has got numerous sub-categories, varying from
two to one hundred three, according to different schools and classification and
sub-classification. There are two main divisions namely (i) Happy Physique
Karma (Shubha Nam Karma) and (ii)
Unhappy Physique Karma (Ashubha Nam Karma).
7.
Status-Determining (Gotra) Karma
Status determining karma determines your social and economical
status. There are two sub- types of status determining Karma:
·
High status determining (Uchcha Gotra) Karma
High Status Karma involves a high
and respectful status in respect of
(i) family; (ii)community (iii) learning (iv) power (v)
profit (vi) penance (vii) looks and (viii) luxury.
·
Low status determining (Nichcha Gotra) Karma
Low Status Karma results in the
opposite equipment and attainments like low
and disrespectable family.
8.
Life Span-Determining (Ayushya) Karma
Age determining karma determines our life span. Our
life span may be shortened by natural calamities or accidents. The
age determining karma determines the lifespan for the next life when
two thirds of our current life has
passed and it is based on precisely
what kind of activities we are doing with our mind, speech or body.
If we are involved in good deeds at that time in point, we will have a longer
and a better next life. Since nobody knows which point in our life is this
point; we should be constantly involved in doing good deeds. If our next
lifespan is not decided at the first two thirds then it is decided at
two-thirds of remaining time. If it is still not decided yet then
again at the two thirds of remaining time and so on and so forth, or at
the time of death. Age determining karma will not be
acquired if the soul is going to be liberated in the current life.
There are four sub-types of age determining karma:
·
Infernal Age Determining Narak Ayushya Karma
·
Sub-Human Age Determining Tiryancha Ayushya Karma
·
Human Age Determining Manushya Ayushya Karma
·
Celestial Age Determining Dev Ayushya Karma
Quantity of the Bondage of Karmas (Pradesha Bandha)
If the physical vigor of our activities is weak, then we
accumulate a smaller number of Karman particles, but if the physical vigor is
stronger, then we accumulate a larger number of Karman particles on our soul.
The higher the number of Karman particles bonded, the stronger is the resultant
effect.
Duration of the Bondage of Karmas (Sthiti Bandha)
The duration of karmic particles on the soul is decided by the
quality of our passions at the time of our activities. If our
desire for the activity is mild, then the duration of the bondage will be for a
short time. On the other hand if the passions are stronger, the
duration of the bondage will be for a long time. The minimum time
could be a fraction of a second and the maximum time could be thousands or even
millions of years.
Intensity of the Bondage of Karmas (Ras Bandha)
The intensity of karmas depends
upon how intense our passions are at
the time of our activities. The lesser the
intensity of our passions, the less strong is the resulting effect of the
karma; the greater the intensity the stronger the resulting effect is.
The tightness of the bondage of the karmas to the soul is
categorized in four different kinds.
·
Loose Bondage: This is like a loose knot in a shoestring, which
can easily be untied. The Karmas, which are attached loosely to the soul, can
be easily shed off by simple austerities and repentance.
·
Tight Bondage: This kind of bondage needs some more effort to
untie it. Similarly, the Karmas, which are attached tightly to the soul,
could be shed off with some effort like atonement.
·
Tighter Bondage: This kind of bondage needs even greater effort to
untie it. Similarly the Karmas, which are attached tighter to the soul,
could be shed off with special effort like greater austerities.
·
Tightest Bondage: This kind of bondage cannot be undone, no matter
how hard you work at it. Similarly the Karmas, which are attached
so tight to the soul, cannot be shed off by any kind of effort b ut
we have to bear their results for this karma to be shed off.
Note : Above part is taken from different jain sites.
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