Karma in Jainism - Origins and Influence

Origins and Influence

Although the doctrine of karma is central to all Indian religions, it is difficult to say when and where in India the concept of karma originated. According to Glasenapp, the doctrine of karma must have existed at least a thousand years before the beginning of the Christian era. There is no clear consensus amongst scholars as to its origins, although it is believed by some that the concept of karma has a philosophical background that is non-Vedic and non-brahmanical origin. According to the scholars, the Jain conception of karma—as something material that encumbers the soul—is probably the oldest distinct element. It is probable that the concept of karma and reincarnation entered the mainstream brahaminical thought via the Sramana movement, to which Jainism and Buddhism belong. Historian G. C. Pande opines that early Upananiṣadic thinkers like Yājñavalkya were acquainted with the Sramanic philosophy and tried to incorporate ideas of karma, Saṃsāra and mokṣa into the Vedic thought.

Jain and Buddhist scholar, Dr. Padmanabh Jaini observes: "Perhaps the entire concept that a person's situation and experiences are in fact the results of deeds committed in various lives may not be Aryan origin at all, but rather may have developed as a part of the indigenous Gangetic traditions from which the various Sramana movements arose. In any case we shall see, Jaina views on the process and possibilities of rebirth are distinctly non-Hindu; the social ramifications of these views, moreover, have been profound." The earliest works of the Jain canon, Acaranga Sutra and Sutrakritanga, contain a general outline of the doctrines of karma and reincarnation, with only minimal technical details and classification. Detailed codification of types of karma and their effects is not attested until the time of Umasvati in 2nd century CE.

With regards to the influence of the theory of karma on development of various religious and social practices in ancient India, Dr. Padmanabh Jaini states:

The emphasis on reaping the fruits only of one's own karma was not restricted to the Jainas; both Hindus and Buddhist writers have produced doctrinal materials stressing the same point. Each of the latter traditions, however, developed practices in basic contradiction to such belief. In addition to śrāddha (the ritual Hindu offerings to the dead ancestors), we find among Hindus widespread adherence to the notion of divine intervention in one's fate, while (Mahayana) Buddhists eventually came to propound such theories like boon-granting Bodhisattvas, transfer of merit and like. Only Jainas have been absolutely unwilling to allow such ideas to penetrate their community, despite the fact that there must have been tremendous amount of social pressure on them to do so.

The Jain socio-religious practices like regular fasting, practicing severe austerities and penances, the ritual death of sallekhanā and rejection of god as the creator and operator of the universe can all be linked to the Jain theory of karma. Jaini notes that the disagreement over the karmic theory of transmigration resulted in the social distinction between the Jains and their Hindu neighbours. Thus one of the most important Hindu ritual of śrāddha (offerings to ancestors) was not only rejected but strongly criticised by the Jains as superstition. Certain authors have also noted the strong influence of the concept of karma on the Jain ethics, especially the ethics of non-violence. It is suggested that, belief in the doctrine of rebirth may have led to the idea of the unity of all life and, consequently, to the ethical concept of non-violence in ancient India. Once the doctrine of transmigration of souls came to include rebirth on earth in animal as well as human form, depending upon one’s karmas, it is quite probable that, it created a humanitarian sentiment of kinship amongst all life forms and thus contributed to the notion of ahiṃsā.