Theory of Karman in Indian Thought

SR No.: 011109
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Koshelya Walli
Publisher: Bharat Manisha
Publication Year: 1977
Total Pages: 377
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 185

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only when there is rāga or dveṣa, attachment or aversion based upon the basic ignorance or avidya in the agent. As said before, this is quite consistent with the traditional view expressed in the Yogadarsana.
Jayantabhatta in his Nyāyamañjarī speaks at length on the concept of karma as recognised by the followers of Nyaya system. In this context, he finds fault with and vehemently criticises the materialistic views of the Carvākas, both crude and cultured. He quotes the Carvaka view that death is the end of life and there is nothing beyond death, neither heaven nor hell and every man should try to live a life of pleasure. Carvaka points out that when the body is burnt to ashes there is no possibility of the soul to call back and to be reborn, for the body and the soul are one and the same. In this connection, he tries to show that the Atma is distinct from body and is eternal and that relation with the body is to enjoy or to suffer the consequences of its past actions. Consciousness belongs to the Ātmā and not to the elements combined together. There is a postmortem life of the Atma in different planes according to the nature of karma. Jayanta in his same work gives adequate reasons for the existence of Paraloka. He points out that there is a previous life of a person before his birth in the present body, so there is a life after death of the same person in a certain plane and then there is a rebirth of the soul. He quotes here an ancient stanza in support of his belief in favour of a previous life of a child.2 The verse quoted by him means that a newly born baby or child is found to smile sometimes. This indicates pleasure and pleasure suggests the existence of memory and memory points to immediate experience and this means belief in an earlier existence in another birth. This is of course in line with what has been pointed out in Sutras and commentaries in Sastras.
1.. Vyomavati page 643.
2. Nyayamañjarī by Jayantabhatta.