OBSCURING (GHATI) & NON-OBSCURING (AGHATI) KARMAS AND THEIR FUNCTION

Further those karmas are of eight types classified into Jnanavarana, etc. Owing to the instrumental cause of four Ghati Karmas, the intrinsic nature of soul gets obscured. Owing to the instrumentality of Jnanavarana (knowledge obscuring) - Darshanavarana (perception obscuring) type of karmas, the knowledge and perception nature of soul does not get manifested; only according to the Kshayopashama (destruction cum subsidence) state of these karmas, the knowledge and perception remain partially manifested. And owing to the instrumentality of Mohaniya (deluding) Karma, the dispositions which are not the true nature of the Jiva (soul), such as misbelief, anger, pride, deceit, greed, etc., passions get manifested. And owing to the instrumentality of Antaraya (obstructive) Karma, the nature of the soul, Virya (spiritual power) of the order of accepting asecticism does not get manifested; according to its Kshayopashama only partial spiritual power (Virya) remains manifested.

Thus owing to the instrumentality of Ghati Karmas, the intrinsic nature of the soul is being obscured from eternity. It is not so that originally the soul was intrinsically in pure state and afterwards became impure due to the instrumentality of karmas, resulting in the destruction of pure nature.

Question: Destruction is the name of annihilation, so, that which existed earlier could be stated to have been annihilated. Here, when there is no existence of intrinsic nature what has been then destroyed?

Answer: The soul possesses eternally such an intrinsic power that if the instrumental cause of karmas be not there then the Jiva (soul) would be found with the mainfestation of omniscience, etc., form of his intrinsic nature but since eternity the bondage of karmas is found, therefore, the manifestation of that capacity has never been there. Hence, from inherent capacity point of view, the intrinsic nature does exist; only from the standpoint of not letting it to manifest it is said to have been destroyed.

And there are four kinds of Aghati Karmas owing to the instrumental cause ofwhich the soul comes in contact with external things. There, due to Vedniyakarma (feeling producing Karma) various other (non-self) things acting as instrumental cause of happiness and misery get associated either in the body or outside the body; due to Ayu (life) Karma, the bondage with the present body does not get released till the expiry of its duration; due to Nama-Karma (physique making Karma) the Gati (state of embodied form of existence), Jati (the class of beings), the body, etc. are produced and due to Gotra Karma (status determining Karma) one attains high or low status.

Thus by Aghati Karmas the external things get assembled. In their presence, due to the association of the rise of Moha (deluding karma), Jiva becomes happy and miserable. And due to bondage with the body, etc., the immaterial intrinsic characteristic, etc., of the soul do not function as per their own nature. For example, if someone catches the body then the soul also gets caught. Moreover, so long as the rise of karmas continues, till then the association of external things remains as it is; does not become otherwise. Such should be known the instrumentality of these Aghati Karmas.