karma

Reincarnation (punarjanma), heaven, hell and the notion of karma (actions bearing fruit in this or a future life) were important because:

  • They helped explain why some people are, in some respects, more fortunate than others.
  • To help motivate good behavior (dharma) due to the karma-vipAka (fruit of karma) theory.
  • Examples:
    • The mahAbhArata case of Indradyumna remaining in svarga (heaven) only as long as his great deeds on earth are fondly remembered (S).
    • “The Prakarana-pancika of Salikanatha, one of the early works of the Prabhakara Mimansa school, affirms that in such sentences as ‘one desirous of heaven should perform the Jyotistoma the rite is simply commended by Vedic passages, which are no more than arthavadas, as a means of securing long-enduring happiness which is free from the taint of all kinds of sorrow and which is present at the mere desire of the enjoyer.” [PVK]
    • “The Shantiparva expressly states ‘The wise do not regard the other world as directly seen by anyone; one has to entertain faith (in the existence of the other world) because otherwise one may run counter to the Vedas.’” [PVK]

When does the fruit arise?

  • Not necessarily in this life [TR, 4,3.28 KB]. shabara disagrees in case of certain vaidika karma-s - [GJ, 4,3.28 W, SB].

Heaven and Hell

  • Various views of svarga (heaven) and naraka (hell) were in vogue. [PVK]

“The shruti and the itihAsa-s are layered texts. Thus, we see several alternative theories in them as well as temporal evolution. It is clear that for the authors of the RV the doctrine of punarjanma or that of mokSha was not important. The concept of attaining svarga was not emphasized either. In the late brAhmaNa texts the concepts of svarga, naraka to a degree & punarjanma became increasingly more important. For core mahAbharata, a concept of svarga where you merged with various deva-s (something in more elementary form found even in the RV funerary recitations) was clearly the most important doctrine – that is how the epic ends, not in mokSha. That kind of svarga was an old IE tradition. That 1 or its evolute was important among the mImAMsaka-s.”

  • The sophisticated yet devout sages and scholars were clear that these terms are not to be taken literally.

  • “Gautama refers to the view of some predecessors of his that naraka is not a place [PVK], but simply means the loss of the capacity to perform the peculiar actions of one’s varNa. There were others who argued in the same strain. … "

  • mImAmsaka view: “Sabara … holds that the primary meaning of the word svarga is joy or delight and not a thing (dravya) which brings joy [GJ, TT].” [PVK]

    • This delight was said to be long-lasting, unmixed with sadness and not the same as - say- the momentary animal joy one gains from scratching an itch. [TR]
    • A state of existence after death at an inferred phala-bhUmi (which corresponds to the popular non-mImAmsaka usage of the word svarga, but is still secondary compared to the state of existance) distinguished from the karma-bhUmi was then inferred by kumArIla and prabhAkara-mishra [TT, TR, 4,3.28 KB, copy2, 6,1.1 KB] This is in contrast to commoners referring to a certain place as svarga, where great delight is granted - so the place is primary while state of being is secondary in emphasis.
    • This particular emphasis on the delightful state of existence rather than a place where such existence - it allows for more easily challenging and dropping this special place altogether. “svarga” can be viewed as a long-lasting satisfaction (of a life well lived!) enjoyed by a soul after completing a dhArmika life - without assuming or speculating anything about the place/ circumstances which allow for such experience after death.

  • “There is a well-known and oft quoted verse which defines svarga as follows: that happiness which is not mixed up with pain, which is not immediately afterwards overwhelmed ( by pain ) and which is present whenever desired, is denoted by the word svaH (or svarga).” [PVK]

  • “The Brahmapurana and the Visnupurana speak in the same strain as Shabara that svarga is what causes happiness to the mind, that naraka is the opposite of it and that meritorious deeds and wicked deeds are designated as svarga and naraka respectively and that svarga and naraka are really states of the mind characterized by happiness and pain respectively.” [PVK]

Possible modifications

However, it must be emphasized that the classical understanding of karma and punarjanma is not indispensable to the hindu worldview of the wonderful interconnected universe - or even to the notion of ethically responsible behavior. Indeed, all these concepts can be accepted as a useful, expedient and elegant fictitious framework (an upAya like the concept of deities explained here). Otherwise, they can even given non-supernatural definitions:

  • For example, jIvAtman (The dichotomoy between the jIva-Atman and the body, a difference akin to the one between an algorithm and a computer, is very important in understanding Hindu thought and rituals.) is redefined to be an abstract concept which is equivalent to one’s evolving personality.
  • The sUkShma-sharIraa stands refuted as a vehicle of consciousness from this life to the next, and punarjanma (reincarnation) is then just happen-stance.
  • karman is redefined so as to accept stochasticity: so that unrewarded good deeds and unpunished bad deeds exist, its functioning being constrained by material laws, and its lasting effect on the Atman being purely psychological.

Thus, these concepts are rendered unimportant in motivating behavior beyond what other concepts (esp puruShArthas) already accomplish.