According to Jain thought, karma is not merely an abstract law of moral causation, but a form of extremely subtle material substance that actually adheres to the soul (jiva). These karmic particles obscure the soul’s innate qualities of perfect knowledge, perception, bliss, and energy, weighing it down and binding it within the cycle of birth and death. Karma thus functions as the direct cause of spiritual bondage, determining experiences such as pleasure and pain, lifespan, status, and the general conditions of existence. It is a self-regulating process rather than an external system of divine reward or punishment.

Karmic matter is drawn to and bound with the soul through activities of body, speech, and mind, especially when these are driven by passions such as anger, pride, deceit, greed, attachment, and aversion. The intensity and duration of karmic bondage depend on the quality of intention and the depth of these passions. Over time, this accumulation of karma shapes the contours of an individual’s spiritual and worldly life, continually reinforcing the cycle of samsara. In this way, every thought, word, and deed becomes a subtle act of “karmic chemistry,” either further encrusting the soul or preparing the ground for its purification.

Jain discipline therefore centers on two complementary processes: stopping the influx of new karma (samvara) and shedding the karma already bound to the soul (nirjara. This is pursued through right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, supported by non-violence, truthfulness, self-restraint, non-attachment, and various forms of ascetic practice and austerity. As karmic matter is gradually “burned off” and new accumulation is minimized, the soul’s natural luminosity begins to reassert itself. When all karmic particles are finally exhausted, the soul attains liberation (moksha), abiding forever in its pure state of infinite knowledge, perception, happiness, and power, no longer subject to rebirth.