Idea of Karma in Jainism

The Idea of Karma in Jainism Jainism is the one of the oldest practiced religions in the world. “Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live lives of harmlessness and renunciation” ("Jainism: Karma")Limiting the use of natural resources of the land and following the three jewels or governing principals of the religion obtains the goals of this religion. There are another five governing principles called the five mahavratas. These are named after the founder of modern day Jainism. The main goal of Jainism is to become liberated. The only way to become liberated is to eliminate all karma from the soul. Since the only way to become liberated is to remove karma, karma plays an essential role in the religion of Jainism. Karma is a universal idea in most eastern religions but has a much more elaborate meaning in Jainism. Karma is defined as “the mechanism that determines the quality of life. The happiness of a being's present life is the result of the moral quality of the actions of the being in its previous life ("Jainism: Karma"). Karma is an idea found in most religions that believe in reincarnation. The idea and definition of karma differs between religions and regions that it is found in.
In Jainism karma is a way to make sense of the good and the evil within people and within the world. In this religion karma is not determined by any higher powers. Karma is strictly based off the good and bad deeds and is believed to be a physical substance. It is thought of as a physical substance because this religion is a self-help type of religion. There are no gods or angels that are present and help in the judging of character and other personal endeavors. The physical being of karma is present everywhere in the universe according to Jainism. “Karma particles are attracted to the jiva (soul) by the actions of that jiva” ("Jainism: Karma") The simplest way of describing the physical being is a comparison to