What does 'karma' mean according to Jain philosophy?
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It refers to an inaccessible force that controls the fate of living beings in inexplicable ways
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It means "deed" and "work"
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It refers to a mystical force
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It refers to a complex of very fine matter
Karma in Jainism conveys a totally different meaning than commonly understood in the Hindu philosophy and western civilization. It is not the so called inaccessible force that controls the fate of living beings in inexplicable ways. It does not simply mean "deed", "work", nor mystical force (adrsta), but a complex of very fine matter, imperceptible to the senses, which interacts with the soul in intensity and quantity proportional to the thoughts, speech and physical actions carried out with attachments and aversions, causing further bondages. Karma in Jainism is something material (karmapaudgalam), which produces certain conditions, like a medical pill has many effects. The effect of karma in Jainism is therefore a system of natural laws rather than moral laws.