Does Karma (going from a higher life-form to a lower one) only apply to humans?

Question

As most of you might know that in Hinduism, it is believed that you and every other living thing consist of two things one is "a soul" which is indestructible, true and reality. No harm can be done to the soul. The other is your "body" which is illusion. It is destroyed after you die. Your soul then gets free from your body when your body dies and goes to another body it calls rebirth.

Every soul has to pass through several species as per evolutionary process. According to Padma Purana, the different types of life-forms in the universe are 8,400,000:

  900,000 of which are aquatic ones;   
2,000,000 are trees and plants;  
1,100,000 are small living species (like- insects and reptiles);  
1,000,000 are birds;  
3,000,000 are beasts and  
  400,000 are human species. 

Only after passing through all of the above forms will a soul get its human form. As we can say the soul inside of a human is the same as that of a soul inside of an ant or an elephant.

The cycle of birth and death continues on until it is merged with the Supreme One called "Paramatma" (or a soul gets free from the cycle of rebirth). This is called "Moksha". The time taken for the Moksha will depend upon one's "Karma" and "Dharma".

For example, as we know for the sake of food, a Tiger kills a Deer, Plants are killed by Elephants, a Snake kills a Rat, and we, humans, also kill many things like plants and animals for food (or for habitat) and so on. As per my knowledge the above all have done the same karma or sin. But as we know if human's karmic account is not clean, he will only be wandering in different planes of existence in different kinds of bodies suffering or enjoying different kinds of pain and pleasure depending upon his actions (karma) respectively.

My questions are:

• Does it mean the 8,400,000 forms are created simultaneously at one time?

  1. If yes, then, does it mean some souls are coming directly to human-form?

  2. If not, then, why is a specific number of life-forms given in Padma Purana?

• Does Karma apply to all life-forms?

  E.g., can the soul of a tiger take birth as tiger only or can it go to a lower life-form according to its karma (by killing a animal for the sake of food)? Or will it always gain a higher life-form of the evolutionary process?

• How to know that it's their result of karma or it's their own way of life (it means no prarabdha karma generated and they will go direct to higher life-form)?

• Is there any possibility of skipping one life-form of evolutionary process and go upward or downward? Specially, does this happen in humans i.e., going to a lower life-form? (Higher simply means attaining moksha, as per my knowledge)

• Does this karma only apply to humans?

• Are there any scriptural references for any of this?

UPDATE: Added one more question related to this topic.

Answer 1

Tiger kills deer for food. Same way snake kills rat for food. They mostly never kill the prey for fun. I have heard the stories, where even if anyone go near to tiger without disturbing it, when its stomach is full, it would not attack them. Whole ecosystem is created and balanced by different types of creatures.

As long as tiger kills deer for basic survival, then it is NOT a sin. Same way if human kills plant for basic survival it is not Not sin. But if he kills unnecessarily for fun or just to show of power, then it is sin.

Let me answer to your questions,

// Is this means 8,400,000 yonis created simultaneously at one time?

8,400,000 are different type of species, not number of yonis.Each species have unknown number of yonis. Soul can get incarnated in any of these species based on its karma.

// Is this karma apply's to all yoni (life-forms)?

Only abode Lord vishnu is free of karma. All other lokas people do karma. That's how souls do migrate between lokas. But in some lokas, soul can live long long duration, before taking next lifeform.

//Like, Is a soul of tiger will take birth as tiger only or lower yoni to mete its previous karma (by killing a animal for sake of food)? Or will it gain a upper yoni of the evolutionary process?

How do you think, if tiger cannot accrue karma, it can climb up evolutionary ladder? Have you heard about story about a dog, which became sun god vivasvan?

//Is there any possibility of miss one yoni(Life -form) of evolutionary process and go upward or downward? Specially, is this happens in human form goes to downwards yoni(Life-form)?

Moving up and down in the spiritual ladder is very common. Some people do pious work in order to attain spiritual realms, but after gaining that, they becomes egotists, neglect god and descend back to lower realms.

Attaining moksa or higher realm is possible even in lower forms. But it is easiest in human form than in animal form.

Most of examples of animals attaining higher realms are due to them having non-animal instincts due to their previous lifes .

For Ex: In Gajendra moksa - he could completely remember his past lives and could able to recite Hari kirtana.

Bharata chakravarti could able to remember his past lifes while in the form of deer.

Answer 2

Yes.

Non-human forms don't have freedom of choice as their are slaves of their gross as well as subtle senses. These forms are given to "burn" your karma, either by getting pleasure or sufferings.

That's why the Vedas are insisting on the importance of using this human body to search for the Absolute Truth.

athato brahma jijnasa

"Now one should inquire about Brahman" (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.1)

You get a new body according to 2 things: your past deeds (karma, which means literally "action") and your last desire just before leaving your actual body.

Because of these two things, you will have to live through different pleasures and suffering.

As for the later, you may consume a part of your "bad" karma in what we may call "Hell", then take birth on some lower ("infernal") planetary system, and finally, by taking birth as a lower form of life.