In Jain Dharma, the answer is no: karma is not merely an illusion.

Jain understanding

• Jiva (soul) is non-material, eternal, conscious, and not made of the five elements.
• Karma is a very subtle form of pudgala (matter).
• Karma does not “stick” to the soul like paint on a wall, but it binds to the soul because of the soul’s activities (yoga) and passions (kashaya) such as anger, pride, deceit, and greed.

So in Jain philosophy, the connection is real bondage, not just an appearance created by ignorance.

Then how can matter bind to the soul?

Jainism says that soul and matter are different in nature, but they still interact through beginningless association in worldly life.

A simple Jain way to understand it is:

• The soul is like a lamp.
• Karma is like dust that gets drawn to it because of movement and conditions.
• The lamp remains a lamp, but its brilliance is covered.

So karma does not change the soul’s essential nature, but it obscures its qualities such as knowledge, perception, bliss, and energy.

About ghata-akasha and akasha

In Jain thought, akasha is one and all-pervading. Ghata-akasha is only a conventional distinction—the space “inside a pot” and the space “outside a pot” are not truly two different spaces.

That example can help explain apparent limitation, but it does not prove that karma is unreal. Karma in Jainism is treated as a subtle material bondage, while the soul remains incorporeal and eternal.

Important distinction

Your argument says:

> If karma could attach to the soul, the soul must be material.

Jainism does not accept that conclusion. The soul is not material, yet it can be associated with karmic matter because bondage happens through the soul’s own activities and passions. The soul is not destroyed by this bondage; only its pure manifestation is covered.

Final point

So, according to Jain Dharma:

• Soul is eternal and non-material.
• Karma is material and real.
• Karmic bondage is real, not illusion.
• Liberation happens when all karmic matter is completely shed.

If you want, I can also explain this in the language of Jain dravyas, gunas, and paryayas in a very simple way.