Answer

No. In Jain Dharma, a jīva’s current life is affected by both past karma and current karma.

Explanation

• Past karma is the main cause of the conditions you are experiencing now: body, lifespan, family, health, सुख-दुःख, opportunities, and obstacles.
• Current actions, thoughts, speech, and conduct are also very important because they:

- create new karma, - strengthen or weaken existing karmic bondage, - and shape future experiences.

So it is not correct to say:

• “Past karma only affects this life”
• “Current karma is only for the next life”

In Jain teaching, karma works continuously. Some karma bears fruit in the present life, and some in future lives.

Spiritual Understanding

This teaching reminds us of two truths:

• Responsibility for the present: what we face now is connected to past bondage.
• Responsibility for the future: what we do now creates future bondage or liberation.

That is why Jain Dharma emphasizes:

• right conduct,
• self-control,
• non-violence,
• truth,
• and inner purity.

These help stop new karma and reduce the effect of old karma.

Takeaway

A jīva’s present life is shaped by old karma already maturing now, and new karma is being bound now for the future. So both past and present karma matter, but in different ways.