Jaina Philosophy and Religion

SR No.: 001604
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Nyayavijay
Publisher: B L Institute of Indology
Publication Year: 1998
Total Pages: 500
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Epistemology
File Size: 12 MB

Page 59

Essentials of Jaina Philosophy
31
souls are divided into two, viz., the bhavyas and the abhavyas. The bhavyas are those who are capable of attaining liberation, whereas the abhavyas are those who are not capable of attaining liberation.
God (īśvara) According to the Jaina philosophical works, the definition of God is as follows: God is that soul who has completely removed all the karmas. Thus He is not in any way different from the liberated soul described above. The defining characteristic of Godhood is identical with that of liberation itself. To attain liberation is to attain Godhood. The meaning of the term * Īśvara' is 'powerful'. So, the term 'Isvara' can very well apply to the soul that has become powerful by attaining its perfectly pure nature constituted of four characteristics, viz., infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power and infinite bliss.
The basic idea of God is one in which He is characterised by the fourfold features of infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power and infinite bliss. Thus, the undisputable nature of God is constituted of these four qualities. We must recognise that every living being is essentially pure and has the capacity of fully developing its own nature. We must recognise, in other words, that every creature is God in potentiality and that when thus developed to perfection, this potential God in a living being appears in its true light, i.e., as a full-fledged God with His fourfold infinities.
Jaina philosophical works maintain that by constant practice of spiritual discipline spiritually right knowledge and right conduct, the means of liberation, gradually develop and ultimately attain perfection. And when they attain perfection, all the coverings get removed and all the bondages are cut off. As a result, the soul's natural qualities of knowledge, etc. get fully manifested. To attain this state is to attain Godhood.
It is a Jaina doctrine that one who steadily advances on the path of spiritual development and makes right efforts to attain the state of absolute purity, i.e., liberation, can well become God. The Jaina thinkers do not
1. The position of a tirthankara is more exalted than that of an ordinary omniscient
one (samanyakevalin), because the former is attended with miraculous events as a consequence of the bound auspicious karmas of a special type as also because he is a greatly powerful propounder of Religion. But they are on the same plane so far as the degree of their spiritual development is concerned. As they have attained omniscience and the state of highest purity, they are absolutely equal; hence both of them are supreme souls, Gods.