Jainism a Theistic Philosophy

SR No.: 006918
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Krishna A Gosavi
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 2012
Total Pages: 358
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 6 MB

Page 301

JAINA VIEW OF GOD COMPARED WITH ......
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Both Kumārila and Prabhākara, commentators, argue that the conception of God is ontologically irrelevant and logically repulsive. Kumārila made a delightful fun of theistic position of all philosophical speculations of all school's position. A disembodied soul cannot create anything. So God needs to have a body, which will be supplied by another God whose body will again supplied by another, so on ad infinitum. What can be the purpose of an omnipotent and all merciful God creating such a world full of pain and misery? The target of Mīmāṁsaka attack, like that of the Jains, was the speculative conception of the Nyāya-Vaišeșikas. Kumārila also attacked Vedānta against their conception of creation that if the world is produced from Brahman who is free from all defects, then the world should also be defect less, but it is not so. Likewise māyā or avidyā cannot be at the root of creation because there was no entity other than Brahman on the eve of creation. This cannot be said that Brahman, the only reality, has induced the unreal dream like māyā to create.70
Dr. N.N. Bhattacharya attached atheism to Mīmāṁsakas and also to Jainism. However, Max Muller''raised doubts on atheism of Mīmāṁsakas. Bearing in mind that all schools of Mīmāṁsaka claim to follow Vedas most faithfully, and hence he finds it difficult to believe that it could reject the Vedic belief in God. The argument adduced by the Mīmāṁsakas against conception of a creator of the universe mean, according to Max Muller, that if God were supposed to be creator, He would be liable to the charge of cruelty, partiality etc. but the rejection of a creator-God, he contents, is not necessarily the rejection of God. Even some forms of pantheism like those of the Advaita Vedānta and Spinoza, Max Muller contends, do not accept the reality of creation, and it is unfair to call them atheistic, just because they do not confirm to the customary conception of God.
Similarly it is refuted here in connoting atheism to Jainism, most consistently, by scholars and philosophers, when Jaina believes
"Dr. Bhattacharya, “Jain philosophy, Historical outline", P-215 "Chatterjee & Datta, "An Introduction to Indian Philosophy”, P-341 & 342