________________
The Humanism of Haribhadra
267
15. Let us discuss the concept of a creator) assuming for a while [that
god is responsible for the creation of the world ! First of all, he cannot have done his duty with regard to the human aims of existence : A competent for trustworthy god] does not make a dirty mess of the world!
16. What have the ghosts, etc., or gods, etc., done to offend him, since he
has assigned them to pleasures and sufferings that they are not responsible for themselves ?
17. And, again, assuming he has the power required to do so, why has he
not made the world a prosperous one? He is responsible for the fact that the world suffers enormously on the path of rebirth, old age and death!
18. If he has created the world, then why does he destroy it again ? Why
did he create it if it was his intention to destroy it again?
19. What is the good of having destroyed or created the world ? Or what is
the point of forcing living beings to suffering such as rebirth, etc. ?
20. A potter may suddenly break e.g. a pot the body of which is made up of
elements. Likewise, the creator (suddenly may kill his own] creatures without mercy.
21. Which great scholar (sūri) would, for the sake of his felicity, seek refuge
with such an extremely evil (god) who makes all kinds of living beings suffer, and who always, and without good reason, is hostile towards the world!
22. When he destroys the world that he himself has created he is not bound
by any affection for others. But does a (normal] father, even with a violent mind, not feel bound [by compassion not] to kill his son ?
23. If the world was created in the past thanks to che power(vigraha) of
a creator, how come it is not created now thanks to the power of that very same creator?
24. At present living beings are created in many different wombs. It has
always been like that say the perfected (Jinas), who know the way the world works.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
