Concept of Divinity in Jainism

Author(s): P Ajay Kothari
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 13

INTRODUCTION
There is a belief that God exists as the Supreme Divine being, who is the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of all that exists in the universe and who controls every activity therein. As postulated by religions, the, main attributes of God are -- omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. It is generally believed by many, that Jainism is an atheistic religion having no belief in God. This is not true. Jainism believes in God but not in a creator God. it believes in Godhood, which a man can attain by observing the Jain discipline. A man is a potential divine, i.e., a man can attain godhood, divinity. We observe in Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, that a man can either have a unification with God or have a niearness (fellowship) of God. This encouraged me to take up the present comprehensive study, research concentrating on the study of Divinity in Jainism, and also a comparative, though by no means exhaustive, review of concept of Divinity in Hinduism and Buddhism. Accordingly, the present research work on “The concept of Divinity with special reference to Jainism” is divided into the six chapters.
The first chapter titled, 'The Concept Of Divinity At A Glance', deals with the meaning and introduction to some aspects of Divinity in some of the religions of the world. The second chapter “The Concept Of Divinity In Hinduism'puts forth the attributes of Vedic and Upanishadic gods. The third chapter reviews "The Concept Of Divinity In Buddhism', wherein Divinity is referred as Buddhatva or Nirvana. The fourth chapter is devoted to 'The Concept Of Divinity In Jainism - I: Fundamentals', the path to Moksha, the eternal state of Divineness. In the fifth chapter ‘The Concept Of Divinity In Jainism', the concept itself is studied and discussed. The last chapter titled ‘Conclusion' compares and contrasts the view points of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.