________________
ferred by our imagination and reason, are dependent for their origination and for their continuance in existence upon the creative and causal action of an infinite and eternal self-consciousness and will; and in its higher stages, it implies that the self-existent being progressively reveals His essence and character in the ideas and ideals of His rational creatures, and thus stands in personal relationship with them. In the earlier stages, theism conceives of God simply as the cause and ground for all finite and dependent existences; but as it develops, it realises the idea of God as immanent and self-manifesting as well as creative and transcendent."
The concept of a personal God is that he is the supreme being who creates the world and rules over it; he presides over the destinies of all living creatures and awards rewards or punishments according to the merits or sins committed by each individual. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Shri Krishna says: “If any devotee desires to worship the idol of God with devotion, I grant him unshakeable faith in that God only. He worships that God endowed with that faith and he gains his desires, for it is I who bestow the same on him”.?
As regards His power of creation Swami Vivekananda said : “What makes this creation? God. What do I mean by the use of the English word God? Certainly not the word as ordinarily used in English - a good deal of difference. There is no other suitable word in English. I would rather confine myself to the Sanskrit word Brahman. He is the, general cause of these manifestations. What is Brahman? He is eternal, eternally pure, eternally awake, the almighty, the all knowing, the all merciful, the omnipresent, the formless, the part-less. He creates this universe. "4
During the very primitive days of civilisation, man regarded the most powerful elements of nature like fire, wind, rain, etc. as Gods. He must have wondered nursing over impregnable nature and conceived of many forms as worthy of worship by propitiating through various kinds of offerings including sacrifice of ani
| 132
THE CONCEPT OF DIVINITY IN JAINISM
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
