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we forget that all the miseries of the soul are due to its desire for sensual pleasures. These pleasures like everything else is temporary.
The liberated souls, who are completely cured of the disease of delusion, always remain blissfully engrossed in their pure mental state. Such bliss as is there in the absolutely pure state of soul is ultimately real, perfectly pure and completely unmixed with sorrow. The Indian philosophers have given to such supreme souls who are pure, supremely blissful and perfectly luminous (i.e. omniscient) various names like Suddha (the Pure), Buddha (the Enlightened), Siddha (the Perfected), Niranjana (the Unstained).
Liberation is attained through human body only. Heavenly bodies are by nature lacking in restraint. So it is not possible for them to attain the supreme state of liberation directly from their state of godhood. All worldly souls are divided into two i.e. bhavyas and abhavyas. The former are those who are capable of attaining liberation while the latter are those who are not capable of achieving liberation.
Chapter 7 God (Isvara)
According to 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 way different from the liberated soul 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 "Isvara' is powerful. So, the term Isvara can very well apply to the soul who has become powerful by attaining its perfectly pure state constituted of four characteristics i.e. infinite knowledge - vision - power & bliss.
We must recognize that every living being is essentially pure and has the capacity to fully developing its own nature. Jaina philosophical works mention that by constant practice of spiritual discipline spiritually right knowledge & 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. 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 the right efforts to attain the state of absolute purity i.e. liberation can well become God. For them there are many Gods. Inspite of this there are reasons for regarding them as one. All the perfected souls are alike. And their absolute alikeness is the cause of our considering them to be one as also our applying the term 'one' to them. Again all perfected souls being uniformly formless, they interpenetrate with one another, as do the lights of different lamps. Hence they in their indistinguishable and undifferentiable collectible form are viewed as one and consequently the term 'one is applied to them. Thus it is not improper to regard many perfected souls as one God (Isvara or Bhagwan) from this standpoint.
