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What do the varying degrees of knowledge observed in different individuals suggest? It suggests that the degree of manifestation of knowledge is in direct proportion to the degree of removal of the covering of karma. The greater the degree of the removal of the covering, the greater is the manifestation of knowledge. And when the covering is totally removed, knowledge is manifested fully. Knowledge is not acquired; it is there in the soul.
Infinite knowledge is the nature of the soul. When the removal of karma covering from the soul reaches its highest limit that person is called omniscience (sarvajna), all-seer (sarvadarsi) and his knowledge is designated as kevala-jnana (pure knowledge). The soul can totally remove the defilements of attachment and aversion and consequently can gain absolute purity. And through this purity the light of infinite knowledge manifests itself.
God is not World-creator One of the Jaina doctrines is that God is not the creator of the world. The Jaina scriptures content that in the worldly cycle of birth and death, revolving by the force of karmas, there can be no place for the creatorship of God, who, according to the Jaina, is absolutely free from attachment and desires. The entire world constituted of the sentient and insentient substances is governed by the laws of Nature. Just to recap sentient substance is the soul and the insentient substances are medium of motion & rest, space, matter and time (chapter 4).
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Pleasures and pains experienced by a living being depend on the material traces (karmas) left by the acts performed by it. Absolutely pure and attachment-free God is not pleased with some, nor is He displeased with others. This is because He is supreme soul with no taint or defilement whatsoever and absolutely free from detachment.
Worship of God Necessary If God is not the world-creator, what is the use of worshipping such God? That if God is free from attachment and consequently, is neither pleased nor displeased, then what is the use of worshipping Him?
Jaina philosophers say that the worship of God is not please Him, but to purify one's own self. It is highly useful and spiritually beneficial to worship God who is absolutely free from attachment and aversion - the only cause of all miseries. This soul is by nature crystal clear. But it is highly tainted with the defilements of attachment, aversion, delusion & desires. To get free from this situation we need to purify ourself. So we need to worship God who is pure & peaceful. So, by worshipping Him, by contemplating upon Him, the feeling of non-attachment arises in the worshipper and gradually advancing on this path, he can ultimately become attachment free. God becomes an ideal of non-attachment so by being in his company, it inculcates good qualities within us. What is meant by His Company? His company means to recall Him in one's mind, to contemplate upon Him, to praise Him and to Worship Him. By worshipping him the feelings of aversion & attachment start subsiding. This is the prime & real reason for worshipping God. He expects nothing from the worshipper, nor does He
