________________ favor him with something. The devotee worships Him simply to elevate his soul spiritually. Thus, pleasures and pains are the result's of one own's karmas, which is ultimately governed by one's mental states. And the means by which one can make mental states good & wholesome is the worship of God. This way we can achieve spiritual progress. In short, according to Jainas, God is not the creator of the world. For them, He is perfected soul. He is absolutely pure. He has destroyed all passions and removed all impurities. As a result of this, he manifests infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite bliss & infinite power. This is the reason why he is regarded as God. By meditating on the pure qualities, the Jaina reminds himself daily of the possibility of attaining this pure highest state. He purifies his mind by the contemplation of the pure and strengthens his heart for the uphill journey to liberation. Worship, for the Jaina is not seeking for mercy & pardon. Friends after having read the full book and the Holy Geeta by Pujya Swami Chinmayananji and Swami Rama I do not see much difference in their essence. Both talk of the Atma - soul, karma, removal of attachment - greed, learning to live life in equanimity, meditation, importance of knowledge and liberation. Surely the austerity levels by the Jainas is higher than others but to my mind that is only a different way of going about reducing desire & aversion. Surely things are not as simple as I have made them out to be. Hey Maa Durga & Bhagwan Mahavir give me the strength to some day compare the two & present them before all of you.
