ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 231

existed from a beginningless past, and it will continue to exist forever. The reason why you and I do not currently have all of these infinite properties is because of karma. In Jainism, Jivas and karma are physical things. Actual physical karma particles bind to each Jiva, and distort and obscure their properties. Through self-effort, austerities, and following Jain doctrine, a human can burn off the karma from the Jiva and realize its infinite potential.
Once an individual burns off the karma and perfects the Jīva, he does not instantly die or disappear or anything like that. He becomes an Arhat. An Arhat is a human who has attained infinite perception, knowledge, bliss, and energy, but still has a body. Certain Arhats are known as Tīrthamkaras because of the extent to which they propagate the Jain religion, and it is the Tirthamkaras that have emerged as the most salient object of Jain worship. At death, the Arhat reaches Moksa the body is lost, no new body is taken, and the four divine gunas are maintained. After death, the bodiless Arhat is now known as a Siddha. Siddhas reside, in complete perfection, at the top of the universe in a place called the Siddha-Loka. It is important to note that in Jainism, souls retain their individuality both before and after liberation. They all share in the same divinity, and there are an infinite number of individual souls sharing in the same divinity, but there is no merging into oneness as in monistic philosophies. These perfected and liberated souls can be collectively called God.
Besides the Arhats and Siddhas, there are various other types of individuals who are well on their way to spiritual perfection. These would be the Ācāryas (head monk), the upādhyāyas (teacher monk), and all the sādhus (mendicants) in the world.
The Arhats and Siddhas are also called Jinas. Jina literally means "conqueror," specifically, conqueror of the senses and the passions. Just to clarify, Jinas are the conquerors, and Jains are the followers of the Jinas.
Jainism has various beings of the heaven and hell realms, such as yakşas and yaksis, that are known as gods, with a lower case “g." But it is God with an uppercase "G" that is the point of contention. If there is a capital “G” God in Jainism, it would be, collectively, the pure and fully realized Arhats and Siddhas. This may not perfectly fit traditional Western concept
4Ācārya Amitagait's Yogasara-Prabhrta, Jain, S.C., Trans., Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi.2003, p. 22
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0