ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

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

Page 239

connection here is that the perfected Jiva has infinite bliss, thus it has no need for any action. A Jiva could act, it has the power to act, but it has no need or desire to act. 24 Any action would represent a need or a want, and a liberated Jīva has no needs or wants. Further more, any Jīva that did have a desire to act would necessarily not be a perfected Jīva, thus it would not have infinite power.
Omni-benevolence is also a tricky one. The argument against the Jain God being omnibenevolent is strong, because even though the Jain God is all powerful, He does not intervene to prevent suffering and evil, but theodicy is an issue for all religions that espouse an all powerful and all good God. But of all such religions, theodicy is the least contentious in Jainism because of the position that infinite bliss rules out any motive for action even though the power for action is there.
Personal: Jains deny the existence of īśvara, a personal God, but they often worship God through an individual person, such as Mahāvīra. In this way the attribute of a personal God enters into Jain worship. Hemacandra says: "Omniscient, with desires and other faults conquered, honored by the triple world, and explaining the true meaning: He is God, Arhat, the Supreme Lord. "25 Here, "Supreme Lord" was translated from "parameśvara," which is the combination of the words "parama" and "īśvara. "26 So here is an example of iśvara being used in the scriptures.
Eternal: Each Jīva has been bound by Karma since beginning-less time, and once liberated, each Jīva will remain liberated forever in the Siddha-Loka.
Transcendent: the liberated Jīvas are literally above us, at the top of the Universe in the Siddha-Loka, where they cannot intervene in the world.
Eminent: The potential for God is inside each human.27
24 Tukol, Compendium of Jainism. p. 65 25 Cort, John. Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001. P. 93 26 Cited by Ellen Gough, The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 27 Some Jains believe that some souls are abhavya, meaning they are incapable of attaining mokşa. See: Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification. p. 140
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