Introduction to Jainism and its Culture

Author(s): Balbhadra Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

Page 82

Why such God was conceived? There may be some historical reasons. My humble opinion is that the ethnic groups having no spiritual insight but only a physical approach had, in their remote past, a tendency to accept various elements in nature as gods. At a later period people having some unique social accomplishments were accepted as gods. The concept of incarnation is a contribution of materialism. Those who believe in spiritualism cannot think of incarnations because spiritualism is the process of uplift of soul. Every person who can endeavour with determination can achieve this uplift. This path is open to one and all. The doctrine of incarnation or emanation is a philosophy of regression. This doctrine is not for all because even if someone wishes he can neither become an incarnation or a god.
God is the ideal, the aim, and the goal of human society. A person who renounces his family, wealth, and other possessions and strives to attain the status of god is called a preceptor of his religion. The religious teacher of the devotees of a god frames his own character according to that of the specific god. How can a religious teacher of a sect that believes in a god who is himself plagued by attachment, aversion, fondness and delusion be free of these same vices. Such preceptors indulge in mundane ostentation because the doctrine of incarnation has its origin in the aforesaid physical approach. Their goal is not non-possession and detachment therefore the direction of their pursuits is also not that. Such gurus can never become God because that is not their goal. One cannot become possession-less while still bogged under possessions. Without abandoning attachment for possessions one can never become detached.
They may be called abode-less householders, householders whose goal is not detachment.
The scriptures written by such gurus also do not promote and support detachment. These scriptures either have description of mundane activities of their so called God or details of such rituals, in name of religion, that are aimed at satiation of mundane desires and are based on materialistic things having no scope for spiritual basis..
Trying to cross the ocean of mundar existence with the help of such scriptures is like crossing a sea in a buat made of stone.
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