Introduction to Jainsim

Author(s): Dewan Bahadur A B Lathe
Publisher: Jain Mitra Mandal

Page 54

JAINISM
He is entitled to our reverence only on the ground of his being omniscient. Such a theory cannot but dispel the innumerable superstitions that cling to any other notion of God. The Jain God is the wise man's God. But the mass of mankind still likes to lean upon some imaginary entity that would be ready to offer its rescuing hand to any one suffering from any cause. Such an entity must be endowed with capacity to do and undo anything that suits the devotee. Hence the conception of Jainism is always open to misunderstanding and as such calls for a few remarks in this place.
There may be difficulties in the way of belief in an uncreated universe ; but those in the way of the dogma of creation, are greater and more insuperable difficulties. Hinduism or Vedism, the contemporary opponent of Jainism in this respect, is not a pure type of the creation-theory. Hence the antagonism of the two was not so marked in this field. The perpetual existence of Brahma out of which every visible existence grew, was the root of many opinions that favoured the Jain theory. At the best, the Hindu creator ; must be a mere architect planning his work. Even this is not allowable in the school represented by the best-known critic of Jainism, Shankaracharya. Adwaitism is not at all better than Jainism, if the doctrine of non-creation is to be taken as a defect. Keeping aside its moral results for a moment, Jainism might still hold that for Adwaitism, a different theory is impossible and inconsistent. Clearly, therefore, the ascription of a title of notoriety to Jainism by Shankar and his school, is one of the lower expedients to which worsted adversaries stoop in their baser moments. The advocates of the Jain theory need not be content with this negative advantage, for they may well claim for more.
GOD AND MAN There are various ways of conceiving the inter-relation of the