Jain Lesson II

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: Diwakar Prakashan

Page 59

Teacher : No, the world is a natural phenomena. It is eternal
which means that it was here from the beginning
of time and will be here forever. Rita : Sir, what are some different names for them and
who were they? Teacher : In Jainism they are called Tirthankars, Jinas, Vitrag,
or Arihantas. They lead us to the spiritual path and ultimately to liberation. Before renouncing their worldly life, some of them were kings or princes, while others were ordinary people. In Jainism we believe that every human, as well as any other living being has the potential to become perfect and omnipotent. But not all living beings
may have this potential capability in this life. Rita : Can we say then, that Lord Mahavira is a “Jain
God”? Teacher : Yes, Lord Mahavira is a “Jain God". There were
twenty-three such “Gods" before him in this time cycle. However, they are really not called "Gods" in the sense of their being the creator of the world.
We call them Tirthankaras or Arihantas. Rita : Oh! Now I can tell my friends that Arihantas or
Tirthankaras are our Gods. Will you tell us more
about Lord Arihantas? Teacher : Sure. You know that every name has a meaning.
Kumud means "lotus", and Ravi means "sun." Similarly the word Arihant is made up of two words. They are "Ari" and "Hant." Ari means
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