Jain Lesson II

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

Page 62

Arihantas did not destroy people, animals, birds or bugs, but they destroyed their inner enemies like
anger, greed, ego and deception (AGED). Ashish : Now I know who the Arihantas are. They
destroyed their inner enemies, but I still do not understand why we call them Gods?
Teacher : Now, we are coming to the rest of the story. Once
a person becomes an Arihanta, he/she knows everything and can perceive everything in the universe. He knows what is happening now, what will happen in the future and what has happened in the past at the same time. There is nothing that he does not know. He teaches us that we should be free from our inner desires. When we die, we are reborn as something else. When a Lord Arihanta dies, he/she becomes a Lord Siddha and is never born again. He is liberated from the worldly cycle of birth and death forever. That is why Lord
Arihantas are called Gods. Ashish : I still have one question. When we go to the
temple, our parents tell us to pray to the Gods. What are we supposed to pray to them?
Teacher : When we pray, our prayers admire the Jinas for
being free from their inner desires. Our prayers should not wish for rewards, but should remind us how to live a good Jain life. We also pray to them for being our models. We must try to follow their footsteps in order to achieve the supreme goal of liberation.
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