Book Title: Jain Philosophy
Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Agamoday Samiti

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Page 74
________________ 47 something which causes this departs from the body at death. We do not know where it goes; we know that when it lives in the body, the powers of the body are different from what they are when it is not there. The powers of nature can be assimilated to the body when that something is there. That entity is considered by us the highest, and it is the same inherently in all living beings. This principle common to all of us is called divinity. It is not fully developed in any of us, as it was in the saviour's of the world, and therefore we call them devine beings. So the collective idea derived from observations of the devine character inherent in all beings is by us called God. While there are so many energies in the material world, and in the spiritual world, and putting those two energies together we give them the name of Nature, we separate the material energies and put them together, but the spiritual energies we put together and call them collectively God. We make a distinction, and worship only the spiritual energies. Why should we do so ? A jain verse says “I bow down to that spiritual power or energy which is the cause of leading us to the path of Salvation, which is supreme, which is omniscient; I bow down to that power because I wish to become like that power." So where the form of the Jain prayer is given, the object is not to receive anything from that entity or from that spiritual nature, but to become one like that; not that that spiritual entity will make us by Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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