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CHAPTER - 8 NATURE OF JAIN THEISM 8.1 Introductory Remark
We have almost covered up all the main issues pertaining to the philosophy of Jainism, we examined all its metaphysical doctrines and presuppositions. We saw its logic, its ethics and its philosophy of soul. What we see behind all these areas and the doctrines is a clearcut theism. At the end of the previous chapters, as an important conclusion we have arrived at a decision that Jainism is not atheistic. We saw the theistic presuppositions and theistic attitude behind the Jain metaphysics, Jain logic and Jain ethics,. Even the Jain Philosophy of soul opens the way to worship and prayers and we find soul, in its pure form, is God. But then, one of the valid sources of knowledge, as Nyāya-Vaišeșika says, and even Jainism also accepts is testimony. Naturally, regarding the problem we have undertaken in this work, we would certainly like to know, what have the scriptures and other canonical literature has to say. Thus in our previous two chapters, very much based on the scriptures and canonical literature,, we have seen the Jain concept of God and the theistic color of Jainism, Moreover, we also took a serious note of the popular belief and sādhanā in Jainism; and then we also considered the Jain literature. Jain literature, being quite wide, for our convenience, we divided into canonical quasicanonical and non-canonical works. Sufficient references have been put before the reader, from these works, to show that even the Jain scriptures and works by the authentic writers consider Jainism not as atheistic but theistic, In short, through its metaphysical, logical and ethical doctrines, through its philosophy of soul and the theory of spiritual development through its popular belief and Sadhanā or path and through a number of testimonial references from the canonical, quasi-canonical and noncanonical works, we have strongly advocated both the hypothesis, i.e. that Jainism is not atheistic and that Jainism is theistic, and have made the position quite sounder. Now, if Jainism is not an atheistic
d if Jainism is a theistic system, naturally the issue that subsequently follows is the Nature of Jain Theism. If Jainism is theistic what is the philosophical nature of Jain theism.
We must have some conception of what theism ought to be if we are to determine the philosophic nature of Jain theism. It is true
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