________________
Nature of Jain Theism
infinite joy are the features, attributed to God in every religion."?
Earlier we have also mentioned that in Jainism God is certainly the man, "An ordinary animal or being suffering from the vicissitudes of the ordinary life, is not God, it is only his pure nature to which divinity can be attributed, and in this sense it is but natural to look upon the high-souled beings, -the super ordinary persons who by their self-culture and self-development have realized their pure selves, as divine beings.... we must recognize, in other words, that every conscious creature is a God in potentiality and that when thus developed to perfection, this potential God. In a living being appears in its true light, i.e. as a full fledged God with his fourfold attributes."'3
"According to the Jains, "one who is omniscient, who has won over attachments and repulsions, one who is worshipped in all the three worlds and one who is the visualizer of all things as they are in themselves is the God, the Arhat." The God i.e. Arhat is free from eighteen defilements." God, according to Jainism is not only free from defilements but has also the following four qualities
(i) He knows past, present and future (Sarvajñatā) (ii) His speech' has neutralcy His preachings have no extremes (iii) He is unaffected by the matter and helps those who are affected
by the matter
(iv) All the deities and gods and goddesses who are worshiped in the world, worship Him. He is worshiped by all those whom we worship."
Dr. H. S. Bhattacharya says. "According to Jains, all religious and moral injunctions do emanate from God but the eternal merit of their philosophy consist in their revolutionizing the very conception of God. According to them, God is the Arhat, who was not a transcendental mystery being but was one among and like other men and who becomes
1. Bhattacarya H. D., Jain Moral Doctrine, p. 2
2. Bhattacarya H. S., Jain Moral Doctrine, p. 2
177
3. Ibid., p. 6
4. "सर्वज्ञो जितरागादिदोशस्त्रैलोक्यपूजितः । यथास्थिताऽर्थवादी च देवोऽर्हन् परमेश्वरः ॥ -Bhadrankarvijayaji, Jain Märgani Piccana (st.2033), p. 93
5. अन्तराया दानलाभभोगवीर्योपभोगगा : | हासो रत्यती भीतिर्जुगुप्सा शोक एव च ॥ कामो मिथ्यात्वज्ञानं निद्रा चाऽविरतिस्तथा । रागो द्वेषश्च नो दोषास्तेषाष्टादशाऽप्यमी ॥ Ibid., p. 93
6. Ibid., p.96
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
