Jain Theism

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Hemant Shah

Page 27

Jain
Theism
One of these modifications is that Gită accepts dualities of Samkhya, Puruşa and Prakiti as the very nature of supreme principle God. In Indian Theism to believe in God does not mean to accept the proots and logical arguments in favour of the existence of God. To believe in God is to love Him, to be devoted to Him "to enter into Him" 10 At this position one finds "God becomes the ruling passion of the mind”, he sees God in himself and himself in God”, The same God is worshipped by all who is the rewarder to all who diligenly seek Him. Whatever God one worships is indentified with the supreme; he is all-in-all the creator, the protector, the distroyer." Thou only” as said to be in Atharva-Veda, “favour Brahma." Worship of God in the form of the chosen ideal and the recognition of the supreme is the main feature of the Hindu faith and its distinctive pait of the Indian atheism.
Of course, Prof. S.C.Chatterjee, after a long discussion on nature of God in Hindu religion concludes that God which we find in it, we are to say that the Hindu conception of God is monistic, but not pantheistic. Western critics have sweeping favour of Hindu Philosophy and religion as pantheism....." God in Hinduism is not simply immanent but also transcendent, we favour call the Hindu theory of God favour, rather than pantheism,''
Apart from the general conception and notion of God, even with regards to freedom and immortality of soul, we find Indian theism has its clear wisdom which becomes the base of different theologies of different systems. God, in Indian theism, does not become only at issue in its metaphysical aspect. Indian theism, thus provides sufficient grounds to justify it having various shades all shaping into a way of life - an approach to reality - an acceptance of the supreme. 2.1.4 God in Westeru Theism
In contrast to God in Indian theism, God in Western theism is more traditional and relegious. Unlike Indian theism Western theism deals theism with reference to belief in the existence of God. Of course, we come across various theories and proofs appealing the concept of God but almost all coming out of an emphasis on critical intelligence, as stress on logic and science. God in the Western theism is more
10 Dr. Nagaraja Rao (ed.), Radhakrishnan reader - An Anthology (1988), p. 253, 11 Chatterjee S.C., The Fundamentals of Hinduism (1970) p. 33-34.
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