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About the Book
HEREIN the author has tried to establish Jainism as a Theistic Philosophy contrary to pre-established theories about God, particularly in Vedic Philosophy. Generally, Jainism is considered as an atheistic philosophy because, like Brāhmanical theology, it does not believe in trinity of God as creator, sustainer and destroyer. But it believes in the existence of the Paramātmā, the supreme soul which has been considered as synonyms of God in other Indian Philosophical systems. Out of three forms of soulBahirātmā, Antarātmā and Paramātmā, Jainism considers Paramâtmâ as God. The author maintains that Jainism is not an atheistic philosophy but it is a theistic one. It holds that classification of Jainism in Indian philosophy as a Nāstika or its English translation, quite often, made as an atheistic or heterodox is quite unjustified and misleading because Jainism is a very much theistic philosophy and religion, if compared with all religions of the world.
God of Jains, is the highest state, dwelling as He is at the summit of their world, representing infinite vision, knowledge, bliss and power. According to author, modern scholars need to study with an unbiased attitude and understand philosophy of different religions of the Indian soil, which have exchanged various concepts from time to time including the concept of God and the history of their mutual impact when comparing each other's religion.
The scholarly research work presents a balanced scholarship, offering perspectives and raising issues from both the Western and Indian academia.
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