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JAINISM: A THEISTIC PHILOSOPHY “GOD IN JAINISM”
Šāstras and senses. He, the God of Jaina, is the highest state, dwelling as he is at the summit of their world, representing unique or absolute vision, knowledge, happiness and power. Modern scholars need to study and understand philosophy of different religious of the Indian soil, which have exchanged various concepts from time to time and the history of their mutual impact when comparing each other's religion. The word nāstika, from Sanskrit language which was a language of Brahman scholars now a days used by a common man in a derogatory sense as Socrates was called by Christians an atheist in Roman empire. Western philosophers interpreted the word nāstika as an atheist, which is incorrect and shows utmost ignorance on part of the scholars of both Western and Indian, and some Jaina scholars too, regarding philosophy of Jainism.
Secondly, quite often scholars and philosophers have quoted in their work that Jainism and Buddhism revolted against Hinduism. In this regard Dr. Sagarmal Jain has observed “Though it is true that Sramanic tradition in general, Jainism and Buddhism in particular have some distinct features, discriminating them from the early Vedic or Brāhmanic tradition, yet they are not alien faiths. They are children of the same soil, and they have come forward with bold reformative spirit. It would be great mistake if we consider that the Jainism and Buddhism was mere a revolt against Brāhmanism or that they are faith alien to Hinduism. The Western scholars have committed a great mistake in highlighting this view. This view has laid a foundation of enmity and disintegration to this Indian culture. But I would like to say that it was not a revolt but a reformer's crusade. In fact Vedic and Sramanic traditions are not rival traditions as some of the Western and Indian scholars think but they are complementary to each other, because these two represent the two aspects of human existence physical as well as spiritual. There has been deliberate efforts to create a gulf between Jainism and Buddhism on the one hand and Hinduism on the other, by western
Dr. Sagarmal Jain, “An Introduction to Jaina Sadhana", 1995,P-4&5
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