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Jaina philosophy has an interstice definition of theism, unlike other schools of philosophy in India. To western philosophers theism means a speculative God and He must create the world. God to them is an absolute and an unconditional being with whom nothing that really exist to be equated.
Jaina system of thought is so peculiar and constant with the modern science that one may be compelled to question its antiquity. Still it is a fact that such a system flourished in India centuries before "Christian" era.
In Indian Philosophy Jainism is regarded as Nāstika. Āstika and Nāstika classification in Indian philosophy is strictly based on the acceptance of Vedic authority, not on belief in God and hence it was misconstrued by Vedic scholars in classifying Śramanic system in Nāstika group, a heterodox system and Brāhmanic system in Āstika group, an orthodox system.
Most of the scholars, as it is obvious, did not study or explore Jainism in depth; its concept of God with attributes attached to Him. This is true that European scholars have speculated God as a personality with immense power of creation whereas Jainism cherishes God-in-man concept rather than in apart. Man can, if he chooses, become God (not god) in this very life because his soul has potency to evolve in such a supreme state. This interstice philosophy was very difficult to digest to the Indian as well as European scholars, so they took easy way to call Jaina, atheist. Vedic philosophy, being very much simpler and similar to the Western theory of God is accepted as a theistic philosophy.
Existence of soul has troubled almost all great minds of the world. According to Jainas soul is not perceived by sense organs. Jainas have analyzed universe in two eternally independent categories- jīva (soul) and ajīva (non-soul), which is also called conscious and unconscious entity respectively. Jainas have classified soul into two broad categories, liberated (Mukta) and transmigratory (saṁsārī) soul. Of these two types of Jīvā, saṁsārī soul has four birth types
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