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ones. These are arihanta (Skt. arhat ), siddha, sādhu and the dharma taught by the Kevalin or omniscient one. The first of these, the arhat, means the Worthy, the Holy One; he is also called Jina ( The spiritual victor ), after whom the Jains take their name. Both arthat and jina were originally Jain terms, which were adopted by many other śramaņas including the Buddhists; the terms are conspicuously absent in the Brahmanical tradition. The arhat is an ascetic, like Mahāvira, who by contemplation and exertion, has attained to omniscience and has acquired an irreversible state of freedom from the bonds of samsāra. While the current state of embodiment continues, he preaches the law ( dharma ) as he has perceived it through his omniscience. At the end of his normal life, his pure soul discards the last of the physical and karmic bonds; becomes totally isolated from all associations, and resides forever at the peak of the universe (loka-ākāśa), endowed with infinite knowledge and bliss. He is then called siddha, the Perfected One. Theoretically the siddha is higher than the arhat. but the latter is given precedence in the Jain litany, for only the arhat is able to preach the law and be a guide to the disciples. The third refuge, the sādhu, is an aspirant, an ascetic who follows the path of purification and adheres to the doctrines preached by the arhat. These doctrines and practices will constitute what is called dharma, the fourth refuge, the mangala by which the Jain abides.
It is the contention of the Jain that a person becomes an arhat not by the grace of any Higher Being, but by dint of his own insights (darśan) and exertions (cāritra). He is no doubt helped by the example and preachings of previous Teacherarhats, called Tirthankaras ('Ford-makers'), similarly, he will help others who follow in his wake. The line of Teachers had no beginning and will have no end; any one can at any time join the line, be counted a Teacher and become a siddha. The Jain thus replaces the Yoga doctrine of a single and enternally free Isvara with an interminable succession of 'human' Teachers rising in the course of time. These Teachers do not respond to the aspirant's devotion (pranidhāna), nor can they influence his career; they remain totally indifferent to whether their teachings are received or rejected. The relationship between a Jain and his Jina is strictly impersonal. There is no concept of işta; although Mahāvira is recognised as a historical person and his nirvāṇa is commemorated by an era (the Vira-nirvāṇa-samvat, 527 B. C., probably the oldest historical era in India), he receives the same worship as any other Jina, since they all preached the same perfection and taught the same doctrine. The Jain layperson worships the image of the Jina totally independent of any priest; he does this in a rather lavishly furnished shrine-an imitation of the holy assembly (samavasarana) where the Jina preached his sermon-and is fully aware of the absence of any Deity, considering the whole act as purely a reminder of his true goal. Nor is there any expectation of gaining absolution from the confessions (pratikramaņa) he makes in the presence of the Jina image or of the sädhu, for the laws of karma are irrevocable and no power, however mighty, can enable one to escape the consequences of his own acts.
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