Parmatma Prakash

Author(s): Yogindra Acharya
Publisher: Central Jaina Publishing House

Page 16

INTRODUCTION.
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obtain among ordinary inen ; if the divine intelligence is supposed to be so imperfect that it cannot foresee the consequences of its own contrivances ; if the supernal powers can become furiously angry with the creatures of their omnipotence and, in their senseless wrath, destroy the innocent along with the guilty; or, if they can show themselves to be as easily placated by presents and gross flattery as any oriental or occidental despot ; if, in short, they are only stronger than mortal men and no better, as it must be admitted Hasisadra's deities proved themselves to be-then, surely, it is time for us to look somewhat closely into their credentials, and to accept none but conclusive evidence of their existence."-Science and Hebrew Tradition, pp. 257-259.
Huxley, of course, had no idea of true divinity, nor of the kind of polytheism implied in the true teaching of religion ; his observations are useful only in so far as they enable us to perceive that there could be nothing intrinsically absurd even in the worst forms of polytheism such as that of the Assyrians of old who personified, like the Hindus and others, all conceivable kinds of psychic qualities and attributes, and thereby laid the foundation of a pantheon of mythical and, consequently, useless gods and goddesses, created by the mystic fancy and poetical genius of human imagination. The true idea of God has nothing in common with the notion of a creator demanding worship from the ignorant creatures of his omnipotence. The idea of Godhead, in its purest form, is that of the great Ideal of Perfection and Bliss which every soul tries to attain to, and which it has only to exert in the right direction to realise Thus while the status of perfection is one and only one, there is no limit to the number of individuals who might bring it into realisation.
It is also wrong to imagine that the Perfect Ones have any desire to be worshipped by their uuevolved brethren. The truth is that no one can attain to that high Ideal who does not destroy the seed of desire altogether. Hence, the gods have no desires for worship or anything e se left in them, and are eternally absorbed in the enjoyment of the beatific delight appertaining to their high status. The Jainas worship these Great Ones, not with a view to gain some favour from them, but only to impress their owu minds with the great truth about the divine