Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Devendramuni, A D Batra, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Rajasthankesari Adhyatmayogi Upadhyay Shree Pushkar Muni Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 795

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श्री पुष्करमुनि अभिनन्दन ग्रन्थ : सप्तम खण्ड
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and domination ; He is not the absolute Ruler and man is not merely a creature of his play. God as conceived by Spinoza has no trace of authoritarianism. He is identical with the totality of the universe, and man is free to develop his powers of love and reason to the fullest extent to attain the true nature of his Soul.
While in humanistic religion, God is the image of man's higher self, a symbol of what man potentially is or ought to become. In authoritarian religion God becomes the sole possessor, the highest ruler, judge, benefactor and the controller of the destinies of all. He is the first cause of all consequent existence and adjectives like Absolute, Supreme, Immutable and "Primary Cause and Ruler of All' apply to Him.
"For humanism" says Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, 'man is the highest type of individual in existence and the service of man is the highest religion. It believes in the good life, in moderation, harmony, balance while religion insists on another standard. Humanism assumes that man is by nature good and that evil rests in society, in conditions which sorround man." He concludes the discussion by saying: "Humanism is a legitimate protest against those forms of religion which separate the secular and the sacred, divide time and eternity and break up the unity of the soul and flesh. Religion is all or nothing. Every religion should have sufficient respect for the dignity of man and the rights of human personality. We cannot preserve them if we repudiate religion..... Religion is the perception of the truly human ......" Jainism : A Humanistic Religion
Judged in the light of what we know of a humanistic religion, Jainism can be said, without hesitation, to be a religion or a system of thought which preaches the supremacy of the individual soul and his capacity to realize his inherent attributes of a Paramātman. Every Jiva is the architect or maker of his own destiny and there is no supernatural power which can hinder him in the realization of what he has sown or exerted for. The path of Liberation or Nirvana is well-defined and is constituted by a harmonious combination of the three Jewels, propounded by the Tirthankaras. Jaina Concept of God and Worship
The most common concept of a God in other religions is that he is the Supreme Being Who created the world and Who rules over it. He presides over the destinies of living beings and awards rewards or punishments according to the merits or sins committed by an individual. In the Bhagvadgita, Shri Krishna says: "If any devotee desires to worship the idol of a God with devotion, I grant him unshakeable faith in that God only. He worships that God endowed with faith and gains his desires, for it is I who bestow the same on him." Swami Vivekananda said: "What makes the creation : God. What do I mean by the English word God : Certainly pot the word ordinarily used in English. I would rather confine myself to the Samskrit word Brahman. He is the general cause of these manifestations. What is Brahman : He is eternal, eternally pure, eternally awake, the almighty, the all-knowing, the all merciful, the omnipresent, the formless, the partless. He creates this universe. "'10
During the primitive days of civilization, man regarded the most powerful elements of nature like wind, rain, fire etc., as gods. He conceived of many forms as worthy of worship and propitiated them in various ways including sacrifices etc. Among the Hindus, the Tainity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesa is most popular and the incarnations of Vishnu are too wellknown to need mention. Their functions in the creation and protection of the universe are well-known.
The idea of a Jaina God is that of a pure soul possessed of infinite knowledge, infinite faith, infinite bliss and infinite power. These attributes are inherent in every soul but they are
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