Book Title: Reals on the Jaina Metaphysics
Author(s): Harisatya Bhattacharya
Publisher: Shatnidas Khetsy Charitable Trust Mumbai

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Page 410
________________ Soul 395 world-creator, they do admit a perfect human being who is the best of teachers. This perfect Being is called the Tīrthamkara and the Jaina's call him Iśvara i.e. God. The teachings of the Tirthamkara are not of course, the Rk, the Yajus, the Sama or the Atharva (which are repudiated by the Jaina's) but are certainly the best authorities on matters philosophical, ethical and religious. The Jaina's call the teachings of the Tirthamkara God, the Jaina Veda and according to them it is the Jaina Veda which alone embodies the true teachings of the true God, and as such, is the real, infallible Veda. In this way, the Jaina's show that they are not opposed to the doctrine of the Veda-reciter, omniscient God. With all this, however, it is obvious that there is essential difference between the Iśvara of the Jaina's and the Isvara of the Vedic school. The God of the Jaina's is not the creator of the world; he was originally a mortal human being who through self-culture and self-development attained the God-hood, consisting in teachership; the Tirthamkara Gods are also more than one in number. The God, of the Vedic school, on the contrary is the worldcreator and "from eternity to eternity" is the one ever-free Lord, revealing the Veda's in the early dawn of the cosmic creation. MIMAMSĀ AND JAINA THEORIES ABOUT FINAL LIBERATION The Tirthankara, otherwise, called the Arhat, is then the Isvara according to the Jaina's, who is the author of the Veda's (of course, the Jaina scriptures). By admitting in this way the doctrine of the authorship and of the teachership of the Veda's, the Jaina's distinguish their view from that of the Mīmāmsaka's, according to which, the Veda's are uncreate and self-existent. Regarding the question of Mukti or final emancipation also, the Jaina and the Mīmāmsaka views are different. According to the Mimāmsaka's, a good, well-behaved and dutiful man on his death goes to heavens and enjoy the best happiness. Mukti or complete liberation, however, is inattainable. According to the Mimāmsaka thinker, the Samsara or the existential Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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