________________
STAGES OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
161 now in the liberated state. And once liberated the Deity is never again embodied, the soul after reaching perfection never again becomes imperfect, and an embodied state is an imperfect one.
Now, what is the difference between the Deva or Arhat or Tirthankara as understood in this system of philosophy and the Deity as understood in other systems, Krsna, Buddha, Christ, etc,. etc. ?
If you find the following 18 characteristics in him, then he is a Deva. Try to test all the so-called Deities as to whether they have these 18 characteristics, and then if any is found wanting reject the Deities so-called: that is the Jaina teaching. If any one of the following 18 characteristics is missing then he is not a Deva :
1. The antarāya karmas must all have disappeared in him, because so long as there is any antarāya karma in a person, that shows that that person may be willing to do a right thing and still is not able to do it, it shows that in his nature there is still some kind of weakness; therefore he cannot be an ideal of perfection. There are 5 antarāya karmas, and so that makes the first 5 characteristics.
6. Laughing and joking must have disappeared; because when some unfamiliar object will produce laughing, it shows a lack of knowledge, and that shows that the jñānāvaraniya kaimas are not fully worked out; but in the Deva or Arhat it is fully worked out and therefore there is nothing unfamiliar to him. If laughing is produced by some new peculiar relationship of ideas, it would show a lack of knowledge.
7. He has no liking (rati) for this, that, and the other thing, that is, for material objects; he might say “You can keep them”. It makes the person an unhappy person when he likes a thing and has to go without it.
8. He has no positive dislike for anything, because dislike is also the cause of misery.
9. He is not afraid of anything. Fear has disappeared from him. Weakness and lack of knowledge cause fear. There is fear for the loss of one's body, there is fear for the loss of one's reputation, property, fame, popularity etc. only when these are RELT-11
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
