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It has been written in the Shrimadbhagavadgita that,
“Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanirbhavati Bhaaratah Abhyutthaanadharmasya taadaatmaanam srijaamyaham Paritraanaaya saadhuunaam vinaashaaya cha dushkritaam Dharmasansthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge"
Shrimad Bhagavadgita, Verses 4.7 & 4.8 (Page 80, Author: Vaishyamuni, Publisher: Geeta Press, Gorukhpur, (UP) 13th edition, year unknown)
O Bharata, whenever religion faces destruction and defeat And evil begins to reign, I manifest myself. I have appeared in several different eras, in order to Protect the good, punish evildoers and establish righteousness.
In the Yoga school of philosophy, God has been described as one who has always been free from all regret, sorrow, karmic bondage and passions. He has always been detached. God is a distant entity like the Pole Star, constant but unreachable. His devotees must follow in his path but they can never become like him.
Jain philosophy considers the Arihantas to be worthy of deep respect and devotion. But they too had to put in great effort to break out of the cycle of transmigration. Before attaining liberation, they took birth as various life forms. At a certain point in their wanderings in sansaara, they annihilated all attachment and aversion through diligent and focused efforts and became supremely detached Arihantas. Subsequently, they taught that the soul could free itself from the cycle of transmigration by snapping its ties of attachment and aversion and ridding itself of all passion, and attain the perfected state of liberation. They taught that others too could attain what they had attained.
Jain doctrine does not consider the Arihantas to be bestowers of blessings and givers of boons. Nor does it consider the Arihantas to be manifestations of the one godhead. Jainism only worships those who have conquered all attachment and aversion and free from the 18 doorways of sin (18 paapsthaanaka).
Jainism describes the attributes of a Deva as under:
“Sarvagyno jitaraagaadidoshastrailokyapuujitah
Yathaasthitaarthavaadii cha devo’arhanparameshvarah” - Yogashastra, Verse 2.4 (Page 21, Author: Aachaarya Hemacandra, Publisher: Mahaveer Jain Vidhyalaya, (Govaliatank rd) Mumbai, year 1949)
God is that Arihanta and supreme lord who is omniscient, who has conquered defects such as attachment and aversion, who is worshipped in the three worlds (heaven, hell and middle earth) and
