Book Title: Some Jain Concepts and Conduct Author(s): Sushma Singhvi Publisher: B J InstitutePage 67
________________ 56] [Some Jain Concepts and Conduct stage of purity, hence Paramesthi; it knows everything, hence Sarvajña; it pervades the entire lokākāśa - alokākāśa by virtue of its anantajñāna, hence Vişņu; it sees everything around, hence Chaturmukha : it is knower of everything belonging to past, present and future and situated in lokāloka, hence Buddha.'? Out of the two categories of ātman only bhavya soul will attain salvation and rest of the souls will undergo the life cycle till eternity, as such the world will never be devoid of souls. Zimmer Henrich remarks,"we ascent and descent through various states of being, now human, now divine, now animal; the bodies seem to die and to be born, but the chain is continuous, the transformation endless, and we do pass from one state to the next. The manner in which the indestructible life monads circulate is disclosed to the inward eye of the enlightened Jain Saint and Seer.:18 The idea of God : Many popular religions, together with some systems of philosophy, assert that there is an eternal Lord of the universe who creates, sustains and destroys it. It is He who sends us miseries and happiness. Of course, according to some religions, he does so in accordance with the actions that we perform. Thus the idea of God is not always disconnected with the doctrine of karma in India. But Jainism does not hold it logical to believe that there is an eternal God ruling over the universe and sitting on us in judgement, so it will not be out of the context of examining the views of Christianity. Islam and Hinduism about God. According to Hinduism, God is all-in-all. All living beings are just puppets in his hands. We should surrender ourselves unconditionally to the will of Almighty.'' Nothing can be done without His will. He is present in every heart, moving every body according to His will.20 Yet the Hindu scriptures remind that the consequences of an action performed by a person Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.orgPage Navigation
1 ... 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76