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Egain
THE CONCEPT OF GOD AND THE DESTINY OF THE SOUL IN JAINISM
Jainism is perhaps the oldest religion that developed in Indian Subcontinent. It is believed that its culture, which professes the tenets of non-violence and truth, refraining from theft, good conduct and restraint on accumulation of possessions, existed in India before the advent of Aryans, who believed in the Vedic religion. Jain culture was known as ascetic Shraman tradition, while Vedic religion as Brahmanic tradition (modern Hinduism). It is believed that in every half-cycle of time in the Universe, twenty-four Tirthankars or Prophets (also known as Jinas) revive the philosophy and show the path for permanent happiness and bliss in language which living beings can understand. The first, Rsabhnath, lived thousands of centuries back and the last, Mahavira, who was thirty years older than Buddha (founder of Buddhism) preached his teachings, more than 2,500 years ago. Mahavira showed a path to liberation of the soul from the cycle of reincarnation, of birth and death, through spiritual training, austerity, the control of passions and a noble ethical code centring on Ahimsa (total harmlessness to every living being). The aim of Jain way of life is to purify soul from its attachment to the Karmas and achieve Moksa, a state of permanent happiness, bliss and self realisation. It is the state from which the soul, which has removed the bondage of its deeds, does not have to go through the cycles of birth and death. The teachings of Jainism lead us to happiness which is permanent, self-generated which comes from within, not dependant upon external materials and which produces peace and tranquillity of mind, as opposed to sensual pleasures which are temporary, dependant upon external things and which produce wavering and unsatisfied mind. The focal point of a Jain Temple is an image or images of one or more of the twenty-four
Tirthankars. The image is conventionally represented seated or standing, calm and detached, worshipped as God. God, according to Jain belief, is perfectly happy soul with infinite capacities for activities, a pure and perfect soul without any material body, a being that cannot perish or become degenerate. Jains do not believe in God as creator and ruler, but believe that every soul has existed from eternity and from eternity souls have ever been emerging from the ordinary embodied worldly condition in the pure liberated condition, and will continue to do so for ever, but they will never come down from this condition of Godhood to the condition of souls in the ordinary embodied states. From all eternity, the ordinary soul has been indulging in the false attachment and aversion to other things, ignorant of its nature, and by reason of this indulgence it is never at ease. Upon the abandonment of this attachment and aversion the soul becomes calm and tranquil and when completely free from the influence of these unnatural activities, the soul lives its natural life and becomes all-knowing, permanently happy and immortal. In short it becomes God. Jains worship images in the Temple or meditate on them, not for asking any wordly favours, but to follow their examples so that one day their own souls become liberated and purified, achieve Moksa the state of permanent happiness and bliss. The Tirthankar is not a creator or the ruler. Neither does the Tirthankar answer requests or control the affairs of the world. The prayers and meditation of the devotee are directed to admiration and praise of the object of his or her devotions, and to the noble aim of emulating the Tirthankar's virtues and spiritual life. In short Jain's concept of God is that of purified, omniscient, happy, blissful, all-powerful and eternal perfect being, who neither creates other things or beings, nor rewards, nor punishes. To explain what happens to us when we die, one has to understand some aspects of Jain philosophy. Everything in the Universe is either living or non-living (jiva or ajiva). Jiva or souls could be either liberated or embodied. Ajiva or non-living things could either be rupi (with form) or arupi (formless). Non living things with form are called
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Jain Education Interational 2010_03
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