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The Concept of God in Jainism
Devendra Kumar Jain
GWALIOR. INTRODUCTORY
Apprehension of God and drafting His nature through words are two quite different endeavors. GOD, as seen from the average church, synagogue temple or mosque, is an all-krowing, all-pervasive, all-powerful creative-being. People, religious in conventional sense, hardly need theological guidance from scientists. Still, a lot of people, religious in an unconventional sense, would not mind seeing some hard évidences for His existence. Physical sciences have provided a fertile ground for bona fide speculations about God. Like Philosophers, Physicists too, speculate whether the Universe is a product of intelligent- design, whether human experience is the part of some unfolding purpose, whether we were in any sense meant to be here. A famous Physicist, Stephen Hawking hopes that "someday humankind will truly know the mind of God". Amidst all religions and sciences Jainism has a peculiar approach towards 'God'. The present paper aims to discuss all these points in detail. The whole theme of the paper is divided in three major parts viz.
1- The need of God for creation and administration of Universe. II- How does Jainism treat both these problems in a total philosobical system. III- The third part shall reconcile God, human-nature and the Universe in the scheme of salvation or
"Nirvana' according to Jainism (Orginal Conception of God in Jainism).
The diver si fied phenomena of world has generated the curiosity in human minds on three fronts. We think about our own existence as well as of the physical world. In our thinking process, we do also try to correlate these two. In this long journey of human- civilisation or the culture, East and West both have used its all possible efforts in solving the problem of existence and other related problems as per their own systems.
The problem of existence is generally attempted to solve by pre- supposing the existence of imaginary super-natural forces. In Vedas, various natural forces of world like ‘agni' (fire), 'vayu' (air), jala (water), 'varina' (ocean) and trees are defined as 'devas' or gods. Sometimes, unseen powers of nature are called 'Devas' or gods. Till the end of compsosing 'Vedas', the number of gods has gone to the enormous extent. Later on all these gods were absorbed in an idea of an absolute God.
In 'puranic-age",an absolute God or 'Brahman' is regarded as the cause of production, maintenance and destruction of this Universe. All beings arise from Him, live in Him, and are absorbed in Him. The same is also propounded by Vedantis.
Some thinkers say that the "curiosity, fearful mentality and creative activities of natural forces lead to think a divine power or 'God' in order to explain the overall problem of existence. But a thought can not rest unless it reaches the whole. Jainism, being one of the old Indian systems having its origin in pre-vedic civilisation has been subscribing a more rational solution to the riddle of existence without any rigmarole. Jainism tries to find causes of the natural-phenomena in nature itself and causes of conscious fuctions in consciousness itself, thereby maintaining a logical tenable position.
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