About Jain God
Introduction:
Jainism believes that
universe and all its substances are eternal (everlasting). All
substances continually undergo changes. Previous forms give way to
new ones without losing their own inherent qualities. Jains believe
that the universe is without beginning or end. The universe did not
begin at any time and it will not end at any time. There is no need
of some almighty to create or manage the affairs of the universe. The
universe runs on its own accord by its own cosmic laws (laws of
nature).
Universe
& Modern Science
Modern science does not
have answers to questions like:
Scientists agree that
the universe is made of the matter, light, and various forms of
radiation and energy. There are more than 100 billion stars in one
single galaxy, and there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the
universe. One light second is equal to 186,283 miles. It is believed
that the furthermost stars are at least 10 billion light years away.
The furthermost stars are the brightest and are called quasars.
Quasars release 100,000 billion times more energy than our sun. The
scientists do not know how such energy is produced. The first quasar
was discovered only around 1960. Most theories are based on the
assumption that no signal can travel faster than the speed of light
and the laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe. The
mass becomes infinite if it travels at the speed of light.
Many theories suggest
that the universe is either expanding or contracting. Recently some
scientists claim that collections of many thousand galaxies are
speeding towards a point. Based on the use of the Hubble Space
Telescope, some scientists think that the universe is about 8 to 25
billion years old and has been expanding since its birth. However, we
happened to have some stars 14 billion years old or even older. How
can a child be older than his/her mother? The calculation method the
theorists are using involves utterly straightforward approach. There
are many loopholes in their assumptions like the use of a
cosmological constant, light intensity of distant stars and so on.
Many astronomers assume the answers before making observations
because of the complexity of the subject. Some believe in the Big
Bang theory (inflation theory), the universe was in condensed cold
black matter and since the Big Bang it has been expanding. They have
not been able to prove that the universe was made out of a very
condensed dark matter. Their current theory will be only supported if
the universe was made out of the dark matter. A few scientists claim
that the universe was made out of more than one matter (20% of dense
matter and 80% of lighter matter) based on their computer model.
Then, this throws away the Big Bang theory.
Nevertheless, many
questions still remain unanswered like, what is the age of the
universe or is it ageless. What the universe is made of? How is the
cosmos structured? What is the fate of the universe? If the universe
was expanding then the universe has to be open and its density will
approach to zero. If the average density of the universe is
maintained constant then the universe has to be closed. It appears
that they need a fundamentally new framework to understand the
universe. Some claim that they need to use something as powerful as
relativity that gives them a concept of balanced universe. The steady
state theory gives an indication that the universe is without
beginning and end. Because of the assumption, that as matter is
destroyed, new matter is produced. This theory finds few supporters
in the scientific community.
Page 1
Did
God Create the Universe?
We, Jains, believe that
God did not create the universe. Who created that God, if God created
this universe? Who created the creator? If God has created the
universe, he has to have a desire to create. The desire makes God
imperfect and he cannot be imperfect. From another angle, if God
carries out the task of creation and destruction without any purpose
then it becomes a foolish game. If he carries out this work as a
game, he has to be deemed a child. Therefore, he could not have
created the world. If he carries out all this work, on account of his
supreme grace he would have made all Jivs (souls) happy and he would
have created things that would have given happiness to all. But we
have 87% of the people of earth living in poverty and misery and only
13% people are well off. Therefore, God must not be managing the
universe. Since God is omniscient, omnipotent, and devoid of desires,
and passions, He could not be interested in the matters of universe.
Some claim that all creatures are God’s images and we are all
parts of Him.” If so, we should all have unlimited bliss,
perfect perception, perfect knowledge and perfect conduct. However,
it is not so. Therefore, we cannot be a part of the God or his
images. If we accept that God created the earth, he manages the earth
and he decides who gets what, then countless questions are raised and
we do not have rational answers to these questions. Therefore, it
appeals to our common sense that there is no creator of the universe.
Jain
Concept of Universe
As per Jain belief, God
has absolute knowledge. Therefore, he reveals the essential and real
form of the universe. He revealed that the world is without a
beginning or an end. The universe does undergo continuous change.
Production and disposal are always going on. Behind this eternal
process there does not exist any plan or organization. The whole
universe is self-regulated. For living beings, Karmas play an
important role. Karma is the finest matter that our soul attracts
based on our thought, speech and/or action. Bad Karma pollutes the
inherent qualities of the soul. The bondage and deliverance of each
individual depends upon himself or herself. Every individual
experiences happiness or unhappiness according to his past Karma, his
present fate has been decided, and his future will be decided based
on his present or past Karma.
Who
is our God (Jin)?
Jains believe in a
different type of God. Our God is Jin. The word Jin literally means
“the Victor” or “the Liberator”. One who has
freed himself from the bondage of Karma by conquering Räga
(attachment – deceit and greed) & Dvesha (aversion –
anger and ego) is Jin. Lord Mahävir was the last reformer of
Jainism. He should not be mistaken as the founder of Jainism. We had
first Tirthankar, Rushabha in the third era of this Avasarpini
(regressive) half cycle (millions and millions of years ago). [Each
time cycle has two half cycles, Utsarpini (progressive) and
Avasarpini (regressive). There have been infinite time cycles before
(time without beginning) and there will be infinite time cycles
(without any end) in future.] The word Tirthankar means one who lays
down the spiritual order to cross over the worldly sea of suffering.
The remaining 23 Tirthankars lived during the fourth era of the
current Avasarpini. At present, we are in the fifth era. The
fundamental truths of Jainism were thus laid down long back. Based on
the current research, many believe that Jainism is one of the oldest
religions of the world.
What
is Jainism?
The followers of Jin
are called Jains. To day, there are about 6 million Jains in the
world. Jain monks are also called Shramans (who treat everything with
equanimity) or Nirgranthas (who do not have any desire or
defilement). The ultimate goal of Jainism is that the soul gets rid
of all Karmas and attains liberation. We acquire Karmas because of
attachment and aversion. Therefore, the path of liberating the soul
from attachment and aversion constitutes the philosophy of Jainism.
All Tirthankars have shown path of purification (liberation). Their
paths are fundamentally similar except that they preach according to
the substance, place, time and spirit of that period. Currently, we
follow Lord Mahävir’s teachings. We, Jains rely on our own
initiatives and efforts for our worldly requirements and our
liberation. We do not believe that there is any supernatural power
that does favor to us if we please him. Jainism as explained by Jins
(Tirthankars) does stand scrutiny of reason. We do not have to
believe in the things that do not appeal to the common sense. We
accept only that can be explained and reasoned.
We, Jains are unable to
accept the concept of “divine grace”. When a living being
destroys all his/her Karmas, he/she attains perfect knowledge,
perception, power, and bliss. He/she becomes omniscient and
omnipotent. Such being is a God for Jains. Hence, Jains do not
believe in one God. Gods in Jain religion are innumerable and the
number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain
liberation. Every living being has potential to become God.
Jainism is also known
as the religion of Ahinsä (non-violence). In Jainism, “our
beliefs in Ahinsä supersede all concepts, ideologies, rules,
customs and practices, traditional or modern, eastern or western,
political or economical, self-centered or social” (quoted by
Jain scholar Dr. Näth Mal Tatia, Jain Study Circular, January
1991).
Ahinsä
(non-violence), Anekäntaväda (multiplicity of views) and
Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) are the cardinal principles of
Jainism. Without Aparigraha, one cannot practice complete Ahinsä.
Similarly, without proper understanding and application of
Anekäntaväda, one cannot be completely non-violent because
only Anekäntaväda can stop the violence of thoughts and
speech. Therefore, Anekäntaväda is the rationale for
Ahinsä. Ahinsä is also dependent on the practice of
Aparigraha. If one refrains from Parigraha (possessiveness), he/she
will be able to refrain from Hinsä. If you practice Aparigraha
(non-possessiveness), you will automatically practice Ahinsä
(non-violence).Jainism is also defined as practice of Ahinsä,
Sanyam (restraint of senses, mind, etc) and Tap (penance to shed the
past Karmas).
Jainism does not accept
one-sided views. We believe that the complete truth cannot be
explained by one viewpoint. One-sided view, in general, represents
the partial truth. To know the complete truth, all angles and aspects
of a given situation need to be analyzed and considered. This
approach is called “Anekäntaväda” (multiplicity
of views and theory of relativity). To understand Anekäntaväda,
we need to understand Tripadi (three pronouncements). After we
understand Tripadi and Anekäntaväda, it would be easy to
understand the substances that the universe is made of.
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