Concept of God in Jainism- Pravin K. Shah(Jain Study Center of North Carolina)

Concept of God in Jainism

Jainism believes that universe and all its substances or entities are eternal. It has no beginning or end with respect to time. Universe runs own its own accord by its own cosmic laws. All the substances change or modify their forms continuously. Nothing can be destroyed or created in the universe. There is no need of some one to create or manage the affairs of the universe. Hence Jainism does not believe in God as a creator, survivor, and destroyer of the universe.

However Jainism does believe in God, not as a creator, but as a perfect being. When a person destroys all his karmas, he becomes a liberated soul. He resides in a perfect blissful state in Moksha. He possesses infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power, and infinite bliss. This living being is a God of Jain religion.

Every living being has a potential to become God. Hence Jains do not have one God, but Jain Gods are innumerable and their number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation.

Jains believe that since the beginning of the time every living being (soul) because of its ignorance, is attached with karma. The main purpose of the religion is to remove these karma through self-knowledge and become liberated soul. There are many types of karma. However they are broadly classified into the following eight categories:

Mohniya karma
It generates delusion in the soul in regard to its own true nature, and makes it identify itself with other external substances.

Jnana-varaniya karma
It covers the soul's power of perfect knowledge.

Darasna-varaniya karma
It covers the soul's power of perfect visions.

Antaraya karma
It obstructs the natural quality or energy of the soul such as charity and will power. This prevents the soul from attaining liberation. It also prevents a living being from doing something good and enjoyable.

Vedniya karma
It obscures the blissful nature of the soul, and thereby produces pleasure and pain.

Naama karma
It obscures the non-corporeal existence of the soul, and produces the body with its limitations, qualities, faculties, etc.

Gotra karma
It obscures the soul's characteristics of equanimity, and determines the family, social standing, and personality.

Ayu karma
It determines the span of life in one birth, thus obscuring soul's nature of eternal existence.

While travelling on the path of spiritual progress, a person destroys all eight types of his karmas in the following sequence:
First Mohaniya (delusion), then Jnana-varaniya (knowledge), Darasna-varaniya (vision), and Antaraya (natural qualities) all three together. At this time, he attains keval_jnan and he is known as Arihant, which is also known as Tirthankara, Jina, Arhat, Kevali, or Nirgantha.

Lastly the remaining four karmas namely Vedniya (pleasure and pain of the body), Nama (body), Gotra (social standing), and Ayu (life span) are destroyed. At this time, he attains total liberation and he is known as Siddha.

The first four karmas are called Ghati karmas because they obscure the natural qualities of the soul. The last four karmas are known as Aghati karmas because they do not affect the qualities of the soul, but they are associated to the physical body of the soul. Once a person destroys all his Ghati karmas, he will definitely destroy all of his Aghati karmas before his death. No fall back can occur after the destruction of Ghati karmas.