|
by Jayaram V
One of the interesting features of Indian religious traditions is
that one can be
atheistic and yet religious a concept that is so alien
to the western world that it is too difficult for many brought up in
the traditional environment to accept such a notion as sensible.
In Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism belief in God is not a prerequisite
to practice religion. What is more important is personal salvation through
righteous conduct and assiduous practice of the teachings left behind
by enlightened masters. Hinduism is not an atheistic religion, but
offers a wide range of choices to followers to test their beliefs. In
Hinduism also, belief in God is not an essential prerequisite for achieving
salvation, though a desirable one. God is a huge enigma which no
one can truly fathom. Students of modern science know how
difficult it is to understand the origin and
nature of material universe. If we have that much difficulty with the
material universe imagine, the extent of the problem we have with knowing the
spiritual universe through the limitations of our senses and our
minds. Religious aspiration begins with a person's inborn inclination, according to his or her
previous karma, leading ultimately through self effort to an inner opening in which
Truth is perceived or experienced beyond the barriers of conditioned
mind and limitations of scriptural or temporal authority. Religion is therefore a means for self exploration
to arrive at Truth. It is not some authoritarian ecclesial dogma that
suspends free enquiry and demands unconditional surrender to a scriptural
injunction or messianic teaching under the weight
of blasphemy or fear of persecution. In all the Indian religions,
knowledge gained through personal experience is more valid than
knowledge gained through some scripture or teaching.
Buddhism and Jainism deny the very existence
of God as an absolute and eternal entity. They do not acknowledge a
creator behind the world in which we live. In Buddhism, any discussion
about God is regarded as futile because such a deliberation is of
little value in the
liberation of an individual. It would not lead to mitigation of human suffering or
liberation of the individual. What matters most is personal effort and
the sincerity with which the Eightfold path is practiced. The Buddha advised his disciples to
remain in the here and now, mindful of their immediate perceptible world,
to know the true nature of their existence and find suitable remedies
to the problem of their suffering. If
Buddhism does not care to confirm or deny the existence of God, leaving the
matter rather inconclusive and unanswered, Jainism makes its stand
very clear by emphatically denying the existence
of God as a universal and absolute Self responsible for creation, leaving no scope
whatsoever for ambiguity on the subject.
Paradoxical as it may sound, although Jainism does not believe in the
existence of universal
Supreme Self, it may be wrong if we categorize as atheistic. Jainism
may say God has not created the universe, but it does say that the
souls are divine and eternal. It believes in the sanctity of the
worlds by finding divine souls everywhere, having the
potential to reach their highest state of freedom, through their
individual effort. For Jains God and
divinity are not synonymous. A world devoid of God can still be divine
and eternal. They perceive divinity or God nature in the sanctity of entire
existence and in the eternal, individual souls who are intrinsically
divine, having the ability to be according to their choices and actions.
The world and the soul are permanent realities which cannot be denied. According
to the Akaranga Sutra, "He who denies the world (of
fire-bodies), denies the self; and he who denies the self, denies the
world (of fire-bodies)."
So in Jainism God is replaced by individual souls or jivas, who are
eternal, uncreated and indestructible, who inhabit the universe which is also
uncreated and indestructible, subject to the movement of repetitive
time cycles stretching over millions of years in which the souls pass
through alternating phases of moral decline followed by spiritual
recovery, just as mechanically and repetitively the day is followed by
night and the night by day. The God of Jainism is not a boon giver or
a provider of grace, but an ideal state of eternal purity and blissful
consciousness, to which humanity can aspire through
renunciation, intense self effort and purification. Jains aim to
achieve the state of divinity not for the love of God or to be with
God or become God because He is higher and superior, but for the sake
of virtue, purity and the need to escape from the existential
suffering to regain the soul's lost freedom. In short in Jainism,
there is no place for bhakti.
It is true that at some period in history the worship of Lord
Krishna found its way into Jainism and Arishtanemi, the 22nd
thirthankara, was linked to Lord Krishna. As a result, some Jains
began worshipping Lord Krishna in a devotional way, leading to the
formation of a community of Vaishnava Jains. However this development
was due to the influence of Hinduism and not a true Jain tradition. The Mahapurana declares that one should reject all notions of some God creating this world. It questions, " If God created this world, where was He before
creation and where is He now and how can an immaterial God
create a material world?" It goes on to conclude, "Know that the world is uncreated, as time itself is, without a beginning and without an end... Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsions of its own nature, divided into three sections- hell, earth and heaven."
Though the followers of Jainism do not acknowledge the presence of God, they acknowledge the existence of higher beings called arhats in heaven and also some gods who are embodied souls but with greater freedom and high degree of knowledge and intelligence. The arhats do not take any interest in the affairs of the world. They are completely indifferent to what goes on here. The followers of Jainism worship these arhats not because they want to gain some favors from them, but because the very act of worshipping them constitutes a good karma and leads to reduction in the inflow of karmic material. The gods on the other hand keep a watch on the activities of the world. They respond to our requests and sincere prayers and help us in our good deeds. Many
of them have similar names as the gods of Hinduism but differ in respect of
their status and potency. They are not aspects of Supreme Self but
individual souls who have reached a higher state of existence through their
good deeds.
Suggested Further Reading
|
