They possess infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power, and infinite bliss and they attain God-consciousness—in effect they have become perfect beings.. Both Arihants Tirthanka
Trang 1The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume 2
and pain of the body, he then attains liberation Now they are known as
They are totally free They do not possess a body They are free from the birth and death cycle They do not feel pleasure and pain, or joy and sorrow They possess infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power, and infinite bliss and they attain God-consciousness—in effect they have become perfect beings They live
in an ever lasting blissful condition known as All Siddhas possess the same quality of soul, and their attributes are same However, they still maintain their unique identity Both Arihants (Tirthankaras and ordinary-kevalis) and Siddhas are considered god-like beings in the Jain religion
Therefore, gods in Jain religion are innumerable and the number
is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation Every living being has a potential to become a god of the Jain religion.7
So the only gods that exist for Jains are pure souls that are omniscient, perfectly happy and eternal This concept is very different from the conventional idea of gods in several ways Human beings were not created by these liberated souls Souls, once liberated, have no relationship or connection with the souls that are still “in the cycle.” Liberated souls do not intervene or reward in any way, and humans can only look to them for something to aspire to
They do not worship the Tirthankaras themselves Jains
them because they have achieved perfection and have become liberated from the cycle of birth and death Essentially, they venerate what they have achieved The Tirthankaras are the ideal state of an individual soul’s existence and are venerated as a perfect example for Jains to aspire to (similar to the Christian concept that Jesus was the ideal example to pattern their lives after) The idols of the twenty-four Tirthankaras in the temple are identical “because they represent the quality and virtues of Tirthankaras, not the physical body However, at the bottom of each idol a unique symbol is placed to differentiate them For example, Lord Mahavira’s idol is recognized by the symbol of a lion.”8
The beings that live in the heavenly kingdoms between reincarnations are not gods since they are still subject to karma and reincarnation These beings are called Jains believe that devas (demigods or
celestial beings) cannot help souls to obtain liberation, which must
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