Jainism and non-creationism
Encyclopedia
Jainism
does not support belief in a creator deity
. According to Jain doctrine, the universe
and its constituents - soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion have always existed (a static universe
similar to that of Epicureanism
and steady state cosmological model
). All the constituents and actions are governed by universal
natural laws. It is not possible to create matter out of nothing and hence the sum total of matter in the universe remains the same (similar to law of conservation of mass
). Similarly, the soul
of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed since beginningless time.
The Jain theory of causation
holds that a cause and its effect are always identical in nature and hence a conscious and immaterial entity like God cannot create a material entity like the universe. Furthermore, according to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires, achieves liberation. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. Moral rewards and sufferings are not the work of a divine being, but a result of an innate moral order in the cosmos
; a self-regulating mechanism whereby the individual reaps the fruits of his own actions through the workings of the karmas.
Through the ages, Jain philosophers have adamantly rejected and opposed the concept of creator and omnipotent God and this has resulted in Jainism being labeled as nastika darsana
or atheist philosophy
by the rival religious philosophies
. The theme of non-creationism and absence of omnipotent God and divine grace runs strongly in all the philosophical dimensions of Jainism, including its cosmology
, karma, moksa
and its moral code of conduct. Jainism asserts a religious and virtuous life is possible without the idea of a creator god.
According to Jains, this loka or universe is an entity, always existing in varying forms with no beginning or end. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arms resting on his waist. Thus, the universe is narrow at top, widens above the middle, narrows towards the middle, and once again becomes broad at the bottom.
These uncreated constituents of the universe impart dynamics upon the universe by interacting with each other. These constituents behave according to natural laws without interference from external entities. Dharma or true religion according to Jainism is vatthu sahāvo dhammo translated as "the intrinsic nature of a substance is its true dharma."
In such a scenario, Jains argue that the material cause of a living soul with cetana (conscious entity) is always the soul itself and cause of dead inert matter (non-cetana i.e. without any consciousness) is always the matter itself. If God is indeed the creator, then this is an impossible predication as the same cause will be responsible for two contradictory effects of cetana (life) and acetana (matter). This logically precludes an immaterial God (a conscious entity) from creating this Universe, which is made up of material substances.
. One of the qualities of the soul is complete lordship of its own destiny. The soul alone chooses its actions and soul alone reaps its consequences. No God or prophet or angel can interfere in the actions or the destiny of the soul. Furthermore, it is the soul alone who makes the necessary efforts to achieve liberation without any divine grace
.
Jains frequently assert that “we are alone” in this world. Amongst the twelve contemplations (anupreksas) of Jains, one of them is the loneliness of ones soul and nature of the universe and transmigration. Hence only by cleansing our soul by our own actions can we help ourselves.
Jainism thus lays a strong emphasis on the efforts and the freewill of the soul to achieve the desired goal of liberation.
According to Jainism, gods can be categorized into Tīrthankaras, Arihant
s or ordinary Kevalins
and Siddha
s. Jainism considers the Devīs and Devas to be celestial beings who dwell in heavens owing to meritorious deeds in their past lives.
. An Arihant is a soul who has destroyed all passions, is totally unattached and without any desire and hence has destroyed the four ghātiyā karmas and attain kevala Jñāna
, or omniscience. Such a soul still has a body and four aghātiyā karmas. An Arhata, at the end of his lifespan, destroys his remaining aghātiyā karma and becomes a Siddha.
was the 24th and last Tīrthankara of the current time cycle. Tīrthankaras are literally the ford makers who have who have shown the way to cross the ocean of re-birth and transmigration and hence have become a focus of reverence and worship amongst Jains. However it would be a mistake to regard the Tīrthankaras as gods analogous to the gods of Hindu
pantheon despite the superficial resemblances in Jain and Hindu way of worship. Tīrthankaras like Arhatas ultimately become Siddhas on liberation. Tīrthankaras, being liberated, are beyond any kind of transactions with the rest of the universe. They are not the beings who exercise any sort of creative activity or who have the capacity or ability to intervene in answers to prayers.
(the realm of the liberated beings) at the apex of the universe in infinite bliss, infinite perception, infinite knowledge and infinite energy.
The Acāranga sūtra
1.197 describes Siddhas in this way –
Siddhahood is the ultimate goal of all souls. There are infinite souls who have become Siddhas and infinite more who will attain this state of liberation. According to Jainism, the Godhood is not a monopoly of some omnipotent and powerful being(s). All souls, with right perception, knowledge and conduct can achieve self realisation and attain this state. Once achieving this state of infinite bliss and having destroyed all desires, the soul is not concerned with the worldly matters and does not interfere in the working of universe, as any activity or desire to interfere will once again result in influx of karmas and thus loss of liberation.
Jains pray to these passionless Gods not for any favors or rewards but rather pray to the qualities of the God with the objective of destroying the karmas and achieving the Godhood. This is best understood by the term – vandetadgunalabhdhaye i.e. we pray to the attributes of such Gods to acquire such attributes”
Jainism describes existence of śāsanadevatās and śāsanadevīs, the attendant Gods and Goddesses of Tīrthankaras, who create the samavasarana or the divine preaching assembly of a Tīrthankara. Such heavenly beings are classified as:-
The souls on account of accumulation of meritorious karmas reincarnate in heavens as demi-gods.These celestial beings have supernatural powers. Although their life span is quite long, after their merit karmas are exhausted, they once again have to reincarnate back into the realms of humans, animals or hells depending on their karmas. As these Gods themselves are not liberated, they have attachments and passions and hence not worthy of worship.
Ācārya Hemacandra decries the worship of such Gods –
Worship of such gods is considered as mithyātva or wrong belief leading to bondage of karmas. However, many Jains are known to worship to such gods for material gains.
Hence in accordance with the natural karmic laws, consequences occur when one utters a lie, steals something, commits acts of senseless violence or leads the life of a debauchee. Rather than assume that moral rewards and retribution are the work of a divine judge, the Jains believe that there is an innate moral order to the cosmos
, self-regulating through the workings of karma. Morality and ethics are important, not because of the personal whim of a fictional god, but because a life that is led in agreement with moral and ethical principles is beneficial: it leads to a decrease and finally to the total loss of karma, which means: to ever increasing happiness.
Karmas are often wrongly interpreted as a method for reward and punishment of a soul for its good and bad deeds. In Jainism, there is no question of there being any reward or punishment, as each soul is the master of its own destiny. The karmas can be said to represent a sum total of all unfulfilled desires of a soul. They enable the soul to experience the various themes of the lives that it desires to experience. They ultimately mature when the necessary supportive conditions required for maturity are fulfilled. Hence a soul may transmigrate from one life form to another for countless of years, taking with it the karmas that it has earned, until it finds conditions that bring about the fruits.
Hence whatever suffering or pleasure that a soul may be experiencing now is on account of choices that it has made in past. That is why Jainism stresses pure thinking and moral behavior. Apart from Buddhism
, perhaps Jainism is the only religion that does not invoke the fear of God as a reason for moral behavior.
The karmic theory in Jainism operates endogenously. Tirthankaras are not attributed "absolute godhood" under Jainism. Thus, even the Tirthankaras themselves have to go through the stages of emanicipation, for attaining that state. While Buddhism does give a similar and to some extent a matching account for Shri Gautama Buddha
, Hinduism
maintains a totally different theory where "divine grace" is needed for emanicipation.
The following quote in Bhagavatī Ārādhanā (1616) sums up the predominance of karmas in Jain doctrine:-
Thus it is not the so called all embracing omnipotent God, but the law of karma that is the all governing force responsible for the manifest differences in the status, attainments and happiness of all life forms. It operates as a self-sustaining mechanism as natural universal law, without any need of an external entity to manage them.
Besides scriptural authority, Jains also resorted to syllogism
and deductive reasoning
to refute the creationist theories. Various views on divinity and universe held by the vedics
, sāmkhyas
, mimimsas, Buddhists and other school of thoughts were analysed, debated and repudiated by the various Jain Ācāryas. However the most eloquent refutation of this view is provided by Ācārya Jinasena
in Mahāpurāna
as thus –
along with Buddhism
has been categorized as atheist philosophy i.e. Nāstika darśana by the followers of Vedic religion
. However, the word Nāstika corresponds more to heterodox rather than atheism. Accordingly, those who did not believe in Vedas and rejected Brahma
as the creator of Universe were labeled as Nāstika.
Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson, an Irish missionary
, declared that “the heart of Jainism is empty” since it does not depend on beseeching an omnipotent God for salvation. While fervently appealing to accept Christianity
, she says Jains believe strongly in forgiving others, and yet have no hope of forgiveness by a higher power. Jains believe that liberation is by personal effort not an appeal for divine intervention. “The Heart of Jainism” was written from her missionary point of view without respecting Jain sensibilities.
If atheism is defined as disbelief in existence of a God, then Jainism cannot be labeled as atheistic, as it not only believes in existence of gods but also of the soul which can attain godhood. As Paul Dundas
puts it – “while Jainism is, as we have seen, atheist in a limited sense of rejection of both the existence of a creator God and the possibility of intervention of such a being in human affairs, it nonetheless must be regarded as a theist religion in the more profound sense that it accepts the existence of divine principle, the paramātmā i.e. God, existing in potential state within all beings”.
The Jaina position on God and religion from a perspective of a non-jain can be summed up in the words of Anne Vallely.
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
does not support belief in a creator deity
Creator deity
A creator deity is a deity responsible for the creation of the world . In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
. According to Jain doctrine, the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
and its constituents - soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion have always existed (a static universe
Static universe
A static universe, also referred to as a "stationary" or "Einstein" universe, is a model in which space is neither expanding nor contracting. Albert Einstein proposed such a model as his preferred cosmology in 1917...
similar to that of Epicureanism
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus—about whom...
and steady state cosmological model
Steady State theory
In cosmology, the Steady State theory is a model developed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, Hermann Bondi and others as an alternative to the Big Bang theory...
). All the constituents and actions are governed by universal
Universal law
In law and ethics, universal law or universal principle refers as concepts of legal legitimacy actions, whereby those principles and rules for governing human beings' conduct which are most universal in their acceptability, their applicability, translation, and philosophical basis, are therefore...
natural laws. It is not possible to create matter out of nothing and hence the sum total of matter in the universe remains the same (similar to law of conservation of mass
Conservation of mass
The law of conservation of mass, also known as the principle of mass/matter conservation, states that the mass of an isolated system will remain constant over time...
). Similarly, the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed since beginningless time.
The Jain theory of causation
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
holds that a cause and its effect are always identical in nature and hence a conscious and immaterial entity like God cannot create a material entity like the universe. Furthermore, according to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires, achieves liberation. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. Moral rewards and sufferings are not the work of a divine being, but a result of an innate moral order in the cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...
; a self-regulating mechanism whereby the individual reaps the fruits of his own actions through the workings of the karmas.
Through the ages, Jain philosophers have adamantly rejected and opposed the concept of creator and omnipotent God and this has resulted in Jainism being labeled as nastika darsana
Nastika
Āstika exists") and Nāstika are technical terms in Hinduism used to classify philosophical schools and persons, according to whether they accept the authority of the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures, or not, respectively...
or atheist philosophy
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
by the rival religious philosophies
Indian philosophy
India has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
. The theme of non-creationism and absence of omnipotent God and divine grace runs strongly in all the philosophical dimensions of Jainism, including its cosmology
Jain cosmology
Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the physical and metaphysical Universe and its constituents according to Jainism, which includes the canonical Jain texts, commentaries and the writings of the Jain philosopher-monks...
, karma, moksa
Moksa (Jainism)
' or Mokkha means liberation, salvation or emancipation of soul. It is a blissful state of existence of a soul, completely free from the karmic bondage, free from samsara, the cycle of birth and death. A liberated soul is said to have attained its true and pristine nature of infinite bliss,...
and its moral code of conduct. Jainism asserts a religious and virtuous life is possible without the idea of a creator god.
Jaina Conception of the Universe
Concept of Reality
This universe is made up of what Jainas call the six dravyas or substances classified as follows –- Jīva - The living substances
- Jains believe that soulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s (Jīva) exist as a reality, with a separate existence from the body that houses it. It is characterised by cetana (consciousness) and upayoga (knowledge and perception). Though the soul experiences both birth and death, it is neither destroyed nor created. Decay and origin refer respectively to the disappearance of one state of soul and appearance of another, both merely various modes of the soul.
- Ajīva - Non-Living Substances
- Pudgala or MatterMatterMatter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
- Matter is solid, liquid, gas, energy, fine karmic materials and extra-fine matter or ultimate particles. Paramānu or ultimate particles are the basic building block of matter. One quality of paramānu and pudgala is permanence and indestructibility. It combines and changes its modes but its qualities remain the same. According to Jainism, it cannot be created nor destroyed. - Dharma-tattva or Medium of MotionMotion (physics)In physics, motion is a change in position of an object with respect to time. Change in action is the result of an unbalanced force. Motion is typically described in terms of velocity, acceleration, displacement and time . An object's velocity cannot change unless it is acted upon by a force, as...
and Adharma-tattva or Medium of Rest - Also known as Dharmāstikāya and Adharmāstikāya, they are distinct to Jain thought depicting motion and rest. They pervade the entire universe. Dharma-tattva and Adharma-tattva are by itself not motion or rest but mediate motion and rest in other bodies. Without dharmāstikāya motion is impossible and without adharmāstikāya rest is impossible in the Universe. - Ākāśa or Space - SpaceSpaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
is a substance that accommodates living souls, matter, the principles of motion and rest, and time. It is all-pervading, infinite and made of infinite space-points. - Kāla or Time - TimeTimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
is a real entity according to Jainism and all activities, changes or modifications are achieved only in time. Time is like a wheel with twelve spokes divided into descending and ascending: half with six stages of immense durations, each estimated at billions of "ocean years" (sagaropama). In each descending stage, sorrow increases and at each ascending stage, happiness and bliss increase.
- Pudgala or Matter
These uncreated constituents of the universe impart dynamics upon the universe by interacting with each other. These constituents behave according to natural laws without interference from external entities. Dharma or true religion according to Jainism is vatthu sahāvo dhammo translated as "the intrinsic nature of a substance is its true dharma."
Material Cause and Effect
According to Jainism, causes are of two types – Upādanā kārana (substantial or material cause) and Nimitta kārana (instrumental cause). Upādanā kārana is always identical with its effect. For example out of clay, you can only produce a clay pot; hence the clay is the upādanā kārana or material cause and clay pot its effect. Wherever the effect is present, the cause is present and vice versa. The effect is always present in latent form in the material cause. For transforming the clay to pot, the potter, the wheel, the stick and other operating agents are required that are merely nimitta or instrumental cause or catalysts in transformation. The material cause always remains the clay. Hence the cause and effect are always entirely identical in nature. Potter cannot be the material cause of pot. If this were the case, then Potter might as well prepare the pot without any clay. But this is not so. Thus a clay pot can only be made from clay; gold ornaments can be made only from gold. Similarly the different modes of existence of a soul are a result of activities of soul itself. There cannot be any contradiction or exceptions.In such a scenario, Jains argue that the material cause of a living soul with cetana (conscious entity) is always the soul itself and cause of dead inert matter (non-cetana i.e. without any consciousness) is always the matter itself. If God is indeed the creator, then this is an impossible predication as the same cause will be responsible for two contradictory effects of cetana (life) and acetana (matter). This logically precludes an immaterial God (a conscious entity) from creating this Universe, which is made up of material substances.
The soul
According to Jainism, Soul is the master of its own destinyDestiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
. One of the qualities of the soul is complete lordship of its own destiny. The soul alone chooses its actions and soul alone reaps its consequences. No God or prophet or angel can interfere in the actions or the destiny of the soul. Furthermore, it is the soul alone who makes the necessary efforts to achieve liberation without any divine grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
.
Jains frequently assert that “we are alone” in this world. Amongst the twelve contemplations (anupreksas) of Jains, one of them is the loneliness of ones soul and nature of the universe and transmigration. Hence only by cleansing our soul by our own actions can we help ourselves.
Jainism thus lays a strong emphasis on the efforts and the freewill of the soul to achieve the desired goal of liberation.
Jaina Conception of Divinity
Arihant (Jainism)
Arihant in Jainism is a siddha who has not yet died and thereby lost all aghatiya karma. The Ṇamōkāra mantra begins, Ṇamō arihantāṇaṁ "I praise the arihants"....
s or ordinary Kevalins
Kevala Jnana
In Jainism, ' or ' , "Perfect or Absolute Knowledge", is the highest form of knowledge that a soul can attain. A person who has attained is called a Kevalin, which is synonymous with Jina "victor" and Arihant "the worthy one"...
and Siddha
Siddha
A Siddha सिद्ध in Sanskrit means "one who is accomplished" and refers to perfected masters who, according to Hindu belief, have transcended the ahamkara , have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies into a different kind of body dominated by...
s. Jainism considers the Devīs and Devas to be celestial beings who dwell in heavens owing to meritorious deeds in their past lives.
Arhats
Arihants, also known as Kevalins, are "Gods" (supreme souls) in embodied states who ultimately become Siddhas, or liberated souls, at the time of their nirvanaNirvana (Jainism)
' in Jainism means final release from the karmic bondage. When an enlightened human, such as an Arihant or a Tirthankara extinguishes his remaining aghatiya karmas and thus ends his worldly existence, it is called . Technically, the death of an Arihant is called of the arihant, as he has ended...
. An Arihant is a soul who has destroyed all passions, is totally unattached and without any desire and hence has destroyed the four ghātiyā karmas and attain kevala Jñāna
Kevala Jñana
In Jainism, ' or ' , "Perfect or Absolute Knowledge", is the highest form of knowledge that a soul can attain. A person who has attained is called a Kevalin, which is synonymous with Jina "victor" and Arihant "the worthy one"...
, or omniscience. Such a soul still has a body and four aghātiyā karmas. An Arhata, at the end of his lifespan, destroys his remaining aghātiyā karma and becomes a Siddha.
Tīrthankaras
Tīrthankaras (also known as "Jinas") are Arihants who are teachers and revivers of the Jain philosophy. There are 24 Tīrthankaras in each time cycle; MahāvīraMahavira
Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...
was the 24th and last Tīrthankara of the current time cycle. Tīrthankaras are literally the ford makers who have who have shown the way to cross the ocean of re-birth and transmigration and hence have become a focus of reverence and worship amongst Jains. However it would be a mistake to regard the Tīrthankaras as gods analogous to the gods of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
pantheon despite the superficial resemblances in Jain and Hindu way of worship. Tīrthankaras like Arhatas ultimately become Siddhas on liberation. Tīrthankaras, being liberated, are beyond any kind of transactions with the rest of the universe. They are not the beings who exercise any sort of creative activity or who have the capacity or ability to intervene in answers to prayers.
Siddhas
Ultimately all Arihants and Tīrthankaras become Siddhas. A Siddha is a soul who is permanently liberated from the transmigratory cycle of birth and death. Such a soul, having realized its true self, is free from all the Karmas and embodiment. They are formless and dwell in SiddhashilaSiddhashila
Siddhashila is an area in Jain cosmology at the apex of the universe, which is where the Jains believe people who have become Arihants, or people with infinite knowledge, go after they die and attain moksha or nirvana. Such people are called siddhas after they discard their mortal body, hence the...
(the realm of the liberated beings) at the apex of the universe in infinite bliss, infinite perception, infinite knowledge and infinite energy.
The Acāranga sūtra
Acaranga Sutra
The Acaranga Sutra is the first of the eleven Angas, part of the agamas which were compiled based on the teachings of Lord Mahavira.The Acaranga Sutra discusses the conduct of a Jain monk...
1.197 describes Siddhas in this way –
Siddhahood is the ultimate goal of all souls. There are infinite souls who have become Siddhas and infinite more who will attain this state of liberation. According to Jainism, the Godhood is not a monopoly of some omnipotent and powerful being(s). All souls, with right perception, knowledge and conduct can achieve self realisation and attain this state. Once achieving this state of infinite bliss and having destroyed all desires, the soul is not concerned with the worldly matters and does not interfere in the working of universe, as any activity or desire to interfere will once again result in influx of karmas and thus loss of liberation.
Jains pray to these passionless Gods not for any favors or rewards but rather pray to the qualities of the God with the objective of destroying the karmas and achieving the Godhood. This is best understood by the term – vandetadgunalabhdhaye i.e. we pray to the attributes of such Gods to acquire such attributes”
Heavenly Beings – Demi-Gods and Demi-Goddesses
- Bhavanpatis - Gods dwelling in abodes
- Vyantaras - Intermediary gods
- Jyotiskas - Luminaries
- Vaimānikas - Astral gods
The souls on account of accumulation of meritorious karmas reincarnate in heavens as demi-gods.These celestial beings have supernatural powers. Although their life span is quite long, after their merit karmas are exhausted, they once again have to reincarnate back into the realms of humans, animals or hells depending on their karmas. As these Gods themselves are not liberated, they have attachments and passions and hence not worthy of worship.
Ācārya Hemacandra decries the worship of such Gods –
Worship of such gods is considered as mithyātva or wrong belief leading to bondage of karmas. However, many Jains are known to worship to such gods for material gains.
Nature of Karmas
According to Robert Zydendos, karma in Jainism can be considered a kind of system of laws, but natural rather than moral laws. In Jainism, actions that carry moral significance are considered to cause certain consequences in just the same way as, for instance, physical actions that do not carry any special moral significance. When one holds an apple in one's hand and then let go of the apple, the apple will fall: this is only natural. There is no judge, and no moral judgment involved, since this is a mechanical consequence of the physical action.Hence in accordance with the natural karmic laws, consequences occur when one utters a lie, steals something, commits acts of senseless violence or leads the life of a debauchee. Rather than assume that moral rewards and retribution are the work of a divine judge, the Jains believe that there is an innate moral order to the cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...
, self-regulating through the workings of karma. Morality and ethics are important, not because of the personal whim of a fictional god, but because a life that is led in agreement with moral and ethical principles is beneficial: it leads to a decrease and finally to the total loss of karma, which means: to ever increasing happiness.
Karmas are often wrongly interpreted as a method for reward and punishment of a soul for its good and bad deeds. In Jainism, there is no question of there being any reward or punishment, as each soul is the master of its own destiny. The karmas can be said to represent a sum total of all unfulfilled desires of a soul. They enable the soul to experience the various themes of the lives that it desires to experience. They ultimately mature when the necessary supportive conditions required for maturity are fulfilled. Hence a soul may transmigrate from one life form to another for countless of years, taking with it the karmas that it has earned, until it finds conditions that bring about the fruits.
Hence whatever suffering or pleasure that a soul may be experiencing now is on account of choices that it has made in past. That is why Jainism stresses pure thinking and moral behavior. Apart from Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, perhaps Jainism is the only religion that does not invoke the fear of God as a reason for moral behavior.
The karmic theory in Jainism operates endogenously. Tirthankaras are not attributed "absolute godhood" under Jainism. Thus, even the Tirthankaras themselves have to go through the stages of emanicipation, for attaining that state. While Buddhism does give a similar and to some extent a matching account for Shri Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
maintains a totally different theory where "divine grace" is needed for emanicipation.
The following quote in Bhagavatī Ārādhanā (1616) sums up the predominance of karmas in Jain doctrine:-
Thus it is not the so called all embracing omnipotent God, but the law of karma that is the all governing force responsible for the manifest differences in the status, attainments and happiness of all life forms. It operates as a self-sustaining mechanism as natural universal law, without any need of an external entity to manage them.
Jain opposition to Creationism
Jain scriptures reject God as the creator of universe. 12th century Ācārya Hemacandra puts forth the Jain view of universe in Yogaśāstra as thus –Besides scriptural authority, Jains also resorted to syllogism
Syllogism
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition is inferred from two or more others of a certain form...
and deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning, also called deductive logic, is reasoning which constructs or evaluates deductive arguments. Deductive arguments are attempts to show that a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises or hypothesis...
to refute the creationist theories. Various views on divinity and universe held by the vedics
Historical Vedic religion
The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
, sāmkhyas
Samkhya
Samkhya, also Sankhya, Sāṃkhya, or Sāṅkhya is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy and classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, although no historical verification is possible...
, mimimsas, Buddhists and other school of thoughts were analysed, debated and repudiated by the various Jain Ācāryas. However the most eloquent refutation of this view is provided by Ācārya Jinasena
Jinasena
Jinasena is the name of several famous Jain Acharyas of the Digambar tradition.* The author of Harivamsha Purana in the 8th century. He belonged to the Punnata branch of Jain monks....
in Mahāpurāna
Adipurana
Adipurana is a 10th century Kannada text written in Champu style, a mix of prose and verse, dealing with the ten lives of the first tirthankara, Adinatha, also known as Rishabhanatha . This work is known to be the first work of Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa . It is based on the story narrated by...
as thus –
Criticisms of Jaina non-creationist theory
JainismJainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
along with Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
has been categorized as atheist philosophy i.e. Nāstika darśana by the followers of Vedic religion
Historical Vedic religion
The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
. However, the word Nāstika corresponds more to heterodox rather than atheism. Accordingly, those who did not believe in Vedas and rejected Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
as the creator of Universe were labeled as Nāstika.
Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson, an Irish missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, declared that “the heart of Jainism is empty” since it does not depend on beseeching an omnipotent God for salvation. While fervently appealing to accept Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, she says Jains believe strongly in forgiving others, and yet have no hope of forgiveness by a higher power. Jains believe that liberation is by personal effort not an appeal for divine intervention. “The Heart of Jainism” was written from her missionary point of view without respecting Jain sensibilities.
If atheism is defined as disbelief in existence of a God, then Jainism cannot be labeled as atheistic, as it not only believes in existence of gods but also of the soul which can attain godhood. As Paul Dundas
Paul Dundas
Paul Dundas is a scholar and a senior lecturer in Sanskrit language and head of Asian Studies in the University of Edinburgh. His main areas of academic and research interest include Jainism, Buddhism, classical Sanskrit literature and Middle Indo-Aryan philology...
puts it – “while Jainism is, as we have seen, atheist in a limited sense of rejection of both the existence of a creator God and the possibility of intervention of such a being in human affairs, it nonetheless must be regarded as a theist religion in the more profound sense that it accepts the existence of divine principle, the paramātmā i.e. God, existing in potential state within all beings”.
The Jaina position on God and religion from a perspective of a non-jain can be summed up in the words of Anne Vallely.
See also
- Creation myth
- CreationismCreationismCreationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
- Hindu views on evolutionHindu views on evolutionHinduism includes a range of viewpoints about the origin of life, creationism and evolution. The accounts of the emergence of life within the universe vary in description, but classically the god Brahma, from a Trimurti of three gods also including Vishnu and Shiva, is described as performing the...
- History of creationismHistory of creationismThe history of creationism relates to the history of thought based on a premise that the natural universe had a beginning, and came into being supernaturally...
- Jain cosmologyJain cosmologyJain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the physical and metaphysical Universe and its constituents according to Jainism, which includes the canonical Jain texts, commentaries and the writings of the Jain philosopher-monks...
- JainismJainismJainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
- Karma in Jainism