Concept of God in Jainism Every soul in its purest form is called Siddha and is a God. Arihantas are God in the human form. Every soul is equal and is capable of becoming God. The way to become a God is to get rid of all Karma by removing anger, ego, deceit and greed from our self. Every soul creates its own destiny. Jains do not believe in God as a creator, destroyer or preserver of the universe. Jain God · God is not a Creator, Preserver or Destroyer of the Universe · God is a pure consciousness or perfected soul without any karma attached to it · Human being after attaining absolute knowledge is known as Arihanta · Arihanta who establishes four-fold order is known as Tirthankar · Liberated Souls are Jain Gods, who are only knower and Observer but not Doer · At liberation the soul remains finite, lives in Moksha forever, and never loses its identity · Every Soul is Eternal, Individual, and has a potential to become Liberated or God Religion “Any activity of thought, speech or action that helps us get rid of our vices/inner enemies such as anger, ego, deceit and greed is a Jain religious activity”.

1 What is Jainism? Jains Jains are the followers of Jinas Jina means victors Jinas are the victors over their inner passions (Kashäyas) which are Anger (Krodha), Ego (Mäna), Deceit (Mäyä), and Greed (Lobha) Jinas are also called Tirthankars or Arihantas, and they are Gods in the human forms. Tirthankar Tirthankars establish the four-fold order of Jain congregation, which are Sädhus, Sädhvis, Shrävaks, and Shrävikäs. There are 24 Tirthankars in every ascending and descending time cycle. Jains follow the teachings of Tirthankars Tirthankars are · Self Enlightened And Enlighteners · Super Most Illuminators · Conqueror Of Inner Enemies · Revealers Of True Path · Liberated And Liberators · Constitutors Of Religious Order Shri Mahävir Swami is 24th Tirthankar in this time. 2 Main Principles/Tenets of Jainism Ahimsä (Non-Violence) Ahimsä, or non-violence, is a very broad subject. Jains believe that all life forms have a soul, and all souls are basically equal and should be treated with respect. This teaches us universal love and compassion towards all living beings. Violence can be committed in three ways – thoughts, words and actions. Violent actions are obviously harmful to both, the doer and the receiver. Violent words leave permanent scars in the heart and the mind of the other As thoughts are the root cause of words and actions, violent thoughts that may or may not result in violent actions are considered bad because they do the most damage to your soul. Vegetarianism is just an expression of this belief of compassion for all living beings Anekäntaväda (Non-Absolutism) Understanding truth from various standpoints is Anekäntaväda. Considering our limited scope of arriving at complete truth, Jainism presents the theory that truth is relative to the viewpoint from which it is known. All knowledge is multi-sided and true only from a limited perspective. Once we acquire this attitude, we will always be tolerant of others’ viewpoints and willing to learn from it. Accepting partial truth in each one-sided view we can lead a life of partnership and participation, a life of friendliness and harmony. Aparigraha (Non-attachment/Non-possessiveness) Possession of material things is external possession. Attachment to material things as well as attachment to people is internal possession. Both can lead to anger, ego, deceit and greed. Hence, attachment is the cause of all our problems. The practice of non-attachment leads to equanimity in our lives, which is necessary for the liberation of our soul. Karma Theory (Law of Cause & Effect) The soul is like a magnet. Karma is like iron particles. Our Kashäya (anger, greed, deceit and ego) attract these karma particles to the soul which get bound to the soul. Due to this continuous accumulation of Karma, the soul has to pass through the cycles of birth and death. Our goal is to get rid of all previously attracted particles and stop attracting new particles like demagnetization. We do this through knowledge, equanimity, tolerance, penance, self-control, forgiveness, repentance, reverence, compassion, service, meditation and renunciation. Texts/Scriptures The Jain scriptures called “Ägams” are based on the teachings of Mahävir-swämi. They are composed in Ardha-Mägadhi Präkrit language, the common language during the time of Mahävir-swämi. There are many other works by noted Ächäryas, Upädhyäys, Sädhus, Sädhvis, and scholars throughout history, which go into the details of every aspect of life.