Nontheistic religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontheistic_religion

Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious context—some otherwise aligned with theism, others not—in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. Nontheism has been applied and plays significant roles in Progressivism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While many approaches to religion exclude nontheism by definition, some inclusive definitions of religion show how religious practice and belief do not depend on the presence of (a) god(s). For example, Paul James and Peter Mandaville distinguish between religion and spirituality, but provide a definition of the term that avoids the usual reduction to "religions of the book":

Religion can be defined as a relatively-bounded system of beliefs, symbols and practices that addresses the nature of existence, and in which communion with others and Otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends socially-grounded ontologies of time, space, embodiment and knowing.

Buddhism

The Buddha descending from Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. Palm leaf manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India

 

The gods Śakra (left) and Brahmā (right)

Existence of gods

The Buddha said that devas (translated as "gods") do exist, but they were regarded as still being trapped in samsara, and are not necessarily wiser than humans. In fact, the Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods, and superior to them.

Since the time of the Buddha, the denial of the existence of a creator deity has been seen as a key point in distinguishing Buddhist from non-Buddhist views. The question of an independent creator deity was answered by the Buddha in the Brahmajala Sutta. The Buddha denounced the view of a creator and sees that such notions are related to the false view of eternalism, and like the 61 other views, this belief causes suffering when one is attached to it and states these views may lead to desire, aversion and delusion. At the end of the Sutta the Buddha says he knows these 62 views and he also knows the truth that surpasses them. Later Buddhist philosophers also extensively criticized the idea of an eternal creator deity concerned with humanity.

Metaphysical questions

On one occasion, when presented with a problem of metaphysics by the monk Malunkyaputta, the Buddha responded with the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow. When a man is shot with an arrow thickly smeared with poison, his family summons a doctor to have the poison removed, and the doctor gives an antidote:

But the man refuses to let the doctor do anything before certain questions can be answered. The wounded man demands to know who shot the arrow, what his caste and job is, and why he shot him. He wants to know what kind of bow the man used and how he acquired the ingredients used in preparing the poison. Malunkyaputta, such a man will die before getting the answers to his questions. It is no different for one who follows the Way. I teach only those things necessary to realize the Way. Things which are not helpful or necessary, I do not teach.

Christianity

Bust of Paul Tillich

A few liberal Christian theologians define a "nontheistic God" as "the ground of all being" rather than as a personal divine being.

Many of them owe much of their theology to the work of Christian existentialist philosopher Paul Tillich, including the phrase "the ground of all being". Another quotation from Tillich is, "God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him." This Tillich quotation summarizes his conception of God. He does not think of God as a being that exists in time and space, because that constrains God, and makes God finite. But all beings are finite, and if God is the Creator of all beings, God cannot logically be finite since a finite being cannot be the sustainer of an infinite variety of finite things. Thus God is considered beyond being, above finitude and limitation, the power or essence of being itself.

From a nontheistic, naturalist, and rationalist perspective, the concept of divine grace appears to be the same concept as luck.

Nontheist Quakers

Logo of the Society of Nontheist Friends

A nontheist Friend or an atheist Quaker is someone who affiliates with, identifies with, engages in and/or affirms Quaker practices and processes, but who does not accept a belief in a theistic understanding of God, a Supreme Being, the divine, the soul or the supernatural. Like theistic Friends, nontheist Friends are actively interested in realizing centered peace, simplicity, integrity, community, equality, love, happiness and social justice in the Society of Friends and beyond.

Hinduism

Hinduism is characterised by extremely diverse beliefs and practices. In the words of R.C. Zaehner, "it is perfectly possible to be a good Hindu whether one's personal views incline toward monism, monotheism, polytheism, or even atheism." He goes on to say that it is a religion that neither depends on the existence or non-existence of God or Gods. More broadly, Hinduism can be seen as having three more important strands: one featuring a personal Creator or Divine Being, second that emphasises an impersonal Absolute and a third that is pluralistic and non-absolute. The latter two traditions can be seen as nontheistic.

Although the Vedas are broadly concerned with the completion of ritual, there are some elements that can be interpreted as either nontheistic or precursors to the later developments of the nontheistic tradition. The oldest Hindu scripture, the Rig Veda mentions that 'There is only one god though the sages may give it various names' (1.164.46). Max Müller termed this henotheism, and it can be seen as indicating one, non-dual divine reality, with little emphasis on personality. The famous Nasadiya Sukta, the 129th Hymn of the tenth and final Mandala (or chapter) of the Rig Veda, considers creation and asks "The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. /Who then knows whence it has arisen?". This can be seen to contain the intuition that there must be a single principle behind all phenomena: 'That one' (tad ekam), self-sufficient, to which distinctions cannot be applied.

It is with the Upanishads, reckoned to be written in the first millennia (coeval with the ritualistic Brahmanas), that the Vedic emphasis on ritual was challenged. The Upanishads can be seen as the expression of new sources of power in India. Also, separate from the Upanishadic tradition were bands of wandering ascetics called Vadins whose largely nontheistic notions rejected the notion that religious knowledge was the property of the Brahmins. Many of these were shramanas, who represented a non-Vedic tradition rooted in India's pre-Aryan history. The emphasis of the Upanishads turned to knowledge, specifically the ultimate identity of all phenomena. This is expressed in the notion of Brahman, the key idea of the Upanishads, and much later philosophizing has been taken up with deciding whether Brahman is personal or impersonal. The understanding of the nature of Brahman as impersonal is based in the definition of it as 'ekam eva advitiyam' (Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1) – it is one without a second and to which no substantive predicates can be attached. Further, both the Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads assert that the individual atman and the impersonal Brahman are one. The mahāvākya statement Tat Tvam Asi, found in the Chandogya Upanishad, can be taken to indicate this unity. The latter Upanishad uses the negative term Neti neti to 'describe' the divine.

Patañjali statue in Pantanjali Yog Peeth Haridwar

Classical Samkhya, Mimamsa, early Vaisheshika and early Nyaya schools of Hinduism do not accept the notion of an omnipotent creator God at all. While the Sankhya and Mimamsa schools no longer have significant followings in India, they are both influential in the development of later schools of philosophy. The Yoga of Patanjali is the school that probably owes most to the Samkhya thought. This school is dualistic, in the sense that there is a division between 'spirit' (Sanskrit: purusha) and 'nature' (Sanskrit: prakṛti). It holds Samadhi or 'concentrative union' as its ultimate goal and it does not consider God's existence as either essential or necessary to achieving this.

The Bhagavad Gita, contains passages that bear a monistic reading and others that bear a theistic reading. Generally, the book as a whole has been interpreted by some who see it as containing a primarily nontheistic message, and by others who stress its theistic message. These broadly either follow after either Sankara or Ramanuja An example of a nontheistic passage might be "The supreme Brahman is without any beginning. That is called neither being nor non-being," which Sankara interpreted to mean that Brahman can only be talked of in terms of negation of all attributes—'Neti neti'.

The Advaita Vedanta of Gaudapada and Sankara rejects theism as a consequence of its insistence that Brahman is "Without attributes, indivisible, subtle, inconceivable, and without blemish, Brahman is one and without a second. There is nothing other than He." This means that it lacks properties usually associated with God such as omniscience, perfect goodness, omnipotence, and additionally is identical with the whole of reality, rather than being a causal agent or ruler of it.

Jainism

Jain texts claim that the universe consists of jiva (life force or souls) and ajiva (lifeless objects). According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituents-soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion-have always existed. The universe and the matter and souls within it are eternal and uncreated, and there is no omnipotent creator god. Jainism offers an elaborate cosmology, including heavenly beings/devas, but these heavenly beings are not viewed as creators-they are subject to suffering and change like all other living beings, and are portrayed as mortal.

According to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires, achieves liberation/Nirvana. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. If godliness is defined as the state of having freed one's soul from karmas and the attainment of enlightenment/Nirvana and a god as one who exists in such a state, then those who have achieved such a state can be termed gods (Tirthankara).

Besides scriptural authority, Jains also employ syllogism and deductive reasoning to refute creationist theories. Various views on divinity and the universe held by the Vedics, Sāmkhyas, Mimamsas, Buddhists, and other school of thoughts were criticized by Jain Ācāryas, such as Jinasena in Mahāpurāna.

Others

Philosophical models not falling within established religious structures, such as Daoism, Confucianism, Epicureanism, Deism, and Pandeism, have also been considered to be nontheistic religions.

The Satanic Temple, a sect of modern or rational Satanism, was officially recognized as a nontheistic religion in the United States on 25 April 2019.

The white supremacist Creativity movement has also been described as a nontheistic religion.

 

God in Jainism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism_and_non-creationism 

Jainism

In Jainism, godliness is said to be the inherent quality of every soul. This quality, however, is subdued by the soul's association with karmic matter. All souls who have achieved the natural state of infinite bliss, infinite knowledge (kevala jnana), infinite power and infinite perception are regarded as God in Jainism. Jainism rejects the idea of a creator deity responsible for the manifestation, creation, or maintenance of this universe. According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituents (soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion) have always existed. All the constituents and actions are governed by universal natural laws and perfect soul, an immaterial entity cannot create or affect a material entity like the universe.

Definition

From the essential perspective, the soul of every living organism is perfect in every way, is independent of any actions of the organism, and is considered God or to have godliness. But the epithet of God is given to the soul in whom its properties manifest in accordance with its inherent nature. There are countably infinite souls in the universe.

According to Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra (a major Jain text):

आप्तेनो च्छिनदोषेण सर्वज्ञेनागमेशिना।

भवितव्यं नियोगेन नान्यथा ह्याप्तता भवेत्।।५।

In the nature of things the true God should be free from the faults and weaknesses of the lower nature; [he should be] the knower of all things and the revealer of dharma; in no other way can divinity be constituted..

क्षुत्पिपासाजराजरातक्ड जन्मान्तकभयस्मयाः।

न रागद्वेषमोहाश्च यस्याप्तः स प्रकीर्त्यते ।।६।।

He alone who is free from hunger, thirst, senility, disease, birth, death, fear, pride, attachment, aversion, infatuation, worry, conceit, hatred, uneasiness, sweat, sleep and surprise is called a God.

Godliness

In Jainism, godliness is said to be the inherent quality of every soul (or every living organism) characterizing infinite bliss, infinite power, Kevala Jnana (pure infinite knowledge), infinite perception, and perfect manifestations of (countably) infinite other attributes. There are two possible views after this point. One is to look at the soul from the perspective of the soul itself. This entails explanations of the properties of the soul, its exact structure, composition and nature, the nature of various states that arise from it and their source attributes as is done in the deep and arcane texts of Samayasāra, Niyamasara and Pravachanasara. Another view is to consider things apart from the soul and its relationships with the soul. According to this view, the qualities of a soul are subdued due to karmas of the soul. Karmas are the fundamental particles of nature in Jainism. One who achieves this state of soul through right belief, right knowledge and right conduct can be termed a god. This perfection of soul is called Kevalin. A god thus becomes a liberated soul – liberated of miseries, cycles of rebirth, world, karmas and finally liberated of body as well. This is called nirvana or moksha.

Jainism does not teach the dependency on any supreme being for enlightenment. The Tirthankara is a guide and teacher who points the way to enlightenment, but the struggle for enlightenment is one's own. 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.

Jains believe that to attain enlightenment and ultimately liberation from all karmic bonding, one must practice the ethical principles not only in thought, but also in words (speech) and action. Such a practice through lifelong work towards oneself is regarded as observing the Mahavrata ("Great Vows").

Gods can be thus categorized into embodied gods also known as arihantas and non-embodied formless gods who are called Siddhas. Jainism considers the devīs and devas to be souls who dwell in heavens owing to meritorious deeds in their past lives. These souls are in heavens for a fixed lifespan and even they have to undergo reincarnation as humans to achieve moksha.

Thus, there are infinite gods in Jainism, all equivalent, liberated, and infinite in the manifestation of all attributes. The Self and karmas are separate substances in Jainism, the former living and the latter non-living. The attainment of enlightenment and the one who exists in such a state, then those who have achieved such a state can be termed gods. Therefore, beings (Arihant) who've attained omniscience (kevala jnana) are worshipped as gods. The quality of godliness is one and the same in all of them. Jainism is sometimes regarded as a transtheistic religion, though it can be atheistic or polytheistic based on the way one defines "God".

Five supreme beings

Stella depicting Pañca-Parameṣṭhi (five supreme beings) worthy of veneration as per Jainism

In Jainism, the Pañca-Parameṣṭhi (Sanskrit for "five supreme beings") are a fivefold hierarchy of religious authorities worthy of veneration. The five supreme beings are:

1. Arihant
2. Siddha
3. Acharya (Head of the monastic order)
4. Upadhyaya ("Preceptor of less advanced ascetics")
5. Muni or Jain monks

Arihant

A human being who conquers all inner passions and possesses infinite right knowledge (Kevala Jnana) is revered as an arihant in Jainism. They are also called Jinas (conquerors) or Kevalin (omniscient beings). An arihant is a soul who has destroyed all passions, is totally unattached and without any desire and hence is able to destroy the four ghātiyā karmas and attain kevala jñāna, or omniscience. Such a soul still has a body and four aghātiyā karmas. Arihantas, at the end of their human life-span, destroy all remaining aghātiyā karmas and attain Siddhahood. There are two kinds of kevalin or arihant:

• Sāmānya Kevalin–Ordinary victors, who are concerned with their own salvation.
• Tirthankara Kevalin–Twenty-four human spiritual guides (teaching gods), who show the true path to salvation.

Tīrthaṅkara

Image of Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara (Photo:Samanar Hills)

The word Tīrthaṅkara signifies the founder of a tirtha which means a fordable passage across a sea. The Tirthankara show the "fordable path" across the sea of interminable births and deaths. Jain philosophy divides the wheel of time in two halves, Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle. Exactly 24 Tirthankara are said to grace each half of the cosmic time cycle. Rishabhanatha/Aadishwar was the first Tirthankara and Mahavira was the last Tirthankara of avasarpiṇī.

Tirthankara revive the fourfold order of Shraman, Shramani, Śrāvaka, and Śrāvika called sangha. Tirthankara can be called teaching gods who teach the Jain philosophy. However it would be a mistake to regard the tirthankara as gods analogous to the gods of the Hindu pantheon despite the superficial resemblances between Jain and Hindu ways of worship.^[10] Tirthankara, 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.

Tirthamkara-nama-karma is a special type of karma, bondage of which raises a soul to the supreme status of a tirthankara.

Siddhas

Although the siddhas (the liberated beings) are formless and without a body, this is how the Jain temples often depict them.

Ultimately all arihantas become siddhas, or liberated souls, at the time of their nirvana. 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 Siddhashila (the realm of the liberated beings) at the apex of the universe in infinite bliss, infinite perception, infinite knowledge and infinite energy.

The Acharanga Sutra 1.197 describes siddhas in this way:

The liberated soul is not long nor small nor round nor triangular nor quadrangular nor circular; it is not black nor blue nor red nor green nor white; neither of good nor bad smell; not bitter nor pungent nor astringent nor sweet; neither rough nor soft; neither heavy nor light; neither cold nor hot; neither harsh nor smooth; it is without body, without resurrection, without contact (of matter), it is not feminine nor masculine nor neuter. The siddha perceives and knows all, yet is beyond comparison. Its essence is without form; there is no condition of the unconditioned. It is not sound, not colour, not smell, not taste, not touch or anything of that kind. Thus I say.

Siddhashila as per the Jain cosmology

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, 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 worldly matters and does not interfere in the working of the 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" 

According to Anne Vallely:

Jainism is not a religion of coming down. In Jainism it is we who must go up. We only have to help ourselves. In Jainism we have to become God. That is the only thing.

Devas

Idol of Padmāvatī devī, śāsanadevī of Lord Parshvanatha at Walkeshwar Temple. She is one of the most popular demi-goddess amongst the Jains. According to Digambar Terapanth, worship of such deities is considered as mithyātva or wrong belief. However, in the Bispanthi Digambar tradition and the Shwetambar tradition, Padmavati is a popular Jain goddess.

Jain cosmology offers an elaborate description of heavenly beings (devas), but these beings are neither viewed as creators nor are they immortal; they are subject to suffering and change like all other living beings, and must eventually die. In this way, they are similar to the devas of Buddhism. English-language material tends to retain the term "deva" or describe these beings as "deities", "gods" and "goddesses."

Jainism describes existence of śāsanadevatās and śāsanadevīs, the attendants of a Tirthankara, who create the samavasarana or the divine preaching assembly of a Tirthankara. Such heavenly beings are classified as:-

• Bhavanapatis – Devas dwelling in abodes
• Vyantaras – Intermediary devas
• Jyotiṣkas – Luminaries
• Vaimānikas – Astral devas

The souls on account of accumulation of meritorious karmas reincarnate in heavens as devas. 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 devas themselves are not liberated, they have attachments and passions and hence not worthy of worship.

Ācārya Hemachandra decries the worship of such devas:

These heavenly beings (devas above) tainted with attachment and passion; having women and weapons by their side, favour some and disfavour some; Such heavenly beings (devas) should not be worshipped by those who desire emancipation.

Worship of such devas is considered as mithyatva or wrong belief leading to bondage of karmas.

Jain opposition to creationism

Jain scriptures reject God as the creator of the universe. Further, it asserts that no god is responsible or causal for actions in the life of any living organism. Ācārya Hemacandra in the 12th century put forth the Jain view of the universe in the Yogaśāstra:

This universe is not created nor sustained by anyone; It is self-sustaining, without any base or support

Besides scriptural authority, Jains also resorted to syllogism and deductive reasoning to refute the creationist theories. Various views on divinity and the universe held by the Vedics, samkhyas, mīmāṃsās, Buddhists and other schools of thought were analyzed, debated and repudiated by various Jain Ācāryas. However, the most eloquent refutation of this view is provided by Ācārya Jinasena in Mahāpurāna, which was quoted by Carl Sagan in his 1980 book Cosmos.

Some foolish men declare that creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill advised and should be rejected.

If God created the world, where was he before the creation? If you say he was transcendent then and needed no support, where is he now? How could God have made this world without any raw material? If you say that he made this first, and then the world, you are faced with an endless regression.

If you declare that this raw material arose naturally you fall into another fallacy, for the whole universe might thus have been its own creator, and have arisen quite naturally.

If God created the world by an act of his own will, without any raw material, then it is just his will and nothing else — and who will believe this silly nonsense?

If he is ever perfect and complete, how could the will to create have arisen in him? If, on the other hand, he is not perfect, he could no more create the universe than a potter could.

If he is form-less, action-less and all-embracing, how could he have created the world? Such a soul, devoid of all modality, would have no desire to create anything.

If he is perfect, he does not strive for the three aims of man, so what advantage would he gain by creating the universe?

If you say that he created to no purpose because it was his nature to do so, then God is pointless. If he created in some kind of sport, it was the sport of a foolish child, leading to trouble.

If he created because of the karma of embodied beings (acquired in a previous creation), then he is not the Almighty Lord, but subordinate to something else.

If out of love for living beings and need of them he made the world, why did he not make creation wholly blissful free from misfortune?

If he were transcendent he would not create, for he would be free: Nor if involved in transmigration, for then he would not be almighty. Thus the doctrine that the world was created by God makes no sense at all.

And God commits great sin in slaying the children whom he himself created. If you say that he slays only to destroy evil beings, why did he create such beings in the first place?

Good men should combat the believer in divine creation, maddened by an evil doctrine. Know that the world is uncreated, as time itself is, without beginning or end, and is based on the principles, life and rest. Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsion of its own nature.

— Mahapurana (Jainism) (The Great legend), Jainasena (India, ninth century)

Jainism and non-creationism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism_and_non-creationism 

Jainism

According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituents—soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion—have always existed. Jainism does not support belief in a creator deity. 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). Jain texts claim that the universe consists of jiva (life force or souls) and ajiva (lifeless objects). The soul of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed during 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 (nirvana). 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 rejected and opposed the concept of any omnipotent creator god, and this has resulted in Jainism being labeled as nastika darsana, or an 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.

Jaina conception of the Universe

Representation of the Universe in Jain cosmology in form of a lokapurusa or cosmic man.

 

Structure of Universe as per the Jain Scriptures.

Jain scriptures reject God as the creator of the universe. Jainism offers an elaborate cosmology, including heavenly beings/devas. These heavenly beings are not viewed as creators, they are subject to suffering and change like all other living beings, and must eventually die. If godliness is defined as the state of having freed one's soul from karmas and the attainment of enlightenment/Nirvana and a god as one who exists in such a state, then those who have achieved such a state can be termed gods/Tirthankara. Thus, Mahavira was a god/Tirthankara.

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 the top, widens above the middle, narrows towards the middle, and once again becomes broad at the bottom.

Wheel of time

Jain Cosmic Wheel of Time

According to Jainism, time is beginningless and eternal. The cosmic wheel of time rotates ceaselessly. This cyclic nature eliminates the need for a creator, destroyer or external deity to maintain the universe.

The wheel of time is divided into two half-rotations, Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and Avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle, occurring continuously after each other. Utsarpiṇī is a period of progressive prosperity and happiness where the time spans and ages are at an increasing scale, while Avsarpiṇī is a period of increasing sorrow and immorality.

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 souls (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 a soul and appearance of another, both merely various modes of the soul.

• Ajīva – Non-Living Substances
  • Pudgala or Matter – 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 Motion 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 – Space 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 – Time 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.

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 the 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 a pot, the potter, the wheel, the stick and other operating agents are required that are merely nimitta or instrumental causes or catalysts in transformation. The material cause always remains the clay. Hence the cause and effect are always entirely identical in nature. A potter cannot be the material cause of the pot. If this were the case, then the 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 the 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 the 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, one of the qualities of the soul is complete lordship of its own destiny. The soul alone chooses its actions and the soul alone reaps its consequences. No god or prophet or angel can interfere in the actions or the destiny of the soul. 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 is the loneliness of one's 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 free will of the soul to achieve the desired goal of liberation.

Jaina conception of divinity

Although the siddhas (the liberated beings) are formless and without a body, this is how the Jain temples often depict the siddhas.

According to Jainism, gods can be categorized into Tīrthankaras, arihants or ordinary kevalins and siddhas. 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 nirvana. 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 attained 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.

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; Mahāvīra was the 24th and last Tīrthankara of the current time cycle. Tīrthankaras are literally the ford makers who have shown the way to cross the ocean of rebirth 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 the 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.

Siddhas

Siddhashila as per the Jain cosmology

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 Siddhashila (the realm of the liberated beings) at the apex of the universe in infinite bliss, infinite perception, infinite knowledge and infinite energy. Siddhahood is the ultimate goal of all souls.

Jains pray to these passionless gods not for any favours or rewards but rather pray to the qualities of the god with the objective of destroying the karmas and achieving 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

Jainism describes the existence of śāsanadevatās and śāsanadevīs, the attendant gods and goddesses of Tīrthankaras, who create the samavasarana or the divine preaching assembly of a Tīrthankara.

These Gods tainted with attachment and passion;

having women and weapons by their side, favour some and disfavour some;

such Gods should not be worshipped by those who desire emancipation

Worship of such gods is considered as mithyātva or wrong belief leading to bondage of karmas.

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, 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 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:-

There is nothing mightier in the world than karma; karma tramples down all powers, as an elephant a clump of lotuses.

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 the Yogaśāstra thus –

This universe is not created nor sustained by anyone; It is self-sustaining, without any base or support

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 schools of thought 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 thus –

Some foolish men declare that a creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill advised and should be rejected.

If God created the world, where was he before the creation? If you say he was transcendent then and needed no support, where is he now?

How could God have made this world without any raw material? If you say that he made this first, and then the world, you are faced with an endless regression.

If you declare that this raw material arose naturally you fall into another fallacy, for the whole universe might thus have been its own creator, and have arisen quite naturally.

If God created the world by an act of his own will, without any raw material, then it is just his will and nothing else — and who will believe this silly nonsense?

If he is ever perfect and complete, how could the will to create have arisen in him? If, on the other hand, he is not perfect, he could no more create the universe than a potter could.

If he is form-less, action-less and all-embracing, how could he have created the world? Such a soul, devoid of all modality, would have no desire to create anything.

If he is perfect, he does not strive for the three aims of man, so what advantage would he gain by creating the universe?

If you say that he created to no purpose because it was his nature to do so, then God is pointless. If he created in some kind of sport, it was the sport of a foolish child, leading to trouble.

If he created because of the karma of embodied beings [acquired in a previous creation] He is not the Almighty Lord, but subordinate to something else.

If out of love for living beings and need of them he made the world, why did he not make creation wholly blissful free from misfortune?

If he were transcendent he would not create, for he would be free: nor if involved in transmigration, for then he would not be almighty. Thus the doctrine that the world was created by God makes no sense at all,

And God commits great sin in slaying the children whom he himself created. If you say that he slays only to destroy evil beings, why did he create such beings in the first place?

Good men should combat the believer in divine creation, maddened by an evil doctrine. Know that the world is uncreated, as time itself is, without beginning or end, and is based on the principles, life and rest.

Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsion of its own nature.

Criticism

Jainism, along with Buddhism, has been categorized as atheist philosophy (i.e. Nāstika darśana) by the followers of Vedic religion. Those who did not believe in Vedas and rejected Brahma as the creator of the universe were labeled as Nāstika. However, the word Nāstika corresponds more to "heterodox" than to "atheism".

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 for them 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.

If atheism is defined as disbelief in the existence of a god, then Jainism cannot be labeled as atheistic, as it not only believes in the 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".

However the usage of the word "paramatma" is not entirely accurate as there is no concept of "param-atma" or supreme atma in Jainism. Each atma has its own unique identity and remains independent even after achieving moksha, unlike certain Hindu schools of thought where the atma merges with paramatma on achieving mukti.

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 is the most difficult religion. We get no help from any gods, or from anyone. We just have to cleanse our souls. In fact other religions are easy, but they are not very ambitious. In all other religions when you are in difficulty, you can pray to God for help and maybe, God comes down to help. But Jainism is not a religion of coming down. In Jainism it is we who must go up. We only have to help ourselves. In Jainism we have to become God. That is the only thing.

The usage of the English word "God" is itself problematic and inappropriate in the context of Jainism as there is no such entity in Jain philosophy. A siddha is an atma which has achieved moksha and the closet approximation in English would be "liberated soul".

Jain cosmology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_cosmology 

Jainism

Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the Universe (loka) and its constituents (such as living beings, matter, space, time etc.) according to Jainism. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity that has existed since infinity with neither beginning nor end. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arm resting on his waist. This Universe, according to Jainism, is broad at the top, narrow at the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom.

Six eternal substances

Chart showing the classification of dravya and astikaya

According to Jains, the Universe is made up of six simple and eternal substances called dravya which are broadly categorized under Jiva (Living Substances) and Ajiva (Non Living Substances) as follows:

Jīva (Living Substances)

• Jīva i.e. Souls – Jīva exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the body that houses it. It is characterised by chetana (consciousness) and upayoga (knowledge and perception). Though the soul experiences both birth and death, it is neither really destroyed nor created. Decay and origin refer respectively to the disappearing of one state of soul and appearing of another state, these being merely the modes of the soul. Jiva are classified on bases of sense, so there are of 5 types: 1) with one sense (sparshendriya) 2) 2 senses (1st included and raasendriya) 3) 3 senses (1st 2 included and dharnendriya) 4) 4 senses (1st 3 included and chkshuendriya) 5) 5 senses (1st 4 included and shrotendriya) 

Ajīva (Non-Living Substances)

• Pudgala (Matter) – Matter is classified as solid, liquid, gaseous, energy, fine Karmic materials and extra-fine matter i.e. ultimate particles. Paramāṇu or ultimate particle is the basic building block of all matter. The Paramāṇu and Pudgala are permanent and indestructible. Matter combines and changes its modes but its basic qualities remain the same. According to Jainism, it cannot be created, nor destroyed.
• Dharmastikaay or Dharma-dravya (Principle of Motion) and Adharmastikaay or Adharma-dravya (Principle of Rest) – Dharmastikāya and Adharmastikāya are distinctly peculiar to Jaina system of thought depicting the principle of Motion and Rest. They are said to pervade the entire universe. Dharmastikaay and Adharmastikaay are by itself not motion or rest but mediate motion and rest in other bodies. Without Dharmastikāya motion is not possible and without Adharmastikāya rest is not possible in the universe.
• Ākāśa (Space) – Space is a substance that accommodates the living souls, the matter, the principle of motion, the principle of rest and time. It is all-pervading, infinite and made of infinite space-points.
• Kāla (Time) – Kāla is an eternal substance according to Jainism and all activities, changes or modifications can be achieved only through the progress of time. According to the Jain text, Dravyasaṃgraha:

  Conventional time (vyavahāra kāla) is perceived by the senses through the transformations and modifications of substances. Real time (niścaya kāla), however, is the cause of imperceptible, minute changes (called vartanā) that go on incessantly in all substances.

  — Dravyasaṃgraha (21)

Universe and its structure

Structure of Universe according to the Jain scriptures.

The Jain doctrine postulates an eternal and ever-existing world which works on universal natural laws. The existence of a creator deity is overwhelmingly opposed in the Jain doctrine. Mahāpurāṇa, a Jain text authored by Ācārya Jinasena is famous for this quote:

Some foolish men declare that a creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill advised and should be rejected. If God created the world, where was he before the creation? If you say he was transcendent then and needed no support, where is he now? How could God have made this world without any raw material? If you say that he made this first, and then the world, you are faced with an endless regression.

According to Jains, the universe has a firm and an unalterable shape, which is measured in the Jain texts by means of a unit called Rajlok, which is supposed to be very large. The Digambara sect of Jainism postulates that the universe is fourteen Rajloks high and extends seven Rajloks from north to south. Its breadth is seven Rajloks long at the bottom and decreases gradually towards the middle, where it is one Rajlok long. The width then increases gradually until it is five Rajloks long and again decreases until it is one Rajlok long. The apex of the universe is one Rajlok long, one Rajlok wide and eight Rajloks high. The total space of the world is thus 343 cubic Rajloks. The Svetambara view differs slightly and postulates that there is a constant increase and decrease in the breadth, and the space is 239 cubic Rajlok. Apart from the apex, which is the abode of liberated beings, the universe is divided into three parts. The world is surrounded by three atmospheres: dense-water, dense-wind and thin-wind. It is then surrounded by an infinitely large non-world which is completely empty.

The whole world is said to be filled with living beings. In all three parts, there is the existence of very small living beings called nigoda. Nigoda are of two types: nitya-nigoda and Itara-nigoda. Nitya-nigoda are those which will reincarnate as nigoda throughout eternity, where as Itara-nigoda will be reborn as other beings. The mobile region of universe (Trasnaadi) is one Rajlok wide, one Rajlok broad and fourteen Rajloks high. Within this region, there are animals and plants everywhere, where as Human beings are restricted to 2 continents of the middle world. The beings inhabiting the lower world are called Narak (Hellish beings). The Deva (roughly demi-gods) live in the whole of the top and middle worlds, and top three realms of the lower world. Living beings are divided in fourteen classes (Jivasthana) : Fine beings with one sense, crude beings with one sense, beings with two senses, beings with three senses, beings with four senses, beings with five senses and no mind, and beings with five senses and a mind. These can be under-developed or developed, a total or 14. Human beings can get any form of existence, and are the only ones which can attain salvation.

Three lokas

Fourteen Rajlok or Triloka. Shape of Universe as per Jain cosmology in form of a cosmic man. Miniature from 17th century, Saṁgrahaṇīratna by Śrīcandra, in Prakrit with a Gujarati commentary. Jain Śvetāmbara cosmological text with commentary and illustrations.

The early Jains contemplated the nature of the earth and universe. They developed a detailed hypothesis on the various aspects of astronomy and cosmology. According to the Jain texts, the universe is divided into 3 parts:

• Urdhva Loka – the realms of the gods or heavens
• Madhya Loka – the realms of the humans, animals and plants
• Adho Loka – the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions

The following Upanga āgamas describe the Jain cosmology and geography in a great detail:

1. Sūryaprajñapti – Treatise on Sun
2. Jambūdvīpaprajñapti – Treatise on the island of Roseapple tree; it contains a description of Jambūdvī and life biographies of Ṛṣabha and King Bharata
3. Candraprajñapti – Treatise on moon

Additionally, the following texts describe the Jain cosmology and related topics in detail:

1. Trilokasāra – Essence of the three worlds (heavens, middle level, hells)
2. Trilokaprajñapti – Treatise on the three worlds
3. Trilokadipikā – Illumination of the three worlds
4. Tattvārthasūtra – Description on nature of realities
5. Kṣetrasamasa – Summary of Jain geography
6. Bruhatsamgrahni – Treatise on Jain cosmology and geography

Urdhva Loka, the upper world

Upper World (Udharva loka) is divided into different abodes and are the realms of the heavenly beings (demi-gods) who are non-liberated souls.

Upper World is divided into sixteen Devalokas, nine Graiveyaka, nine Anudish and five Anuttar abodes. Sixteen Devaloka abodes are Saudharma, Aishana, Sanatkumara, Mahendra, Brahma, Brahmottara, Lantava, Kapishta, Shukra, Mahashukra, Shatara, Sahasrara, Anata, Pranata, Arana and Achyuta. Nine Graiveyak abodes are Sudarshan, Amogh, Suprabuddha, Yashodhar, Subhadra, Suvishal, Sumanas, Saumanas and Pritikar. Nine Anudish are Aditya, Archi, Archimalini, Vair, Vairochan, Saum, Saumrup, Ark and Sphatik. Five Anuttar are Vijaya, Vaijayanta, Jayanta, Aparajita and Sarvarthasiddhi.

The sixteen heavens in Devalokas are also called Kalpas and the rest are called Kalpatit. Those living in Kalpatit are called Ahamindra and are equal in grandeur. There is increase with regard to the lifetime, influence of power, happiness, lumination of body, purity in thought-colouration, capacity of the senses and range of clairvoyance in the Heavenly beings residing in the higher abodes. But there is decrease with regard to motion, stature, attachment and pride. The higher groups, dwelling in 9 Greveyak and 5 Anutar Viman. They are independent and dwelling in their own vehicles. The anuttara souls attain liberation within one or two lifetimes. The lower groups, organized like earthly kingdoms—rulers (Indra), counselors, guards, queens, followers, armies etc.

Above the Anutar vimans, at the apex of the universe is the realm of the liberated souls, the perfected omniscient and blissful beings, who are venerated by the Jains.

Madhya Loka, the middle world

Image depicting map of Jambudvipa as per Jain Cosmology

 

Early 19th-century painting depicting map of 2+1⁄2 continents

 

Depiction of Mount Meru at Jambudweep, Hastinapur

Madhya Loka consists of 900 yojans above and 900 yojans below earth surface. It is inhabited by:

1. Jyotishka devas (luminous gods) – 790 to 900 yojans above earth
2. Humans, Tiryanch (Animals, birds, plants) on the surface
3. Vyantar devas (Intermediary gods) – 100 yojan below the ground level

Madhyaloka consists of many continent-islands surrounded by oceans, first eight whose names are:

Continent/ Island	Ocean
Jambūdvīpa	Lavanoda (Salt – ocean)
Ghatki Khand	Kaloda (Black sea)
Puskarvardvīpa	Puskaroda (Lotus Ocean)
Varunvardvīpa	Varunoda (Varun Ocean)
Kshirvardvīpa	Kshiroda (Ocean of milk)
Ghrutvardvīpa	Ghrutoda (Butter milk ocean)
Ikshuvardvīpa	Iksuvaroda (Sugar Ocean)
Nandishwardvīpa	Nandishwaroda

Mount Meru (also Sumeru) is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojans. There are two sets of sun, moon and stars revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests behind the Mount Meru.

Work of Art showing maps and diagrams as per Jain Cosmography from 17th century CE Manuscript of 12th century Jain text Sankhitta Sangheyan

Jambūdvīpa continent has 6 mighty mountains, dividing the continent into 7 zones (Ksetra). The names of these zones are:

1. Bharat Kshetra
2. Mahavideh Kshetra
3. Airavat Kshetra
4. Ramyak Kshetra
5. Hiranya vant Kshetra
6. Hemvant Kshetra
7. Hari Varsh Kshetra

The three zones i.e. Bharat Kshetra, Mahavideh Kshetra and Airavat Kshetra are also known as Karma bhoomi because practice of austerities and liberation is possible and the Tirthankaras preach the Jain doctrine. The other four zones, Ramyak, Hairanyvat Kshetra, Haimava Kshetra and Hari Kshetra are known as akarmabhoomi or bhogbhumi as humans live a sinless life of pleasure and no religion or liberation is possible.

Nandishvara Dvipa is not the edge of cosmos, but it is beyond the reach of humans. Humans can reside only on Jambudvipa, Dhatatikhanda Dvipa, and the inner half of Pushkara Dvipa.

Adho Loka, the lower world

17th century cloth painting depicting seven levels of Jain hell and various tortures suffered in them. Left panel depicts the demi-god and his animal vehicle presiding over the each hell.

The lower world consists of seven hells, which are inhabited by Bhavanpati demigods and the hellish beings. Hellish beings reside in the following hells:

1. Ratna prabha-dharma.
2. Sharkara prabha-vansha.
3. Valuka prabha-megha.
4. Pank prabha-anjana.
5. Dhum prabha-arista.
6. Tamah prabha-maghavi.
7. Mahatamah prabha-maadhavi

Time cycle

Division of time as envisaged by Jains

According to Jainism, time is beginningless and eternal. The Kālacakra, the cosmic wheel of time, rotates ceaselessly. The wheel of time is divided into two half-rotations, Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and Avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle, occurring continuously after each other. Utsarpiṇī is a period of progressive prosperity and happiness where the time spans and ages are at an increasing scale, while Avsarpiṇī is a period of increasing sorrow and immorality with decline in timespans of the epochs. Each of this half time cycle consisting of innumerable period of time (measured in sagaropama and palyopama years) is further sub-divided into six aras or epochs of unequal periods. Currently, the time cycle is in avasarpiṇī or descending phase with the following epochs.

Name of the Ara	Degree of happiness	Duration of Ara	Maximum height of people	Maximum lifespan of people
Suṣama-suṣamā	Utmost happiness and no sorrow	400 trillion sāgaropamas	Six miles tall	Three Palyopam years
Suṣamā	Moderate happiness and no sorrow	300 trillion sāgaropamas	Four miles tall	Two Palyopam Years
Suṣama-duḥṣamā	Happiness with very little sorrow	200 trillion sāgaropamas	Two miles tall	One Palyopam Years
Duḥṣama-suṣamā	Happiness with little sorrow	100 trillion sāgaropamas	1500 meters	84 Lakh Purva
Duḥṣamā	Sorrow with very little happiness	21,000 years	7 hatha	120 years
Duḥṣama- duḥṣamā	Extreme sorrow and misery	21,000 years	1 hatha	20 years

In utsarpiṇī the order of the eras is reversed. Starting from duṣamā-duṣamā, it ends with suṣamā-suṣamā and thus this never ending cycle continues. Each of these aras progress into the next phase seamlessly without any apocalyptic consequences. The increase or decrease in the happiness, life spans and length of people and general moral conduct of the society changes in a phased and graded manner as the time passes. No divine or supernatural beings are credited or responsible with these spontaneous temporal changes, either in a creative or overseeing role, rather human beings and creatures are born under the impulse of their own karmas.

Śalākāpuruṣas – The deeds of the 63 illustrious men

According to Jain texts, sixty-three illustrious beings, called śalākāpuruṣas, are born on this earth in every Dukhama-sukhamā ara. The Jain universal history is a compilation of the deeds of these illustrious persons. They comprise twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras, twelve chakravartins, nine balabhadra, nine narayana, and nine pratinarayana.

A chakravartī is an emperor of the world and lord of the material realm. Though he possesses worldly power, he often finds his ambitions dwarfed by the vastness of the cosmos. Jain puranas give a list of twelve chakravartins (universal monarchs). They are golden in complexion. One of the chakravartins mentioned in Jain scriptures is Bharata Chakravartin. Jain texts like Harivamsa Purana and Hindu Texts like Vishnu Purana state that Indian subcontinent came to be known as Bharata varsha in his memory.

There are nine sets of balabhadra, narayana, and pratinarayana. The balabhadra and narayana are brothers. Balabhadra are nonviolent heroes, narayana are violent heroes, and pratinarayana the villains. According to the legends, the narayana ultimately kill the pratinarayana. Of the nine balabhadra, eight attain liberation and the last goes to heaven. On death, the narayana go to hell because of their violent exploits, even if these were intended to uphold righteousness.

Jain cosmology divides the worldly cycle of time into two parts (avasarpiṇī and utsarpiṇī). According to Jain belief, in every half-cycle of time, twenty-four tīrthaṅkaras are born in the human realm to discover and teach the Jain doctrine appropriate for that era. The word tīrthankara signifies the founder of a tirtha, which means a fordable passage across a sea. The tīrthaṅkaras show the 'fordable path' across the sea of interminable births and deaths. Rishabhanatha is said to be the first tīrthankara of the present half-cycle (avasarpiṇī). Mahāvīra (6th century BC) is revered as the twenty fourth tīrthankara of avasarpiṇī. Jain texts state that Jainism has always existed and will always exist.

During each motion of the half-cycle of the wheel of time, 63 Śalākāpuruṣa or 63 illustrious men, consisting of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras and their contemporaries regularly appear. The Jain universal or legendary history is basically a compilation of the deeds of these illustrious men. They are categorised as follows:

• 24 Tīrthaṅkaras – The 24 Tīrthaṅkaras or the supreme ford makers appear in succession to activate the true religion and establish the community of ascetics and laymen.
• 12 Chakravartins – The Chakravartīs are the universal monarchs who rule over the six continents.
• 9 Balabhadras who lead an ideal Jain life.e.g. Lord Rama 
• 9 Narayana or Vasudev (heroes)
• 9 Prati-Naryana or Prati-Vasudev (anti-heroes) – They are anti-heroes who are ultimately killed by the Narayana.

Balabhadra and Narayana are half brothers who jointly rule over three continents.

Besides these a few other important classes of 106 persons are recognized:-

• 9 Naradas
• 11 Rudras
• 24 Kamdevas
• 24 Fathers of the Tirthankaras.
• 24 Mothers of the Tirthankaras.
• 14 Kulakara (patriarchs)