Jainism and the concept of God

Like Buddhism, Jainism also does not acknowledge the existence of an universal God who is responsible for all creation and its maintenance. In Jainism there is no first cause, no cause of all causes.

The Mahapurana declares that one should reject all notions of some God creating this world. It questions, " If God created this world, where was He before creation?..and where is he now?..and how can an immaterial God crate a material world:?"

It goes on to conclude, " Know that the world is uncreated, as time itself is, without a beginning and without an end... Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsions of its own nature, divided into three sections- hell, earth and heaven."

Though the followers of Jainism do not acknowledge the presence of God, they acknowledge the existence of higher beings called arhats in heaven and also some gods who are embodied souls but with greater freedom and high degree of knowledge and intelligence.

The arhats do not take any interest in the affairs of the world. They are completely indifferent to what goes on here. The followers of Jainism worship these arhats not because they want to gain some favors from them, but because the very act of worshipping them constitutes a good karma and leads to reduction in the inflow of karmic material.

The gods on the other hand keep a watch on the activities of the world. They respond to our requests and sincere prayers and help us in our good deeds.