Deity Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Jainism==== [[File:Padmavati.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|Padmavati, a Jain guardian deity]] {{Main|God in Jainism|Deva (Jainism)}} Like many ancient Indian traditions, [[Jainism]] does not believe in a creator, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal God; however, the cosmology of Jainism incorporates a meaningful [[causality]]-driven reality, and includes four realms of existence (''gati''), and one of them for ''[[Deva (Jainism)|deva]]'' (celestial beings, gods).<ref name="Bullivant"/>{{rp|351β357}} A human being can choose and live an ethical life ([[karma]]), such as being non-violent ([[ahimsa]]) against all living beings, thereby gain merit and be reborn as ''deva''.<ref name="Bullivant"/>{{rp|357β358}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wiley|first1=Kristi L.|title=The A to Z of Jainism|date=2004|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6337-8|page=186|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=cIhCCwAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Jain texts reject a trans-cosmic God, one who stands outside of the universe and lords over it, but they state that the world is full of ''devas'' who are in human-image with sensory organs, with the power of reason, conscious, compassionate and with finite life.<ref name="Bullivant"/>{{rp|356β357}} Jainism believes in the existence of the [[soul]] (Self, [[JΔ«va (Jainism)|atman]]) and considers it to have "god-quality", whose knowledge and liberation is the ultimate spiritual goal in both religions. Jains also believe that the spiritual nobleness of perfected souls ([[Arihant (Jainism)|Jina]]) and ''devas'' make them worship-worthy beings, with powers of guardianship and guidance to better ''[[Karma in Jainism|karma]]''. In Jain temples or festivals, the Jinas and Devas are revered.<ref name="Bullivant"/>{{rp|356β357}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kelting|first1=M. Whitney|title=Heroic Wives Rituals, Stories and the Virtues of Jain Wifehood |date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-973679-9|pages=44β48|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=-txAd-dK0tEC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page