Did God create the universe?

Jainism does not believe in a creator deity but rather that the universe have always existed. Jainism asserts a religious and virtuous life is possible without the idea of a creator god. The articles gives reasonings against the theory of creationism.

What do ancient scriptures say regarding the belief in God?

• The ancient Sankhya scripture does not believe in God. The modern Sankhya doctrine designated Seshvaravadi declares Mahadeo to be God.
• The followers of Jaimani’s doctrines do not believe in God.
• The followers of Uttarmimansa i.e. the Vedantic doctrine, believe in panthesim or the doctrine of regarding all that is in the world to be God.
• The followers of: Nyaya and Vaisheshik doctrines believe in God who is One, Omnipresent, eternal, an everlasting abode of wisdom, omniscient, the dispenser of the fruits of the good and bad actions of beings and who consigns them to hell and heaven.
• The followers of Budhism believe in a God who is the preacher of their four eternal truths viz., existence of Sorrow or Misery, cause of suffering, cessation of sorrow and the path that leads to that cessation, and who incarnates himself in the world whenever his teaching is neglected.
• In Christianity, God is the eternal being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe God to be both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in the world).
• In Islam, God is the absolute one, the all-powerful and all-knowing ruler of the universe, and the creator of everything in existence

The following English translation of the verse describes God consistent with most scriptures:

Without feet and hands, He moves. Without eyes He sees. Without ears, He hears. He knows the universe best but there is none in the universe who knows Him.

How have people come to believe that God created the world?

Those who believe that God created this world, have come to this belief by observing various types of the wonderful creation of the world which they say cannot but be attributed to a Being of infinite power who is the creator and called God. Following are some of the verses that describe this:

Tattriaya Sakha.

From this spirit emanated Ether; from ether emanated air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth, herbs; from herbs, food; from food, semen; from semen, man; the man is thus made up of food and fluid.

Chandogya Upanishad

O dear, He alone was in the beginning-one without a second; He saw and the multifarious beings were born* .

Rigveda

Neither was it nor was it not; nor was it existent nor non-existent.

Aitraya Brahman

Atma alone was in the beginning-not anything else. It saw and the beings were borne.

Similarly, Christianity and Islam declare that there was only one God before the creation. There was then neither the world nor the creator of the world.

Did God create the universe?

The following are some of the logical fallacies in agreeing to the proposition that God created the world:

Place

• If God created the world, where was he before the creation?

Material

• With what material did God create the universe? How could God have made this world without any raw material?
• If you say that he made the raw material first, and then the world, you are faced with an endless chain of questions.
• 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 — who will believe this logic?

Method

• If God is formless and bodiless, having no weal or sins, how can a formless can create object that possess form?

Reason

• If God is free from all the fetters of sins, having fulfilled all his tasks, why should he create this universe? What benefit does God get by being caught in this mighty dilemma?
• God is absolutely independent and not under anyone’s control. So it is not proper to think that God has created this universe by following someone’s advice or order.
• If we think that God has no reason for creation of this universe. Then why he carried out this child like game?
• God is said to have created the universe to manifest his glory. Was not the glory of God manifest before the creation? God must be in a gloomy mood and anxious with a desire to manifest his glory.
• If he was miserable before the creation, why did he remain idle and not remove his misery by creating an universe before this universe?

Contradictions

• If out of love for living beings and their need he made the world, why did he not make creation wholly blissful free from misfortune? God is said to be merciful. If we believe that God is the creator of this universe. The question arises why he created the things that cause sorrow to the living beings? why he has made someone rich and some one poor?
• It has been said that God is the supreme judge and that he created the things that cause sorrow or misery to punish living beings for their offence. Here the questions arise if God is considered to be omnipotent and merciful why does he allow the JIVAs to commit sins and crimes and why does he punish them for sins and crimes?

Hence the argument suggests that God did not create the world. This universe full of living and non-living things has been in continuous manifestation and is therefore beginning less. Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsion of its own nature.

The Jain scriptures declare the Tirthankaras or Arihant, who, free from eighteen short-comings, have attained liberation in their bodies and the Siddhas or the perfect who have attained that liberation after the dissolution of their bodies, to be God or Ishvara. Any soul that attains liberation are called Ishvara.

Source: Chicago Prashnottari by Pujya Acharya Shri Vijayanand Suriji M.S.

Contributions: Rupesh Sanklecha