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145
Ätmasiddhi
Explanation & Discussion:
Most people believe in an almighty God, who would judge the activities of every being and would dispense justice. If one subscribes to that belief, then He is a suitable agency that can provide the appropriate fruits of Karma. God being impartial, He can properly judge every case and hand down the appropriate consequences to every being. But as stated in the last chapter, there is no valid case for believing in the existence of God as the Creator or the dispenser of justice. There are innumerable living beings who acquire Karma every moment. If we admit the existence of God in this way, He would not be in a position to judge all the cases, even if He is equipped with a supercomputer or with superhuman capability.
Moreover, sitting in continuous judgement presupposes the propensity to act and that itself would lead to the acquisition of Karma. It means that God would be subject to acquiring Karma Himself. Since Godhood denotes unadulterated purity, conceiving of Him as being the judge amounts to the negation of that purity. Thus by being a judge, He would stand to lose Godhood. Therefore, the existence of God as the dispenser of justice is ruled out.
ઈશ્વર સિદ્ધ થયા વિના, જગત નિયમ નહિ હોય; પછી શુભાશુભ કર્મનાં, ભોગ્યસ્થાન નહિ કોય.
IIC U11
Ishwar Siddha Thayä Vinä, Jagat Niyam Nahi Hoy, Pachhi Shubhäshubh Karmanän, Bhogyasthän Nahi Koy.
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