THE JAIXS. 253 



As the Jains profess, not to put faith in oral testi- 

 mony, and only beheve in what is perceptible to 

 their own organs of sense ; therefore, they do not 

 believe that God is in the heavens above, " because 

 no one ever saw him,'" and they deem it impossible for 

 others to see him ; but they believe in their Tirtlia- 

 cars, as their ancestors have seen and given a full 

 description of the first prophet or Guru, who attain- 

 ed the station of Nirvdfia by his extraordinary per- 

 fections and actions, to the satisfaction of mankind 

 down to the present age. Since his time, they have 

 images of the several Gurus, who succeeded him, 

 and were incarnate as protectors of their religion. 

 These naked images they worsliip in their temples 

 with all due ceremonies ; they consider them as gods, 

 or rather as representatives of God, whom they de- 

 scribe as follows : — " He has a likeness, and luo like- 

 ness ; he may be compared to an image of crystal : 

 He has eight good qualities, and is exempt from eight 

 evil qualities. He is all wise ; all seeing ; the father, 

 or the origin, of all ; enjoying eternal bliss ; without 

 name, without relation, or beginning ; infinite ; un- 

 describable." The eight evil qualities, from which 

 the nature of God is exempt, are ignorance, mental 

 blindness, pain incident to nature, the distinction of 

 name, of tribe, delusion, mortality, dependence. He 

 who possesses these good qualities, and has overcome 

 these evils, or is superior to them, is the God of the 

 Jahis, or Jinesioara, being incarnate in the shape or 

 body of one of their Gurus, or Tirfhacars. There- 

 fore, the Jains worship the images of their Gurus, 

 as the means of attaining the following stations : — 

 1 (Saloca) a station whence God is beheld at a dis- 

 tance ; 2 (Samipa) one in the presence of, or near, 

 God; 3 (Sarupa) simWdiYity to God; 4 (Sayoga) 

 union with God. According to these several grada- 

 tions, he belongs either to the order of, 1st, (Gri- 

 hasfha) a householder ; 2dly, ( Anuvrata) the lowest 

 rank of ascetics ; 3dly, (Mahdvrata) the second ; or 

 4thly, (Nirvana) the highest. 



