Jainism

Tradition·Founded c. 550 BCE·est. ~4–5 million worldwide

Vedic Religion → Jainism

Branch
T Figure of Jainism

The Siddhas.

Every soul that has ever got free, at the crown of the universe, without body, form, or any relation to what is below. They are drawn as an empty human outline because shape is all that is left of the last body. They will never return and cannot be asked for anything.

Names & titlesSiddhas — the liberated
DomainNothing. They have no body, no location in the world, and no business here
RelationsEvery soul that has ever got out; the Namokar mantra bows to them second
Depicted asAn empty outline of a standing human figure, at the crown of the universe
StandingThey cannot hear you, cannot help you and will never come back. The tradition is unusually direct about this and worships them regardless
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

The Siddhas are the terminus of the whole system and the description of them is austere by design. A liberated soul has shed all eight karmas, has no body of any kind, occupies the Siddhashila at the very top of the loka, and possesses infinite knowledge, perception, bliss and energy in unobstructed form. It does not act, does not descend, does not respond, and does not interact with the other Siddhas, who are infinite in number and occupy the same space without crowding, because bodiless souls do not obstruct one another. The iconography — an empty standing outline, sometimes a plain silhouette in a temple — is precise rather than decorative: the soul retains slightly less than the dimensions of its last body and nothing else. The second line of the Namokar mantra bows to them. What it is bowing to is a state, not a person who can register the bow, and Jain teaching is entirely clear on this point when asked directly, which it frequently is.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas
Suffering has a cause, and therefore an end. Buddhism · core tenet Go deeper →
Liberation happens while you are alive. Sikhism · core tenet Go deeper →
Knowledge liberates. Advaita Vedānta · core tenet Go deeper →
The arhat completes the path. Theravāda · core tenet Go deeper →
The twenty-two years were a classroom. Heaven's Gate · story Read it in full →
Liberation can be engineered. Aum Shinrikyo · core tenet Go deeper →

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