Answer

In Jain Dharma, heavenly deities cannot practise true asceticism in the complete spiritual sense while they are in the deity state.

They may have devotion, reverence for Tirthankars, and good feelings toward Dharma, but they cannot take full monkhood or practise the rigorous ascetic life required for liberation as devas.

Explanation

Jainism teaches that there are four main states of existence:

• Human beings
• Heavenly beings / deities
• Animals and plants / tiryanch beings
• Hellish beings

Among these, the human birth is especially important because it is the state from which one can properly practise:

• Right faith
• Right knowledge
• Right conduct
• Renunciation
• Monkhood or nunhood
• Severe tapasya and self-restraint
• Final liberation

Deities enjoy great pleasures, long lives, subtle bodies, and extraordinary powers. But because of these pleasures and their heavenly conditions, they generally cannot undertake the complete discipline of ascetic life like Jain munis or aryikas/sadhvis.

Spiritual Understanding

In Jain Dharma, even a heavenly birth is still within samsar, the cycle of birth and death. It is not liberation.

A deity may have deep devotion and may even worship Tirthankars, but to progress fully toward moksha, that soul must eventually be born as a human being and then practise true renunciation and right conduct.

This is why Jain tradition gives such high value to human birth. Human life has suffering, limitation, and responsibility, but it also gives the rare opportunity for self-control, detachment, tapasya, and liberation.

Takeaway

Deities can be devotional and spiritually respectful, but complete asceticism and liberation are possible only through the proper human state, according to Jain Dharma.