Answer

In Jain Dharma, we cannot see God because God is not a creator sitting somewhere in the sky. A true God, in Jain understanding, is a liberated soul — a Siddha — who has completely destroyed all karmas and no longer has a physical body.

Since a Siddha has no body, no shape, no color, and no material form, we cannot see Him with our physical eyes.

Explanation

Jain Dharma teaches that every soul has the potential to become God by removing karmas through right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, and austerity.

There are two main ways we speak of God in Jainism:

• Arihant — a perfected being who has destroyed inner enemies like anger, ego, deceit, and greed, but is still present in a body.
• Siddha — a liberated soul who has left the body forever and resides at Siddhashila in a state of infinite knowledge, perception, bliss, and energy.

We can see the images of Tirthankars in temples, but those images are not God as a physical person. They help us remember the qualities of the perfected soul.

Spiritual Understanding

Jain Dharma does not ask us to “see God” with the eyes. It teaches us to recognize divine qualities within:

• peace
• compassion
• non-violence
• detachment
• purity of soul

God is not hidden from us because He is far away. Rather, our own soul’s true nature is covered by karma, passions, attachment, and ignorance.

Takeaway

We cannot see God with physical eyes because God is a formless, liberated soul. But through Jain practice, we can experience the path toward Godhood within our own soul.