Question
How does a theistic ontology particularly within Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, ground moral goodness (sattva) in a way that non-theistic Indian traditions such as Jainism, early Buddhism, and Sāṅkhya cannot, and what historical evidence supports the claim that traditions lacking a divine source of goodness struggle to sustain broad religious appeal?
Answer
Without God, mere “principles” have no ontological status or source. Moral virtue or goodness, sattva, emanates from God’s own nature. That is their source. Even if the good would be good by itself, God embodies, protects, and distributes goodness. We are intrinsically good because we are aṃśas of Kṛṣṇa. Actually, history shows that ultimately godless traditions, like Jainism, did not inspire many people.
Jainism had its day and spread, but ultimately, when given a choice, people massively chose Vaishnavism. Jainism cannot explain the origin or reality of goodness, in an ontological sense. Buddhism became a world religion only when it gave up atheism and de facto accepted divine entities. Sankhya never became a significant player, it functioned primarily as a philosophical system to be used by other systems.
