Celebration of Mahavira Jayanti on April 16 commemorates the auspicious birth anniversary of an illustrious saviour of mankind. This supreme apostle of peace and non-violence was born on this day two thousand six hundred years ago. At worldwide ceremonies across the continents millions of devotees will rededicate themselves to the ideals of this foremost sentinel of universal brotherhood. His birth anniversary reminds leaders of nations to strive for a world order that ensures peaceful co-existence. The guidelines preached by Mahavira are valid for all time in the interests of the continuance of civilised life on our planet.
The age in which Prince Mahavira was born was a time of serious unrest when an ailing society was in grave distress. But the Licchavi enclaves of his ancestors however served as realms of orderly life in contrast to the distressed areas around the land. Vardhamana Mahavira was born in Kundalapur, a suburb of Vaishali in North Bihar. His parents were King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala Priyakarini. The child was named "Vardhamana" - one who prospers and is ascendant since the land saw increasing prosperity from the day he was born. As the child showed signs of extraordinary wisdom he also came to be known as "Sanmati". The prodigy’s feats of fearlessness and valour earned for him the name," Mahavira", - the Great Hero.
Though born in princely comfort, Mahavira began setting himself on spiritual pursuits quite early in life. At the age of thirty he renounced the pleasures of the palace and undertook the vows of ascetic life. Retiring to a forest he practised hard penance and rigorous austerities. He was often subjected to torments by his detractors and disbelievers. He endured them all ungrudgingly. Mahavira responded with supreme forbearance. "I forgive all living beings. May all beings forgive me. I have forgiveness for one and all. I bear no malice towards anyone", he declared. Through his precept underscored by a practice of forgiveness and compassion, Mahavira brought about a happy transformation in a strife-torn society that was in perpetual tension and conflicts.
After twelve years of ascetic life of austerities in intensive contemplation, the seer Mahavira attained omniscience or all-knowledge (Kevala Jnan) that transcends the limitations of time and space. Thus he became a ‘Tirthankara’.- one who guides fellow-mortals across the recurring chasm of life and death. He was the last of the twenty-four Tirthankaras in the present cosmic time-cycle’. Tirthankara is a self-enlightened propagator of right doctrines that lead to a path of spiritual advance. Tirthankara Mahavira revived the teachings of his precursors adapting them to the needs of the time. The teachings popularised by him provided the formula for universal welfare-the concept of Sarvodaya. This was the formula commended by Mahatma Gandhi and later taken up by his disciple, Vinoba Bhave. The concept and the contents of ‘Sarvodaya’ had been first mentioned in the scriptures containing Mahavira’s teachings.
Mahavira traversed the land for thirty years preaching the gospel of co-existence, harmony and the universal brotherhood. He was born some twenty years before Gautama Buddha, the other great apostle of peace of the age. They were contemporaries of other seers of the time like Cofucius in China and Zoroaster in Persia. They had all bequeathed the message of humanism to posterity. Sakya Muni Gautama Buddha’s ancestors were believed to have been the followers of the 23rd Tirthankara, Parsvanatha, who is recorded in history as having lived a couple of centuries earlier. Gautama Buddha was said to have exhorted his disciples to bow to "Natha Putta" (scion of the Jnatr royal family) Nigganta (Sky-clad) Mahavira. Buddha reversed his senior contemporary and there is a remarkable similarity in their teachings. Mahavira attained Nirvana in 527 B.C. But the light of knowledge he bequeathed to the world continues to enlighten the path of redemption for humanity.
Mahatma Gandhi, who in his early life had been influenced by Mahavira’s teachings, had more than anyone else upheld the soveriegn formula of non-violence which brought freedom to our land after centuries of colonial domination. He had also imbibed Mahavira’s other tenets including the reformative guidelines for restraint on possessions. The world has enough resources to satisfy everyone’s needs but not everyone’s greed" is one of his quotable quotes. The significant message of the enlightened seer is a sure enough guidepost to economic democracy in the circumstances of social unrest with more and more among the less affluent demanding better living conditions there can be no better formula than voluntary restraint on property and possessions. Besides, it would forestall any violent conflicts between the ’haves’ and ‘have-note’ both among national societies and among the nations of the world.
Appreciation of the points of view of others is another main plank of Mahavira’s teachings. It is described as Anekantavada, or the principle of the multiple-dimensions of truth. Looked at it from another angle, the other point of view may be correct. This was the formula for mutual understanding stressed by Tirthankara Mahavira. He spoke of the need for synthesis as an imperative necessity in order to avert clashes among the followers of different creeds. This pattern of reconciliation of divergent streams of thought is also described as Syadvada, similar to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
This principle has been upheld by succeeding generations as a virtue of toleration and a part of the noble ideology propounded by Mahavira. With catholicity of thought foremost in his call to humanity at large he succeeded in promoting inter-religious dialogue. The present-day conferences of World Religions highlighted by Swami Vivekananda’s participation at the Chicago Parliament of Religions are footnotes to the everlasting value of the legacy of Mahavira and other seers. It is as well that we remind ourselves that the circumstances of today’s global village of points to the all-time relevance of the call for co-existence as the only alternative to co-destruction.
The postulates preached by Mahavira revolve around the innate life-force in all beings. Each living being is essentially and individual soul striving for ultimate happiness, he said. The supreme bliss, therefore, consists of liberation from the vicious circle of life and death. Freedom from the bondage of attachments is the only path that leads to salvation or ‘Nirvana’ - a state of perfection or the Life Eternal. The word "Jina" in this context implies the spiritual conqueror. The term "Jain" or "Jaina" connects a follower of the path shown by "Jina".
Non-killing or non-violence as preached by Mahavira enjoins people to respect the life-force in every creature. Non-violence as laid down by him is not to be interpreted as a negative dogma of merely refraining from killing It is a positive conduct that enjoins everyone not to harbour even the thought of injuring any being, or of uttering by word the intention to injure or to kill another.
The role of Mahatama Gandhi as the greatest champion of non-violence in our age was shaped to a large extent early in life by the Jain society in Gujarat amidst which he lived. The study of jain religion was among the seminal influences which took him Above narrow limits of any community. It helped him touch the hearts of man and women everywhere. Non-violent resistance to evil has indeed been accepted as a potent force in all societies.
Gandhiji acknowledged mankind’s debt to Mahavira in these words: "No religion in the world has explained the principle of Ahimsa so deeply and systematically as discussed with its applicability in life in Jainism. As and when this benevolent principle of Ahimsa will be sought for practice by the people of the world and beyond.......Mahavira is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on Ahimsa." Of anybody developed this doctrine it was Bhagwan Mahavira who thought over it and translated it into action.
"Non-violence is the religion of tomorrow", was the prophecy of the world’s front ranking scientist ,Albert Einstein. He was visualising the deadly menace of a nuclear holocaust. Like him, the doyen of historians. Arnold Toynbee, emphasised that in the modern context non-violence is the sole alternative for the human race from destroying itself in the atomic age. A humanity desperately seeking means of survival in the face of its nuclear extinction has been turning to the path of peace and abstinence from violence preached by Mahavira and the seers who followed his line of thought. And people everywhere are conscious of the extreme gravity of the possibilities of nuclear annihilation through the drift of nations arraigned against one another.
Leaders of nations can help in building the bastions of peace by implanting the message of peace through non-violence intoned by Mahavira centuries ago.
As savant and noted orientalist H.W. Beecher, said. "Mahavira was a great saviour, a benefactor of humanity and "one of the greatest of the great. His sermons, universal in scope and content are as valid today as in the age when he articulated the message of universal love and co-existence."
The age in which Prince Mahavira was born was a time of serious unrest when an ailing society was in grave distress. But the Licchavi enclaves of his ancestors however served as realms of orderly life in contrast to the distressed areas around the land. Vardhamana Mahavira was born in Kundalapur, a suburb of Vaishali in North Bihar. His parents were King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala Priyakarini. The child was named "Vardhamana" - one who prospers and is ascendant since the land saw increasing prosperity from the day he was born. As the child showed signs of extraordinary wisdom he also came to be known as "Sanmati". The prodigy’s feats of fearlessness and valour earned for him the name," Mahavira", - the Great Hero.
Though born in princely comfort, Mahavira began setting himself on spiritual pursuits quite early in life. At the age of thirty he renounced the pleasures of the palace and undertook the vows of ascetic life. Retiring to a forest he practised hard penance and rigorous austerities. He was often subjected to torments by his detractors and disbelievers. He endured them all ungrudgingly. Mahavira responded with supreme forbearance. "I forgive all living beings. May all beings forgive me. I have forgiveness for one and all. I bear no malice towards anyone", he declared. Through his precept underscored by a practice of forgiveness and compassion, Mahavira brought about a happy transformation in a strife-torn society that was in perpetual tension and conflicts.
After twelve years of ascetic life of austerities in intensive contemplation, the seer Mahavira attained omniscience or all-knowledge (Kevala Jnan) that transcends the limitations of time and space. Thus he became a ‘Tirthankara’.- one who guides fellow-mortals across the recurring chasm of life and death. He was the last of the twenty-four Tirthankaras in the present cosmic time-cycle’. Tirthankara is a self-enlightened propagator of right doctrines that lead to a path of spiritual advance. Tirthankara Mahavira revived the teachings of his precursors adapting them to the needs of the time. The teachings popularised by him provided the formula for universal welfare-the concept of Sarvodaya. This was the formula commended by Mahatma Gandhi and later taken up by his disciple, Vinoba Bhave. The concept and the contents of ‘Sarvodaya’ had been first mentioned in the scriptures containing Mahavira’s teachings.
Mahavira traversed the land for thirty years preaching the gospel of co-existence, harmony and the universal brotherhood. He was born some twenty years before Gautama Buddha, the other great apostle of peace of the age. They were contemporaries of other seers of the time like Cofucius in China and Zoroaster in Persia. They had all bequeathed the message of humanism to posterity. Sakya Muni Gautama Buddha’s ancestors were believed to have been the followers of the 23rd Tirthankara, Parsvanatha, who is recorded in history as having lived a couple of centuries earlier. Gautama Buddha was said to have exhorted his disciples to bow to "Natha Putta" (scion of the Jnatr royal family) Nigganta (Sky-clad) Mahavira. Buddha reversed his senior contemporary and there is a remarkable similarity in their teachings. Mahavira attained Nirvana in 527 B.C. But the light of knowledge he bequeathed to the world continues to enlighten the path of redemption for humanity.
Mahatma Gandhi, who in his early life had been influenced by Mahavira’s teachings, had more than anyone else upheld the soveriegn formula of non-violence which brought freedom to our land after centuries of colonial domination. He had also imbibed Mahavira’s other tenets including the reformative guidelines for restraint on possessions. The world has enough resources to satisfy everyone’s needs but not everyone’s greed" is one of his quotable quotes. The significant message of the enlightened seer is a sure enough guidepost to economic democracy in the circumstances of social unrest with more and more among the less affluent demanding better living conditions there can be no better formula than voluntary restraint on property and possessions. Besides, it would forestall any violent conflicts between the ’haves’ and ‘have-note’ both among national societies and among the nations of the world.
Appreciation of the points of view of others is another main plank of Mahavira’s teachings. It is described as Anekantavada, or the principle of the multiple-dimensions of truth. Looked at it from another angle, the other point of view may be correct. This was the formula for mutual understanding stressed by Tirthankara Mahavira. He spoke of the need for synthesis as an imperative necessity in order to avert clashes among the followers of different creeds. This pattern of reconciliation of divergent streams of thought is also described as Syadvada, similar to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
This principle has been upheld by succeeding generations as a virtue of toleration and a part of the noble ideology propounded by Mahavira. With catholicity of thought foremost in his call to humanity at large he succeeded in promoting inter-religious dialogue. The present-day conferences of World Religions highlighted by Swami Vivekananda’s participation at the Chicago Parliament of Religions are footnotes to the everlasting value of the legacy of Mahavira and other seers. It is as well that we remind ourselves that the circumstances of today’s global village of points to the all-time relevance of the call for co-existence as the only alternative to co-destruction.
The postulates preached by Mahavira revolve around the innate life-force in all beings. Each living being is essentially and individual soul striving for ultimate happiness, he said. The supreme bliss, therefore, consists of liberation from the vicious circle of life and death. Freedom from the bondage of attachments is the only path that leads to salvation or ‘Nirvana’ - a state of perfection or the Life Eternal. The word "Jina" in this context implies the spiritual conqueror. The term "Jain" or "Jaina" connects a follower of the path shown by "Jina".
Non-killing or non-violence as preached by Mahavira enjoins people to respect the life-force in every creature. Non-violence as laid down by him is not to be interpreted as a negative dogma of merely refraining from killing It is a positive conduct that enjoins everyone not to harbour even the thought of injuring any being, or of uttering by word the intention to injure or to kill another.
The role of Mahatama Gandhi as the greatest champion of non-violence in our age was shaped to a large extent early in life by the Jain society in Gujarat amidst which he lived. The study of jain religion was among the seminal influences which took him Above narrow limits of any community. It helped him touch the hearts of man and women everywhere. Non-violent resistance to evil has indeed been accepted as a potent force in all societies.
Gandhiji acknowledged mankind’s debt to Mahavira in these words: "No religion in the world has explained the principle of Ahimsa so deeply and systematically as discussed with its applicability in life in Jainism. As and when this benevolent principle of Ahimsa will be sought for practice by the people of the world and beyond.......Mahavira is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on Ahimsa." Of anybody developed this doctrine it was Bhagwan Mahavira who thought over it and translated it into action.
"Non-violence is the religion of tomorrow", was the prophecy of the world’s front ranking scientist ,Albert Einstein. He was visualising the deadly menace of a nuclear holocaust. Like him, the doyen of historians. Arnold Toynbee, emphasised that in the modern context non-violence is the sole alternative for the human race from destroying itself in the atomic age. A humanity desperately seeking means of survival in the face of its nuclear extinction has been turning to the path of peace and abstinence from violence preached by Mahavira and the seers who followed his line of thought. And people everywhere are conscious of the extreme gravity of the possibilities of nuclear annihilation through the drift of nations arraigned against one another.
Leaders of nations can help in building the bastions of peace by implanting the message of peace through non-violence intoned by Mahavira centuries ago.
As savant and noted orientalist H.W. Beecher, said. "Mahavira was a great saviour, a benefactor of humanity and "one of the greatest of the great. His sermons, universal in scope and content are as valid today as in the age when he articulated the message of universal love and co-existence."
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