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Bhagavan Mahavira
ascetics like Gautama and Sudharma were his disciples, and even though they were eighty years old, they behaved before Bhagavan Mahāvīra with great modesty and dedication. Bhagavan Mahāvīra had a large number of disciples at the time of his nirvana.
Epilogue
85
Bhagavan Mahāvīra had been born a prince and was brought up in the midst of prosperity. His youth synchronized with the development of equality. He devoted himself to the practice of equanimity. He achieved his goal. He lived and worked in the midst of people and showed them the way to peace, equanimity and anekanta. His teachings are meant not only for individuals but for the entire society. They do not envisage only the world beyond, but are concerned with this world also. His system of spiritual discipline is not only capable of solving the internal problems of individuals, but social problems also. The principle of ahimsa he taught is not that of the coward but of the valiant. It is invariably associated with fearlessness and valour. The doctrine of detachment he taught is not a doctrine of passivity. It is an indomitable spiritual force for the pruning of the effects of karma and a great means for the development of mental powers. Even today his teachings are capable of showing the path to world peace and hence the entire mankind venerates him.
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