Mahavira and his Philosophy of Life

SR No.: 006934
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Jain Vidya Samsthan
Publication Year: 1998
Total Pages: 80
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 9 MB

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great heap of Punya is deposited in the self by devotion. By virtue of this there results spiritual advancement. This sort of change in the devotee can not result from worshipping a mere stone, hence the importance of devotion for Arhat or Siddha. Dr. A.N. Upadhye says, "neither Arhat nor Siddha has on him the responsibility of creating, supporting, and destroying the world. The aspirant receives no boons, no favours, and no curses from him by way of gifts from the divinity. The aspiring souls pray to him, worship him and meditate on him as an example, as a model, as an ideal that they too might reach the same status." But it should not be forgotten that unified, single-minded devotion to Arahantas (Arhats) or Siddhas accumulates in the self the Punya (auspicious Karma) of the highest kind, which, as a natural consequence, brings forth material and spiritual benefits. Thus the aspirant should not breathe in despondency for the aloofness of Arhat or Siddha. Those who are devoted to the Siddhas and Arhats are automatically elevated.
Arahanta and Siddha
In the philosophy of Mahāvīra, Arahanta and Siddha are the supreme objects of devotion. They are subsumed under the category of Deva (divine beings). Considered from the perspective of mystical realisation, Arahanta and Siddha stand at par. The former enjoys embodied liberation and the latter, disembodied one. There are two kinds of Arahantas, namely, Tirthankara and nonTirthankara. The distinction between the two is this that the former is capable of preaching and propagating religious doctrines in order to guide the mundane souls immersed in the life of illusion and his sermons are properly worded by the Ganadharas (chief disciples),
Mahavira and his Philosophy of Life
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