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Lord Mahavir, the 24th and the last of the Jain “Tirthankaras" was a contemporary of Lord Buddha. He attained ‘Nirvana' in 527 B.C. The common impression is that both religions came up as reformation movements to correct the distortions and rigidities that were beginning to develop in Hindu religion particularly as a result of increased war-fare, indulgence in animal sacrifice, spread of non-vegetarianism and the development of a rigid caste system which gave the Brahmins the monopoly of interpreting Holy religious texts to the followers.
The fact is that emergence of Buddhism and the strong revival of Jainism in a fully codified from during the life time of Lord Mahavir (599-527B.C.) and his predecessor Lord Parshvanaath (877-777 B.C.) helped to focus on the vital importance in religious faith of the principles of non-violence (Ahimsa), truth (Satya) and non-attachment (Aparigraha).
Abhorrence of war and conflicts was growing in the minds not only of the public but also of the ruling class as a result of indiscriminate bloodshed, cruel loss of life and the resultant misery, hatred and ill feeling that it generated. Interestingly enough it was the ruling class, which gave lead. All the 24 Tirthankar of the Jain religion were from Kshatriya or the ruling warrior class and so was the case with Gautam Buddha also. They realized that the victories of 'peace would be more durable than the victories of 'war’. They realized that violence only generated greater violence, but non-violence would spread stable peace, concord and serenity.
Jain philosophy is rooted firmly in the experience of life and is not something academic or theoretical. Life teaches lessons and if the lessons learned by one could be followed by others, they could become better human beings during their current life and move on towards eventual salvation and freedom from the cycle of life.
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner
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