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of Aparigraha (non-attachment) and Ahimsa (non-violence) dawned upon them, they renounced all material comforts and possessions of life, detached themselves from their families and set out on the path of spiritual enlightenment and eventually became 'JINA'conquering the suffering and the pleasure inherent in attachment.
All the Tirthankaras were not Gods who came down from the heaven. They were like us persons of flesh and blood. But their resolve, inspiration and earnest effort to look beyond physical existence and delve into the spiritual purpose of life made them our enlightened spiritual guides. Their example, in the words of Jacqueline Synder, reflects, “The promise of the future that many more like them could explore our vast human potential, and the intuition and creative genius that will come forth will fuel the acceleration of our race”. This is so because their "enlightenment” was a result of intense physical effort as well as deep contemplation made by them. Their example is meant to energize us to take to their path in search of fulfillment of life's purpose.
Jain philosophy is grounded in “Shraman Sanskriti” (effort culture). Hence every individual has to oneself decide what great and splendid things one would like to achieve in life beyond mere material comfort. Each individual in one's own way within his/her capacity needs to make up one's mind to embark upon the journey towards enlightenment. It is not prayer alone which will make us proceed. With aroused consciousness and recharged soul energy, we can seize opportunities to move ahead just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the elements it needs. There are no shortcuts. It has to be an effort well-disciplined, well-motivated, well-grounded in knowledge and conviction, accompanied by strong will power to disentangle oneself gradually and steadily from the ‘Karmic' bondages and material possessive instincts and proceed towards identifying divinity within oneself.
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Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner *
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