Atma the Self

Author(s): Punyadarshanvijay
Publisher: Sanmarg Prakashan

Page 98

ATMA
The Self....
25th : Nandana Rājarşi - a prince - life span of 2.5 million years of
which 2.4 million years as a prince and 100 000 years as a Jaina Monk with 11, 80,645 continuous monthly fasts. Very intense desire to emancipate every soul to salvation. Thus acquired and assimilated Punya Karma resulting into Tirthankarhood.
26th : Angel - Went to 10th heaven. Previous to this he had been to
different heavens nine times as angel and countless births in
sub-humans, vegetation, water-bodies etc. 27th : Bhagavāna Mahävira - Bhagavāna Mahāvira was born in 599
B.C. at Ksatriyakumda in Bihāra - India. His father was King Siddhārtha and his mother Trisalā'. His original name was Vardhamana, which means evergrowing.
It will be seen from Lord Mahāvirā's life that his observance of Tapa (Penance) elevated him to the supreme state of an Omniscient Teacher (Arhat). It was by mortification and austerity that he could become the unequalled Master of Ahimsa. It will be astonishing to know that even though he knew that it was his last life-span (Bhava) and would be the Tirthankara in the same life yet it is imperative that he must annihilate (Nirjarā) all remaining Karma and liberate his Soul. With intense single-mindedness of purpose, Lord Mahāvira ate and drank only 349 times in the course of 12 years, 6 months and 15 days of his monk's life. All his fasting days were without water. His lengthy fasts were generally undertaken during the monsoon days, when monks have to remain at one place. The longest fast was of six months. For all those years he did not squat nor had any sleepexcept for about 3 hours, spent during nature's call and travelling and spent all his time in meditation in standing position-statuesque minimum of about twenty one hours, usually in the open. He lived very frugally wandering from place to place with only one garment. So intense was his concentration on the goal that when his only garment was accidentally caught on a thornbush and pulled off, he remained without it. For intensive tapa, mortification and austerity he travelled to 'Anāryadēśa - uncivilied countries and suffered unimaginable, untold hardships with equanimity (Samabhāva), all for the