________________
Paraspargrahojivānāmat or living beings cooperate with each other is another Jain slogan reflecting this doctrine of social Ahimsă of Mahāvīra. So Mahāvīra indirectly propounded equal status to women as men.
Aparigraha: Mahāvīra knew that the root cause of all ills associated with economic inequalities is disproportionate possession of wealth by few individuals. Thus he gave religious cum social overtones to non possession and asked his householder disciples to limit their possessions and share the rest (surplus) with others; while monks were asked to be free of any type of possessions (external or internal).
Anekānta: Mahāvīra realized that differences in opinions/viewpoints amongst different people emanate from their intellectual capabilities. These affect the social harmony more than economic or social inequalities. He thus said that differences in viewpoints emanate from the differences in the nature of things. These different aspects of things are to be understood as different aspects of the TRUTH giving rise to his doctrine of Nayavāda or Anekānta.
3.1 Uplift of women/according them and downtrodden freedom for religious pursuits His acceptance of food from a slave and destitute woman and making her the head of her nun community plus creating a separate community of nuns to practice religious activities was revolutionary in giving women:
• Equal status as men by abolishing slavery and treating women as mere possessions. • The right to study and freedom to practice religion which was till then denied to them. • He extended the four fold vows (i.e. Ahimsā, satya, acaurya and aparigraha) to five fold
i.e. bifurcate aparigraha into aparigraha and brahmacarya. He realized the importance of stressing celibacy as the men and women were becoming more prone to sexual attractions and indulgences. He used Prakrit language or the language of commoners and women, to deliver his sermons so as to make them accessible to the masses and not just a few learned scholars.
* Tattvāratha-sútra, Umāsvāti, V.21
Page 172 of 317
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
