ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 01

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 75

B.1.1.2.1
Teachings of Mahāvīra Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Preamble: Mahāvīra [599-527 BCE) is the latest and 24th Tirthańkara of Jains. He was born in Distt. Vaishali in the present state of Bihar, India. His parents were the followers of Pārsva, the 23rd tīrthańkara of Jains who attained emancipation some 250 years earlier. The current religion and philosophy of Jains is based on Mahāvīra's sermons, teachings and the way he lived His life. It is important to understand the state of affairs in India and abroad during his lifetime so that we can appreciate his teachings better.
He was born in the ruler caste (ksatriya) to the chief of the Distt Vaishali in Bihar, a prosperous district run by democratically elected rulers. There were more than 363 different philosophical preachers at that time in India alone!. Animal sacrifice (bali) and yajñas (long strenuous worship of God, with sacrifices of animals and even human beings) to achieve worldly comforts were the popular rituals. Socially; slavery and trading of women, excessive accumulation and consumption of wealth by few, use of corporeal and other types of punishments to rectify the ill behaviors of people and casteism were widely practiced.
Internationally, it was approximately the period when Lao-Tse and Confucius in China, Buddha in India, Zarastru in Persia, Pythagoras and later Pluto and Aristotle in Greece were preaching their doctrines and philosophies as well. According to Jains, Mahāvīra was born almost at the end of the 4th time period of the present epoch) and lived just up to the beginning of 5th time period of increasing pains and decreasing happiness.
2.0 Doctrines of Mahāvīra Who am I? From where have I come? And where shall I go after death? These are the questions we keep on asking ourselves. Mahāvīra experimented in his life to find the right answers to these questions and after strenuous penance of 12.5 years; he found the answers and started preaching the same for the good of mankind. Thus, his teachings emphasize study of the self and then to improve its status to that of supreme or pure self and
1 Chapter 1 of Sūtrak tanga describes other creeds (para-mata) along with their bhutavāda, monism like ātmādvaitavāda (one of type of reality i.e. living beings), one soul only (ekātmavāda), inertness of the soul (akārakavāda), kriyāvāda and niyativāda (fatalism or determinism) for a total of 363.
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0