ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

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

Page 40

Such conditions of ignorance and inauspicious activities stirred his heart immensely. He became filled with compassion and thought 'If such condition of unreligious and violent acts continued for longer time, then this land of non-violence and spiritual teachers will become hell. The man will become a devil. This land of India which was made holy and a place of pride due to the practice and preaching by great spiritual leaders like Bhagav na abha Deva, R ma and Nemin tha will become an irrecoverable place of violence. Hence it is not possible for me to stay in the house and practice non-violence completely.' Therefore he decided to renounce his home for ever.
His parents Siddh rtha and Tri al and all family members were startled to know these views of Mah v ra. However seeing his firm decision to renounce the home, they did not consider it right to stop him from adopting a path of supreme beneficence for himself and the world. So reluctantly they permitted him to adopt his chosen path.
Initiation of Mah v ra as nirgra tha ascetic
Prince Mah v ra renounced all the comforts of royal palatial life and accepted the vows of the nirgra tha skyclad (Digambara) and acela (as a teacher and not as a disciple) ascetic and left for seclusion of the forests, caves and other lonely places. He started to meditate on his self and practice Ahi s (non-violence) rigorously to win over desire, anger, attachment, aversion, delusions and wrong notions, deceit and jealousy etc which he considered as the deterrents/enemies of the soul by not letting it enjoy its own nature. Slowly he started achieving his objectives. The external/ physical austerities observed by him were primarily to invoke and enhance the potency of the internal attributes of pure soul, such as knowledge, bliss etc. He used to endure all afflictions befalling on him bravely and happily. This way he continued his penance observing silence for twelve years and ultimately cleansed his soul of the k rmika impurities completely. Ultimately he attained the state of Arhat i.e. freedom from vagaries of life (j vanmutta). Arhat is the highest attainable state for pure soul in the world. It is this state of Arhat which makes one the venerated one and desired by all and sundry.
Divine sermons of Bhagav na Mah v ra
In this way Mah v ra established Ahi s completely in his self and as per his own pre-set objective. He developed equanimity towards all living beings. He had none as enemy or friend. Even animals which have mutual animosity like snake and mongoose, lion and cow used to come in his congregation together and forgot their animosity. The environment was full of peace and tranquility. Influenced by Mah v ra's divine aura, people started coming by themselves to him. Mah v ra used to deliver sermons on Ahi s at opportune and appropriate times and places. Ahi s parmo dharma i.e. non violence is the supreme spiritual virtue and violence is inauspicious were the focal points of his sermons. He explained innumerable benefits of non violence. In this way he preached effectively the doctrine of Ahi s for thirty years.
The main metaphysical doctrines propounded by Mah v ra in his sermons are as follows:
1.
Omniscient and omniscience (sarvaj avada or supreme-soul).
Whereas other religions propagate that the man is always a servant or follower of a supreme entity called God, Jainism, as propagated by Mah v ra, says that every soul can, by its own engagements and efforts independently, achieve the status of the omniscient God completely. Like a child of six years age starts learning A, B and C etc and every year graduating to higher standards /classes and becomes BA, MA and PhD thereby enhancing his knowledge acquired till the age of 6 manifolds; similarly the empirical soul by purifying itself of k rmika impurities and veils over itself by its own efforts can become a mah tm and ultimately a param tm or omniscient God. By eliminating some of the flaws and k rmika veils, one attains the status of mah tm and by completing eliminating the flaws and k rmika veils one attains the status of param tm. Hence in Jainism a fully beneficiated soul with its virtues / qualities is param tm or the omniscient God.
2.
i.
ii.
The three jewels of religion. Ratnatraya or the trio of jewels.
How can one become param tm ? The answer to this question has been fully explained in Jainism. One who adopts and practices the trio of right belief-knowledge and conduct (samyak dar ana-j na-c ritra) completely eliminates all the pains of this world and ultimately becomes param tm.
Right belief samyak dar ana: Right belief is to have firm belief in right (without flaws) deities or param tm, right scriptures, right and holy teachers (mah tm or s dhus) without any pride and prejudices.
Right knowledge / samyak j na (gyan): Right knowledge is the knowledge of the realities 'tattvas' which is neither less nor more and is free from doubts, contradictions and hankering.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0