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Bhagavān Mahāvira
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great man has to fight relentlessly against contemporary bad customs and conventions, has to wage a war against many anti-social precedents and elements, I as to start a revolution and to be a path-finder of a new order. His name remains on the lips of the people so long and so much as he has worked for bringing about a reformation.
It is a principal belief in the Śrāmaņic Ideology that he, who achieves perfection in spiritual art by undertaking renunciation and practising hard penance, becomes a fully integrated being in course of time. The revered Mahā vira did not find satisfaction in his own aggrandizement only but he applied himself to the works of social and national uplift and welfare. In order to achieve this aim of his, he himself and his pupils too undertook wanderings in every direction, gave the massage of freedom to the people and thus liberated them from the external and internal bondages.
Situation
It is necessary to briefly refer to the situation through which Mahāvira had to pass. The Brāhmins had tightened their grip on religion and its practices so much so that a direct relationship between man and gods became impossible without the good wlll and blessings of the priests. There was no objection so long as the priest interfered as a mere helper; but he made his position as an arbiter secure in every religious performance if only for guarding his own interest. On one hand, the Brahmin priests had injected the element of complexity in all the religious rituals to such an extent that it was impossible to do away with him altogether, on the other hand, in order to fulfil their own selfish purpose, they had made the rituals so costly as to ensure a very good income. Moreover, these rituals and religious ceremonies could not be performed without the supervision, direction and control of the Brāhmaṇic priests. This phenomenon generated very great caste arrogance. The ideal of equality of all human beings and the essential unity between all of them became the first casualty. The Brāhmins became possessed of the self-created standard of high and low so much so that the Pariahs (Sūdras) which formed one of the four castes were deprived of all the religious advantages.
The so-called superior caste took away the freedom of women so that their own white colour may not suffer in recognition and value. The woman in those days had no freedom of her own. In the field of religion she was accorded as if by way of favour the position of an associate only.
Individual interests did not leave the political field also unaffected. The republics were derecognized and their place was taken by the monarchical
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