Jainism and Mahavira

Author(s): Bhagchandra Jain Bhaskar
Publisher: Digambar Jain Sahitya Sanskriti Sanskaran Samiti

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2. MAHAVIRA
Tirthankara Mahavira was the great spiritual leader of India in sixth-fifth century B.C. He followed the ancient Sramana tradition from which he had been alienated by the pressures of secular society. Mahavira found his way through psycho-socio analytical involvment in the movements for peace and justice, and created an atomosphere of trust and understanding through inter-religious dialogue, the unparallel vehicle and the model for developing the distinctive spiritual journey of the time for entire human community and souls.
Age of spiritual leaders
During this period there emerged great spiritual leaders, prophets and philosophers whose teachings represent a change from mythic to self-reflective thinking and individualistic purification. For instance, Confucious and Lao- tsetung appeared in China, Zoroaster in Persia, Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremian in Israel, pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Moses in Asia, Minor in Greece. Likewise, in India there were some popular vedic and Upanisdic sages like Asita Devala, Dvaipayana, Parasara, Nami, Videhi Ramagupta, Bahuka, Narayana etc. and Sramanic teachers like Buddha, Makkhali Gosala, Sanjaya Belatthiputta, Pakudha Kaccayana, and others who were imparting the spiritual teachings according to their own traditions. The Samannaphalasutta of the Dighanikaya mentions six heritical teachers and the Brahmajalasutta refers to 62 types of Micchaditthis. The Prakrit literature perhaps divides these views into 363 types1.
The people were confused by these philosophical views. The spiritual sphere was violated by the sacrifices, rites and rituals. The humanity was divided by the caste system and the so called lower class people were deceived by a certain section on the name of religion. Kesi said with anxity the Gautam " The masses are weltering in the encircling gloom, who shall then light? Gautam replied "The one who initially was the prince of the kingdom of Videha and who is today the great exponent of freedom from body consciousness, the verily enlightened the propounder of the prin
1. Dighanikaya, 1, p. 52; Sutrakrtanga, 1.12.15, Vr.p. 209/2. See in detail the author's books "History of Buddhist Culture" and "History of Jaina philosophy and Culture", First Chapter.
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