Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Boolchand
Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society

Page 73

( 66 ) crced as follows. “The painful condition of the self is brought about by one's own action, it is not brought about by any other cause (fate, creator, chance or the like)" "Individually a man is born, individually he dies, individually he falls (from this state of existence), Individually he rises (to another). His passions, consciousness, intellect, perceptions and impressions belong to the individual exclusively. Here, indeed, the bonds of relationship are not able to help or save one." "All living beings owe their preseni form of existence to their own Karman ; timid, wicked, suffering latent misery, they err about (in the circle of births), subject to birth, old age and death.” Mahavira declared that there are as many souls as living individuals, and that karman consists of acts, intentional or unintentional, that produce effects on the nature of the soul. The soul is not passive in the sense that it remains untouched or unaffected by what a person does for the sake of some interests. It is susceptible to the inflvences of Karma and it possesses the capacity to actively annihilate Karma. By the practice of austerities and penances the jiva can wear out and ultimately destroy the effects of sinful karma committed in former exis. tences and by the practice of far-reaching self-restraint it can free itself from the production of new karmas. The result of this freedom from the bondage of Karma will be a non-g'iding of the self in the course of samsara in future, and the attainment of the eternal and blissful condition of the soul in its perfection.
This condition of the soul is realisable in this very existence and solely by human efforts, if rightly directed. The life of the Master stood for all his disciples as a living example of such realisation. The development and manifestation of supreme personality, such as was attained by Lord Mahavira himself, was the visible fruition of religious effort and self-discipline ; and this self-discipline was .set out and preached by him for the adoption of all persons, male or female, irrespective of
any class or caste distinctions. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat