________________ * His story starts as Bhil who becomes a good guy, then turns opponent to Adinath and adopts the same path ultimately after millions of births. One has to pay dearly for opposing eternal principles. * He went to all lower forms of life due to disbelief in the nature of pure soul and had to suffer through the vicious cycle of births and deaths. A soul takes infinite births due to self-delusion or not knowing the self as a pure soul. Ignorance about self is our great enemy in the whole world and in all times. Sins can cause a few births but lack of knowledge of soul causes infinite births. Therefore, the first and foremost duty of every one of us is to acquire the knowledge of our soul if we want to achieve lasting happiness. Adopted vegetarian life for a short while; it landed him in heaven and then in the great family of Adinath Thirthankar where opportunities to learn about pure soul were plenty. Such is the tremendous benefit of being a vegetarian. However, by itself, it is not enough to ensure Moksha in the absence of knowledge of pure soul. In the birth as Triprashta Vasudev, he kills a lion and gets birth as lion but in the birth of lion itself, he gets first enlightenment. Even animals can attain self realisation. Do not kill animals as one may have to born as animals. * He developed a good garden in Rajagrihi in one of his births. At the same place, his first divine sermon was delivered. Our bondage, even with places, can cause good or bad events in the same place in different lives. Attachments in any form create bondage. In a cycle of 2000 sagar, unless a soul realizes the nature of pure soul, goes back to existence of life with one sense - trees, water, fire etc. Human births are very few. Hence, we must break the vicious cycle of births by acquiring knowledge of pure soul in this life itself. The story of Mahavir is an eternal story of all of us and this World. There are infinite such Mahavirs in existence. Like him, we can also attain Moksha if we change our lives and embark on the path of Moksha through realization of pure soul. The story of Mahavir is a case study of all Jain principles and is the essence of stories of all souls. Some souls are in Part I of the story, some in Part II, some in Part III and some have achieved Moksha and gone beyond the story. About Dr. Jayanti Lal Jain: Dr. Jain currently serves as Director, Center of Philosophical Sciences, Mangalayatan University at Aligarh, India. He is a very learned Jain scholar giving daily Pravachans, covering multiple aspects of Jain studies, delivering key note speeches for many Jain programs or special auspicious events for the last 25 years. Dr. Jain holds Ph. D in Economics from Oklahoma State University, USA and Ph. D in Jainology from University of Madras, Chennai. He was Professor Emeritus at Department of Jainology, University of Madras. He worked at Indian Bank, Chennai as Chief Economic Advisor/ General Manager. Dr Jain has published many articles on Jain Philosophy and on Economics, Banking and Finance. His books on 'Pure Soul and its Infinite Treasure', 'Acharya Kundakund and Jain Philosophy' have been published by University of Madras. He has delivered many special lectures in India and abroad and has considerable teaching experience.
