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MAHĀVĪRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS
them to seek a safe island, to seek peace, to seek liberation, deliverance, and perfection
6. Brightness of the prospect.-In contrast to the gloomy picture of the world as commonly known stands in bold relief the bright prospect of the religious life as lived and taught by Mahavira. The reassuring message which underlies all his teachings is that soul is the highest reality of life, and nirvana is not extinction but the eternal and blissful condition of the soul in its perfection. This condition of soul is realizable in this very existence and solely by human efforts, if they are well-directed. The development and manifestation of supreme personality is the visible fruition of religious efforts leading to liberation. The life of the Master offered for imitation by his earnest disciples stands as one of the highest examples of such a personality. The heart of Jainism is not empty as Mrs Stevenson thinks, it is only emptied of all that go to constitute selfishness, haughtiness, cruelty, wickedness, inconsideration, and such immoral propensities These are removed so as to find the human heart filled with love, kindness, meekness, sincerity, and such other best qualities of character. The best emblem of purity, nobility, beauty, and fullness of the Jaina life is the white lotus Thus one reads in the
