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DR. BOOL CHAND
सौर मोहके ल्पेि जैनधर्मम स्थान नहीं है। जैनधर्म जहा एक ओर अकारण दूसरे पर आक्रमण करने का निषेध करता है वहां दूसरी भोर कायरतासे दूर रहनेकामी उपदेश देता है। शान्तिपूर्वक मात्मविकाच करते हुये स्वयं जायो और दूसरोंको जीवित रहने देने में सहायक वनो, यह उसका संदेश है। अहिंसाही परम धर्म है। मारनेको अपेक्षा सत्यके साधार पर स्वय मर जानेमें बहुत बहादुरी है। महावीरने ससार छोडा, साधनाकी और फिर वह संसारके बीच आकर धर्मोपदेशक बने । लोक उनका अनुयायी हुमा । ग्यारह बड़े ब्राह्मण नेतागण उनके पहले शिष्य-गणधरादि हुये । इन्द्रभूति गौतम महावीरजीके प्रधान गणधर थे। अनेक असख्यात प्रश्नोत्तर उनके हुए थे। उन्होंने स्न्दभूतिसे कहा, "तुम तो महासमुद्रके पार पहुचे से हुये हो । अब किनारे पर क्यों मारा ' रहे हो ? जल्दौसे उस पार पहुंची। हे गौतम । एक क्षणके लियेमी प्रमादी न पनों ।" इस प्रकार महावीर केवळ सादर्शवादी नहीं थे। बद्द सत्यके हामी कर्मवादो थे। रागद्वेषको जीत कर भारमस्वातंत्र्य पाने के लिये उन्होंने हरकिसीको उत्साहित किया। -का०प्र०]
Born and brought up in a Society informed with democratic ethos and in an age of great intellectual stir, social dissatisfaction, philosophical doubt and religious confusion, and deeply influenced by the ethical tradition of Parsva, Mabāvīra chose, when he tyas thirty, the life of an ascetic seeking after truth and enlightenment. After twelve years of penance and suffering and rigorous practice of spiritual detachment, he attained such knowledge as was perfect and absolute, and developed such compassion for the afflicted world and strove so much for its redemption that he came to be regarded Tirthapkara. Mahāvira showed wonderful ability in the Organisation of his Sangha which consisted of the ascetic as well as the layman, men as well as women. He did not consider the layman an incapable of sipiritual uplift, and, therefore, accorded an honourable place to him in the Sangha. The layman is as important a limb of the Sangha as the ascetic, and it is incumbent upon both to cooperate and push the Sangha forward towards spiritual uplsft Mahavira's Sangha was open to all urespecr tiye of caste, colour and sex. Merit and not birth was the determinent of status in society. Ability and not sex was regarded as the criterion of admission into the bigher order Superstitions, ritualism, and belief in the capacity of gods to help man were discarded the existence of God as the Creater of the world was denied, and man was held responsible for his own fortune as well as misfortune, freedom as well as bondage. Sacrifice of the animal was replaced by the sacrifice of the brute self. Mabavira's life is a symbol of the mortification of 'the flesh for the development of the Spirit. It.19,8piritual joy, and not heavenly pleasure, that is worth pursuit. Mahāvīra did not encourage acquisition of supernormal powers for the victimization of the weak. He prohibited the use of such powers eyes for self-protection. He disparaged social inquity, economic rivalry and political enslavement. Mahavira took it upon himself to work out and pro
pagate a veritable spiritual democracy in the form of Jainism. Her delivered -his message in the tongue of the people. He did not like the aritatocratic
