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and heroism but you are even more intrepid and heroic than we thought. Really, you are Mahavir."
Mahavir was put to the school. But to souls of this high order, schools and such things do not have much to offer. The teacher, who was astonished at his knowledge, said, "Trying to teach Mahavir is like holding up a lamp to see the sun." In this very childhood Mahavir thought deeply and found that the samsara was full of unhappiness. He saw that everyone liked to cause unhappiness to others but no one likes even a shadow of unhappiness for himself. He thought, "As we love our soul, so all love their souls. As we like to live, so all like to live."
एवं खु नाणिणो सारं, जं न हिंसति किंचण |
अहिंसासमयं चैव एयावन्तं विचाणिया।। (This is the substance for the knowledgeable that no harm should be done to anyone. If this true nature of ahimsa (non-violence) is understood, it is enough.)
It is the bonds of illusion and jealousy, attachment and aversion, that cause happiness and unhappiness. Vardhaman saw that even the most hated of enemies does not do the harm which uncontrolled attachment and aversion do. As the chicken comes out of the egg and the egg comes out of the chicken, so greed produces craving, craving more greed. However great the strength and the power may be, they are not greater than love and mercy. He decided to find the
empire of love and mercy in this world. Extraordinary were the thoughts of Vardhaman. In those days Kshatriyas fought terrible battles and killed countless enemies. Mahavir said, "What is the use of external battles ? Fight your own selves. Conquer your own selves. Then only you can get true happiness."
अप्पाणमेव जुज्झाहि, किं ते जुज्झेण बज्झओ |
अप्पाणमेव अप्पाणं जइत्ता सुह मेहए।। (He said, "He who wins himself wins a greater victory than he who wins thousands of warriors in a battle difficult to conquer.")
Thinking thus, Mahavir conceived a desire to renounce the world but this pained his parents. When Mahavir was 28, his parents died and he prepared himself for initiation. But his elder brother Nandivardhana felt that the loss of their parents was just a recent blow and so he would not be able to bear his brother's separation so soon. Vardhaman respected the desire of his Nandivardhan and continued to live in the fold of the samsara two years longer. But to him the city or the forest made no difference. Even in his royal palace he lived the life of an ascetic. Sitting in a lonely place in the vast royal palace, he passed most of his time in meditation. Thus a year passed. From the second year he started giving alms. Every morning he gave alms for three hours. He gave away in alms gold, silver, riches and grains.
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di Novels
