Book Title: Shraman Mahavira
Author(s): Dineshchandra Sharma
Publisher: Mitra Parishad Calcutta

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Page 180
________________ 162 SHRAMAN MAHAVIR the communal ends rather than the spiritual one One inspired by identity of soul on the other hand, cares more for spiritual gains For sectarian considerations, Lord Mahavira did recognise religious and sectarian values but not at the cost of spiritual values Religious leaders reserving the open sesame of deliverance for votaries of their own sect to the extermination of others are not non-violent from Mahavira's angle of VISION They are, in fact, stuck up in the morass of moral confusion The Lord extolled non-sectarianism by upholding the principle of accessibility of deliverance to one unlettered in religion His assertion that induction into any religion may serve for the ultimate accomplishment of deliverance establishes that each religion has the competence to lead to deliverance provided the aspirant is steadfast in spiritualism Conversely, no religion can ensure deliverance unless the aspirant is well-grounded in spiritualism The Lord firmly established the non-sectarian character of spiritualism transcending the bournes of sectarian religions Lord Mahavira heralded monasticism He attached a great value to monasticism as a means of deliverance and still his ultimate emphasis lay on truth rather than on any re-- gulation or regimentation Then, was not the Lord's principle that deliverance is within the competence of a householder an open challenge to the indispensability of monasticism for attaining this summun bonum? If a householder can obtain liberation where is the indispensability of a particular religious garb and pattern of living?' Any moment may trigger off the process of elevation of human life by virtue of all-pervasive Truth at any place The Lord's disclosure of this great truth revealed dharma as pervasive as space itself The principle of Pratyeka Buddha was equally a revolt against the sectarian approach to life Such ones do not

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