________________
244
SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
Had Mahavira's individuality prevailed upon his essential existence, his tongue would have been soft and heart hard Since his speech and heart both are superlatively tender we infer that his core of existence dominated his individuality
So far as his individual aspect is concerned he is the orginator of an order, the spokesman of the dharma of order and the initiator of a system So far as the existance is concerned he simply is to be is his essence Essentially, he is neither a preceptor nor a follower, neither a spokesman of a dharma nor a listener, neither a dualist nor a non-dualist Dual and non-dual, interpretation and acceptance, theological law-giving and submission to it are all branches of individuality The entire career of Mahavira moves from individuality to existence He says - 'That which you want to kill is you yourself 'That which you want to rule is you yourself 'That which you want to satisfy is you yourself 'That which you want to enslave is you yourself 'That which you want to torture is you yourself'
Seeing these maxims a non-dualist will say-Mahavira was a non-dualist A student of Jainism will be confused why Mahavira being a dualist adopted the terminology of a non-dualist Mahavira is away from both He is a votary of existence The non-dual and the dual, both, originate from existence Hence a votary of existence sometimes borrows the idiom of non-dualism and sometimes that of dualism The unititive quality of to be lacks in 'to be something' 'To be something' implies discrimination in it the latencies of violence are not gone None would wish injury or violence to oneself If no self is different from me how would I kill any- body? On the plane of existence it is a unititive experience This is non-violence The self is the violence and the self is the non-violence The concept of difference and discrimination between the self and the self is violence and the con
.
w
1 "Ayaro', 5/101
