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THE TRADITION -
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drag the conqueror of attachment to the human plane of attachment. It were better if myself attempted to spiral up to that heavenly plane His thinking was deflected towards the sublime heights He was out to shake off all attachment The direction and the path were graced by protracted pursuit and the happy conjunction won him the laurels He attained the acme of perfect meditation His attachment was gone He was enlightned What he failed to achieve during Mahavira's life-time, he achieved after his departure
Agnibhuti, Waubhuti, Achalbhrata, Metarya and Prabhas the five ganadharas had attained nirwana before the Lord. Vyakta, Mandit, Moryaputra and Akampit the other four ganadharas attained nirwana a few months after the Lord's departure Indrabhuti survived the Lord by twelve and a half year and Sudharma by twenty and a half year Both of them had lived as householders for fifty years When the Lord attained nirwana-they were eighty each Gautam attained nirwana at 92 and Sudharma at 100
Lord Mahavira was a tirthankar He is the father of a tradition and not a part of it A tirthankar does not lay a tradition either He is nobody's disciple and makes no tirthankar his disciple Hence the first Acharya (master) in his order happens to be Sudharma He did not succeed the Lord The Lord never appointed a successor On being urged by the order Sudharma agreed to take care of it
Gautam was the Lord's seniormost disciple He was a rare being in all respects but immediately after the Lord's nirwana he attained enlightenment Hence he did not became the Acharya An enlightened being is nobody's follower. He does not profess in the name of Mahavira and his authority His mode is to profess something on his own authority based on his own experience Lord Mahavira came to found an order Sudharma was best-suited to propagate the Lord's experience-oriented word And hence the order entrusted Sudharma the task to disseminate it by being the Acharya
