Shraman Mahavira

Author(s): Dineshchandra Sharma
Publisher: Mitra Parishad Calcutta

Page 41

The Resolve to be Free
A number of questions bedevil me whenever I hear the cliche that Mahavira obtained initiation on the tenth day of moon in the dark half of the month of Mangsir. Is it possible for a man to be initiated one fine morning? In initiation an occurrence at a point of time? Is it not the reward of a prolonged course of contemplation and meditation? If the situation admits of these questionings, the concept of a sudden and conclusive initiation at a particular point of time is a myth To my mind occurs the proverbial fable of the earthen pitcher freshly drawn from the potter's oven, a favourite device - of the logicians A drop of water strikes it and dries up So does the.second The successive drops thus vanish and there comes the last one that finds the pitcher wet The wetness of the pitcher was certainly not the consequence of the last drop It is the cumulative effect of the numberless drops preceding it In that perspective I find that initiation is not the result of a day's attainment It is the reward of a fairly prolonged mental and spiritual preparation Mahavira pored minutely over the philosophies of the day- Kriyavad, Akriyavada, Vinayavada and Agnanavada (agnosticism) His initiation was a reward of this protracted course of study and mental preparation
Mahavira arrived at the outer grove of Ksatriyakund after quitting his home It was the initial phase of his search for emancipation Home cribs and confines man An explorer of freedom cuts these confines asunder and adopts the vast