________________
TĪRTHANKARA MAHĀVĪRA
23
42 Mahāvīra was able to realise the true nature of the self and the world. Now he became kevalī, the omniscient, quite capable of guiding others on the path he had traversed successfully. This happended on the bank of Rujuvālikā in the vicinity of the village Jambhiagāma. Mahavira as a Tirtharkara
When the passions and ignorance were completely removed Mahāvīra became Vitarāga-free from attachment. On his being Vitarāga he attained perfect wisdom or omniscience. And from now onwards he was a perfect man endowed with capacity to preach the path. He became a Tirthankara 'who created the ford to cross the river of worldly misery'. So, it will be better if we understand the proper import of the word Tirthankara who is worshipped by the Jainas and be clear about the difference between the idea of God and that of Tirtharkara.
Jainas are the worshippers of God in their own way and hence they should not be included in the group of atheists; yet they are called atheists because their conception of God is quite different from the one upheld by some others. Generally God is conceived as the Master, the Lord, and the Creator, of the world. Jainas do not accept this conception of God and if this be the only conception of God then the Jainas can be called atheists. But such is not the case. There are various conceptions of God and one of them is accepted by the Jainas.
It is to be noted first that the Jainas accept many gods. For them there is not one God. According to others God has no beginning and He is perfect from the beginningless time. But the Jainas say that one becomes perfect after countless births by his own spiritual efforts at a proper time. According to others God is unique and matchless; but according to Jainas there are many such perfect souls and hence there are many Gods. Those men who have attained perfection are Gods in the proper sense of the term; this is what Jainas believe. These perfect men are called Arhats by Jainas, the Buddhists and other Śramanic sects. They are also called the Jaina and the Buddha. According to Jainas when such perfect men leave this world for ever they are regarded as siddhas. These are Gods worshipped by the Jainas.
There are two types of perfect men; those who are interested in their own perfection and do not organise the religious order; they are perfect no doubt but they are not noticed by others as such and so they may not be worshipped. The other type is of men who since their previous births are endeavouring not only for their own perfection but for the perfection of others also. These persons alone are called Tīrthankaras or Arhats and they are worshipped.
From the above theory of Tirthankaras, it is clear that Tirtharkaras are not
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
