Ten Days Journey Into The Self

Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Centre

Page 38

Vaishali in Bihar State is the place of the birth of Mahavir, a merciful soul born in 599 B.C. in a royal family. His father was Siddhartha and his mother was the beautiful queen Trishala. He was wedded to a lovely wife, Yashoda, and had a daughter named Privadarshana. He lived in an atmosphere of luxury. He sensed the existence of suffering and sorrow and hardship beyond the high walls of the palace, and tried in vain to shut out the misery of the world. He was aware that man preyed upon man, that those in power cunningly exploited the common people instead of redressing their grievances. As he acquired this knowledge through the light of his meditational, the life within the palace became increasingly wearisome, and he felt restless and heavy at heart. Finally, unable to bear the thought of the sufferings of his fellow beings, Mahavir gave up his position as a prince to enter this world of struggle outside the palace walls.
Studying the universe, Mahavir realised it was full of beings who were unprotected, and helpless. He saw that men of lust treated women with scant respect; a man would keep numerous mistresses, as if women were goods and belongings. This abject position of women grieved his heart. Then there was the practice of animal sacrifice. Devotees, draped in spotlessly clean cloth and with flowers in their hands, slaughtered dumb animals as offerings in front of the images of the deities they worshipped. Why this atrocity in the name of religion, Mahavir wondered! The inhuman treatment meted out to untouchables, the pain of the shudras, stabbed his heart. Caste-distinction had gone to incredible lengths. An out-caste was treated worse than a brute. While pet dogs and cats were nourished and cared for, a man whose occupation was regarded as "unclean" was hounded out like a mad dog, in the name of religion !
Today many of us feast gaily in fashionable restaurants callous to the unspeakable misery of our fellow men. We talk vociferously about the uplift of the poor and declare ourselves apostles of equality, but there is a vast gulf between what we practice and what we preach. This United Nations was established to promote world unity and peace, but wars continue.
Mahavir did not content himself with preaching without practice. He determined that he would practice equality, limited consumption, in his own mode of life. Equality cannot be established by mere words. The first step towards equality, for Mahavir, was to remove the root of inequality-- -luxury. Even the pleadings and tears of his dear ones failed to restrain him from taking the first decisive step: he renounced his wealth and power, and became a monk.
Only when thought, word, and deed are in agreement can there be the music of harmony in a man's life. Just as a scientist devotes himself to his research in a laboratory, Mahavir devoted himself for twelve and half years to this experiment of introducing total non-violence in his thought, word, and deed.
Mahavir in his exploration of non-violence used meditation, silence and penance. He realised that by means of deep meditation he could rid himself of ego, and realize the true self. With the help of silence, he could purify his speech and speak from silence