Tirthankar Mahavir

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Jaybhikkhu Sahitya Trust

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Acharya Shri Kailassagarsun Gyanmandir
The Timeless Message of Tirthnakara Mahavira
I bow to Mahavira, who is a supreme deity - one who is worshipped even by the Gods. When Mahavira was born, the world was quite literally 'hell'
The order of religion had disintegrated leading to miseries of people. This pervaded all levels of society. Temples had become vice dens with animals sacrifices taking place. Kings waged wars to satisfy their ambitions and their greed, with the scriptures of the time holding the belief that those dying on the battlefield would inherit the kingdom of heaven. During these time women suffered; not only were they widowed, they were treated as slaves, as chattel, with no identity of their own. They were seen as a commodity and were dependent on men for all their needs. Caste cistinctions too were rigidly enforced, with the lower caste members subject to indignity and humiliation. They lived in miserable conditions, and treated as second class citizens. In these times, enmity was a virtue and this was reflected in the way people treated one another. It was in times such as these that Mahavira was born.
These problems were further compounded by the restriction of knowledge. Knowledge of the scriptures remained the privilege of a select few. Scriptural knowledge did not percolate to the poor or the lower castes. They were even denied the right to listen to the scriptures. The scriptures were in Sanskrit - a language for the upper caste and not understood by the ordinary people. The language spoken by the common man was considered inferior and not worthy of respect. All philosophical discussions were conducted in Sanskrit. The enlightened ones did nothing to remove ignorance of the common people. On the contrary, they were the ones of holding on to the scriptural teachings. The Shudras (lower caste) and women were forbidden to read the Vedas and those who dared were punished. One of the first things Bhagwan
Tirthakara Mahavira Mahavira did was to break the dominance of
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