Tirthankar Mahavir

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

Page 26

Let us briefly look at his wonderful life. First, we recall his memory of his past births. His spiritually lofty life was the result of spiritual practice he observed not only in one birth but in so many previous lives. His previous twenty-six births are regarded as the initial stage of the spiritual life of Tirthankara Mahavira's soul. These previous births are those which occurred after Tirthankara Mahavira's soul attained spiritually wholesome attitude. Before his soul attained this spiritual attitude, it went through innumerable lives - this however is of no consequence from the standpoint of spiritual evolution. A soul's real spiritual life commences with the attainment of spiritually wholesome attitude. Hence, only those lives in which Tirthankara Mahavira's soul took on a spiritually wholesome attitude are taken into account while recounting his spiritual life.
The past lives of Tírthankara Mahavíra
In his first spiritually aware life Tirthankara Mahavira's soul was born as a thoughtful villager named Nayasara. He was very straightforward, humble and cheerful. He believed and felt that one should only take food after having offered it to a guest or visitor. Hence, when he was in a dense forest and he met hungry and thirsty monks who had lost their way, he rejoiced internally at knowing he would be of service. He courteously served them with food and water. These Monks then disclosed to him the secret of Religion. They instructed him that peace, even mindedness and straightforwardness constitute the seed of Religion. Further they told him that devotion to a true God, a true spiritual teacher and the true religion, spiritually elevates a man's life resulting in bliss. Having listened to their discourse, Nayasara cherished these preachings in his heart and as a result, he attained such a spiritually wholesome attitude. Thus, in the life of Nayasara, the soul of Tirthankara Mahavira is seen endowed with the spiritual feelings of compassion and non-attachment.
In his the second past life, Tirthankara Mahavira's soul was born in the heavenly world called Saudharma as a God, who possessed great prosperity and a life-span of countless years. In his third past life, his soul was born as Marichi, a son of the universal ruler Bharata. Marichi, who had become a parivrajaka ascetic, learnt that his grand father was the first tirthankara Rushabhdeva, his father the first universal ruler and he, himself, would be the first great man of true valour, a universal ruler and the last tirthankara. He became egotistical and proud. As a result of this pride, his soul in the future would have to descend in to the womb of Devaranda. In the fourth past life, Mahavira's soul was born as a god in the heavenly world called Brahmaloka. His soul was born as Kausika and Pusyamitra Brahmana in the fifth and sixth past lives respectively. In the seventh past life, his soul was born again in the celestial world Saudharma as a god; however, this time with medium-length life-span. His soul was born as Agnidyota Brahmana, as a god with a medium-length life-span