Universal Message of Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Dulichand Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 27

The Relevance of the Teachings of Lord Mahāvīra in ... 17 and not in the external things. The cause for mental worries and tensions are due to our attachment towards worldly objects. Lord Mahāvīra says that desires are endless like the sky and they will never satisfy any person fully. In his words, “If there were numberless mountains of gold and silver as big as Mount Kailāśa, they would not satisfy an avaricious man; for avarice is boundless like the sky."!* He further says, “The more you get, the more you want, desire increases with every gain."! If mankind is to be freed from mental tensions, the possessions have to be limited. Today, we find over-exploitation of natural resources, which are available in limited quantity only. Jainism believes that the lesser the attachment, the greater will be the mental peace. It is only when attachment vanishes, the human mind will be free from mental and emotional disorders. For this, Jainism preaches the vow of complete non-possession for the ascetics and the vow to limit one's possessions for the householders.
Types of Parigraha According to Jainism, Parigraha is of two types: internal and external. These include all external objects of attachment, which hinder liberation, and also all inner attitudes in different forms and stages such as false faith (mithyātva), vowlessness (avirati), passions (kaşāya) etc. All human passions such as anger, pride, deceit and greed, attachment and aversion have their roots in external objects or possessions, which create disturbance in the mind of the individual. The householder, according to Jainism, should limit his possessions, consequently curbing his limitless desires to consume and possess things. According to Dr. Kamala Jain, “Aparigraha is not merely an abstract philosophy, it is a vision of life with the solution to a number of problems that society is facing-economic, social, political, familial and personal.