________________
18
Passing through 23rd Tirthankara PARSHWANATHA's times, which is comprised of heartful compassion of Prince Parshwakumar's saving of the burning snake and unbound mercy to the animal world, the subsequent age of 24th Tirthankara MAHAVEERA, just 250 years after PARSHWANATHA, is much more significant in two ways. On one hand it shows emergence of animal killings in novel form of animal sacrifice in the YAGNYAS and at the altar of some GODS & GODDESSES, which were largely opposed & prevented by MAHAVEERA and his contemporary & equally compassionate TATHAGATA GAUTAM BUDDHA, both spreading religion of NonViolence & Compassion throughout Bharat and the latter outside Bharat also, respectively known as Jainism & Buddhism. On the other hand, in the trend & tradition of Mahaveera's followers, not only Neminatha's times PanjarapoleGoshalas went on flourishing, but a new noteworthy and very largely beneficial dimension was added to it. This was the flourishing of preserving, protecting & maintaining of large number of Cows and their progenies. Cows, the milk-givers & Bullocks, the agriculture-promoters! History stands testimony that Bhagawan Teerthankara MAHAVEERA had several house-holder-followers also called SHRAVAKAS, apart from great number of Monks & Nuns. Out of these innumerable Shravakas, atleast ten, prime of whom was ANANDA SHRAVAKA (CUVASAGGA DASAO" BHAGAWAN MAHAVEER KE DAS UPASAKA, Jain Scripture) were possessing & preserving protecting very huge GOKULAS - the families of the Cows numbering 10000 (ten thousand) each, which totalling for ten Shravakas comes to more than One Lakh Cows!!! What does this suggest? Compassion in one way and milk, milk products & agricultural products prosperity in other way! Think of such huge numbers' preservation & magintenance and plentifulness of life sustaining milk, milk products and grains & corns! Most of these were being distributed to the HAVE NOTS and to the Monks & Nuns in BHIKSHA, which is interestingly & symbolically called "GO-CHARI", means which is collected & consumed just like the grass-eating Cow, which grazes only little little of the upper part grass from everywhere.
Anyway, what picture is emerging of large scale AHIMSA & PASHUPALANA (animal protection) from this? What impact of it we can find of it on the social & religious life of those times, just 2500 years before? NEMINATHA, PARSHWANATHA, MAHAVEERA & BUDDHA's impacts & influences enlightened ages & ages. As per Maha Pandit Rahul Sankrutyayana, Jainism became deep-rooted in Bharat strengthening its long hold, but did not spread outside Bharat. While Buddhism succeeded in taking its message of non-violence & compassion out of Bharat, with its beautiful concept of BODHISATTWA, the incarnation of compassion, it is a paradoxical pity that later on, most of the Buddhist Cults & Monks themselves became meat-consuming non-vegetarians! While the Jains remained staunch vegetarians & compassionate non-violents, thanks to the far-sighted RISHABHANUSHASANA, disciplined planning of Mahaveera!!!
MAHAVEERA'S FOLLOWER IN MODERN AGE SRIMAD RAJACHANDRA, THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE OF MAHATHMA GANDHI, EMERGENCE OF BOTH A GREAT EVENT OF THE EARLIER CENTURY FOR VICTORY OF NON-VIOLENCE, VEGETARIANISM & NONVIOLENT SYSTEM OF CURE NATUROPATHY
