life of Mahavira
Mahavira (meaning “great warrior”) is the name that the followers of Jainism attribute to “Vardhamana” and is considered a prominent figure in the evolution of their religions.
Vardhamana was born in 599 BC in northeastern India. He was also born in the same area as Buddha. He belonged to the previous generation. The similarities in the biographies of the two are astonishing.
Vardhamana was the son of a chief. Like you, he grew up in great bliss. At the age of thirty, he gave up his empire, his family (he had a wife and a daughter) and his luxurious world and spiritual life. He set out in search of truth and comfort.
Vardhamana became a savannah yogi on a short and apostate religious cult.
For twelve years he pondered and pondered.
And he touched the extremes of abandonment and narrow-mindedness. He was constantly starving. He had nothing private, not even a small cup in which he could drink water or collect alms. For a while he was the only one. He spent his time in clothes, then tore it up and became completely naked. Insects crawled on his bare skin, he did not move them away.
Even if they cut it. In India, where the number of cows and sadhus is much higher than in the West, this attitude of Mahavira would cause ridicule and humiliation. People would abuse and beat him. All this he tolerated. Endure with
At the age of forty-two, Mahavira became convinced that he had reached spiritual maturity. He spent the remaining thirty years of his life preaching the spiritual insight he had acquired.
At the time of his death in 527, a large number of monks were gathered around him. In a few references, Mahavira’s thoughts are very similar to Buddhism and Hinduism. The followers of Jainism believe that when the human body tastes death His soul does not die with it, but enters another body (which is not necessarily human.) Avagon’s theory is the basic principle of Jainism.
Jainism also believes in “karma”. According to this theory, the moral consequences of man’s actions affect his future life. The basic philosophy of Jainism is to reduce and purify sin from the soul. According to Al-Mukhtasar Mahavira, this goal is the desires of the soul. It can be achieved by giving up. The priests of Jainism take the path of severe renunciation.
It is noteworthy that intentional starvation does not kill oneself, which is considered admirable in this sect.
An important component of Jain philosophy is the concept of non-violence. According to this, non-violence applies not only to humans but also to animals. The result of this theory is that the followers of Jainism are vegetarians. However, hardliners are extremist in this regard.
They do not kill a single bee. They do not eat in the dark. Eat insects without being seen and cause them not to believe in it. When they leave, do not crush any insects carelessly.
The logical consequence of such beliefs was that a true believer could not plow the fields in good faith.
Suzanne Matt did not encourage agriculture. That is why many other professions that required manual labor were religiously forbidden. The paradise gives us an example of how religious beliefs destroy the overall pattern of society, albeit in a radical way. They lived on fertile land. The followers of Jainism were involved in trade and other financial occupations for centuries.
The religious teachings of Jainism spread the practice of hard work among their followers. As a result, it is not surprising that the followers of Jainism are very comfortable, while their role in the intellectual and artistic life of India has been more active than their numbers.
There is no caste system in Jainism. Although a system has been born in Jainism under the influence of Hinduism, it is not at all as severe as Hinduism.
Similarly, although Mahavira never made any statement about God or deities. But under the influence of Hinduism, idolatry found its way into it. Mahavira never penned his thoughts. Thoughts were inevitable. Similar effects were felt on other issues as well. The sacrifice of Jainism and the avoidance of meat left its mark on Hinduism. In addition, the non-violence belief of Jainism continued to influence Indian thought. Has kept
These effects persist even today. For example, Mahatma Gandhi was greatly influenced by the ideas of Shrimad Raja Chandra (1900-1867), a Jain philosopher, whom he calls his spiritual “guru”.
Jainism has never had a large majority of followers. Today, there are around 3.5 million followers of Jainism in India. This is a very small part of the world’s population. Analyzing the effects of Mahavira, it should be borne in mind that Jainism Unlike many other religions, it has had a profound and lasting effect on the lives of its followers.
