THE TEACHINGS OF LORD MAHAVIRA
Lord Mahavira was born upon March 30, 599 B.C. and achieved the nirvana in the year 527 B.C. at the age of 72. He was a contemporary of Lord Buddha. He was the 24th and the last of the Tirthankars. The present kind of Jainism was shaped by him.
The primary concepts of Jainism are:
1. Ahimsa (non-violence)
2. Anekantvada (multiplicity of views)
3. Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)
4. Non-stealing
5. Brahmacharya
The very first and the third are quite easy to comprehend however the second one requires some explanation. It is dealt under ‘Multiplicity of Perspectives and Relativism (Syadavada)’, in the Jain literature. Distinction of view points, quite often, contribute to the knowledge and one needs to presume, only after hearing diverse views on any topic. If it is refrained from doing, then the conclusions
reached might be biased or inaccurate. It attends to the tolerance for the views of the others. One can have a better perception just after hearing others. For example, we are all familiar with the story of the eight blind guys and an elephant. There the views revealed about the elephant by each of the blind men were appropriate however only partial knowledge could be obtained from any one view. The overall understanding about the elephant could be had just by listening to all of them.
An item can, on celebrations, be explained by 2 entirely opposite statements, i.e. it is (ASTI) and it is not (NASTI). These 2 statements can be made referring to (1) compound, (2) location, (3) time, and (4) kind. Let us take an example of a piece of furnishings. A piece of furniture made of jungle wood is not made of sandal wood. Likewise, it might be located in a provided room however not in other rooms. Therefore, it can be specified in either way which appear to be opposite to each other. In this manner of spec is called ASTI– NASTI– VADA.
Another set of reasoning lines has been developed by the Jain thinkers which postulate that there can be as numerous as 7 modes of forecast in a given case. This introduces a component of uncertainty in the forecasts and therefore presents the idea of probability. This is called Syadavada or the doctrine of ‘may be’. If we think about the Jainist and the Vedantic philosophies, we will find that both are right in their own methods. They do not oppose each other. The Jain philosophy does not go into the depth of the procedure of production as does the Vedantism and therefore it (Vedantism) arrives at the conclusion of The God as the First Cause. On the other hand, the Jainism develops the understanding of the intricacy of the universe for the common humans and proposes the Syadavada which is a marvellous idea of lodging which is essential for the proper examination of anything. The Jainism specifies life in almost everything, and therefore, preaches non-violence of severe degree.
In summary, the Jains think about the greatest suitable– Tirthankara who has infinite knowledge, limitless bliss and unlimited power. This joyous state resembles that of Vedantic’Chitananda’. Jainism makes distinction in between Arhat and Siddha which are analogous to the Vedantic Jivan Mukta (complimentary type life) and Videha Mukta (free from body ). A Jivan Mukta may also be a Videha Mukta as when it comes to King Janaka. Tirthankaras are those Siddhas who extensive the reality throughout their life time which is a greater thing. The Jains have Arhats, the Siddhas, and the Tirthankaras who in the easier terms and in the corresponding manner are: those who are worthy of, those who accomplish, and those who sanctify. It is possible for every male to achieve the greatest state. Tirthankaras fill in God in the Jain approach