Anekantvada

The principle of non-absolutism is acceptance of multiple perspectives to know the complete truth.

Mahavir – The Great Spiritual Hero

The Jain philosophy was passed on through the genius of one of the greatest spiritual teachers of all time, Lord Mahavir.

The 24 prophets, enlightened ones, or Tirthankaras, laid down the path for the spiritual uplift of humanity. Lord Mahavir was the last and 24th Tirthankara. An exponent, rejuvenator and propagator of Jainism, He brought together the beliefs and practices of His predecessors and created the social order which has endured today.

Mahavir, who was thirty years older than the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, preached His teachings more than 2500 years ago. Born in 599 B.C., to king Siddhartha and queen Trishla, in a royal household near modern day Patna in Northern India, Mahavir was a young boy of enquiring spirit.

At the age of thirty, he renounced worldly life, gave up all His possessions, and became a monk. He spent twelve and a half years in deep meditation, self-inquiry and austerity. In the wilderness, the wandering ascetic was seeking truth alone. At last, during one period of meditation by the side of a river, He obtained the state of infinite knowledge – kevaljnana. He was forty-two. This was the fourth of the five great events of Mahavir’s life – His conception, birth, renunciation, and now enlightenment. The fifth great event, liberation, came thirty years later. During these years, strengthened by His all-knowingness, He spread the message of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possessiveness.

Mahavir epitomises the highest form of virtue and human perfection. When we honour Him, we do not ask Him for present help, but we meditate on His example and teachings, and seek to draw the real meaning of these into our own existence.

His legacy is a perennial source of inspiration.

Mahavir –Lineage and Scriptures – The Guiding Light

Lord Mahavir established the four-fold order – He formed the ethos and conduct for monks, nuns, lay men, and lay women. He had eleven chief disciples. Nine attained liberation during His lifetime, while the other two, Gautamswami and Sudharmaswami, led the mission for protecting and guiding the four-fold order. Jambuswami, a disciple of Sudharmaswami, was the last omniscient of this era. After Jambuswami, the lineage of leading the four-fold order is continued by great monks, acharyas and saints, to the present day. The gospels and teachings of Mahavir were inscribed by the chief disciples in the Agams. There are 45 Agams accessible today. These canonical texts serve as the guiding light for seekers on the path of self-realization – an oasis of truth for the thirsty traveler in the desert of life.