Mahavira

That Mahavira of Bihar was one of the greatest men of his, or any other age, goes without saying. The enormous influence that his very name still exercises upon a considerable portion of humanity puts this fact beyond the least doubt. With Buddha, his great contemporary, with Christ and Mohammed that flourished centuries after him in Syria and Arabia, and many other great religious reformers of the world, he holds a sure niche in the gallery of the Great Immortals.

The first principle that under ran the life of Mahavira seems to have been his irrepressible desire to know the cause of things, of all things. By study, observation, steady thinking and tapas, which in the India of those days was an essential part of the life of a true scholar, — his inquiries led him to an entire satisfaction of his desire. He attained Nirvana. The pursuit of knowledge is a very lonely road, and doubts and dejections of various kinds beset it at every step. But the brave heart and keen eye of our last Lord overcame all, and he reached the eternal fields of light and learning.

Another point is Lord Mahavira’s broad-mindedness. That he started a movement which embraced persons of all castes and creeds and of all degrees of civilization in that hoary past, very amply attests the breadth of view, with which he conceived Jain- ism. Jainism was never meant to be the narrow or exclusive thing that it appears to have become now. Kings, warriors, Queens, Brahmanas, Sudras, the aborigines (who most probably are symbolised by the beasts and birds that attended the Samava- saran of Lord Mahavira) all profited by his teachings. Like Buddhism in its first centuries, it also took up the cause of the masses who were being demoralised and tyrannised by the exclusive, privileged and influential priestly classes.

But today Jainism itself has become priest-ridden. An interminable mass of rites and ceremonies has replaced its pristine simplicity, and minor details of eating before sunset and drinking strained water and conducting big rath-yatra processions, and fighting big communal cases gave all but made people forget that behind these comparatively unimportant details there lies a wealth of principles of cosmopolitan application. To defend the above practices by saying that these things are good for the masses, is to assume these latter to be far, far behind their times and unable to understand the right road to their salvation. More liberalism of a true stamp, namely, that liberalism which will insist upon the great and fruitful principles of Jainism as distinguished from its minor practices, is badly needed by our community; and if a study of the life of Mahavira does not inspire us with it, my idea is, the fault is in us.

Another point, which perhaps could be given the first place, is the great freedom that Mahavira gave to women. In theory Jainism never denied equality of spiritual rights to women. (Except that the Digambara Jaina women cannot go to Nirvana). In practice they have been put down lower than men, as a matter of course. But what is more important is that they have been given very few, if any, chances of cultivating their minds and bodies. 

It is one of the most scandalous features of our community and cannot be remedied too soon.

Another interesting point should appeal to those of the younger spirits who wish to rise higher and higher so that the crown of fame may rest on their heads. To such the life of our last Leader teaches the great lesson of a devoted pursuit of one central ideal of life. I do not know if there is a more painful or sinful life than a purposeless existence. Hundreds of our young men have noble aspirations but their ambitions are "thick-sighted." This blindness to a central purpose of life causes many a noble wreck; and an honest attempt must be made to remove it. But in many cases the object of life can be seen with a little exertion, and there the beholder must know that having seen he is to follow. Our Lord Mahavira saw the light and followed it to Nirvana.