Teachings of Lord Mahavir-Jain Acharya

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Teachings of Lord Mahavir

The spiritual power and moral grandeur of Mahavir's teachings

impressed the masses. He made religion simple and natural, free from

elaborate ritual complexities. His teachings reflected the popular

impulse towards internal beauty and harmony of the soul.

 

His message of nonviolence (Ahimsa), truth (Satya), non-stealing

(Achaurya), celibacy (Brahma-charya), and non-possession

(Aparigraha) is full of universal compassion. He said that, "A

living body is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh but it

is the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect perception

(Anant-darshana), perfect knowledge (Anant-jnana), perfect power

(Anant-virya), and perfect bliss (Anant-sukha)." Mahavir'#########

reflects freedom and spiritual joy of the living being.

 

Mahavir was quite successful in eradicating from human intellect the

conception of God as creator, protector, and destroyer. He also

denounced the worship of gods and goddesses as a means of salvation.

He taught the idea of supremacy of human life and stressed the

importance of the positive attitude of life.

 

Lord Mahavir also preached the gospel of universal love, emphasizing

that all living beings, irrespective of their size, shape, and form

how spiritually developed or under-developed, are equal and we

should love and respect them.

 

Jainism existed before Mahavir, and his teachings were based on

those of his predecessors. Thus, unlike Buddha, Mahavir was more of

a reformer and propagator of an existing religious order than the

founder of a new faith. He followed the well established creed of

his predecessor Tirthankara Parshvanath. However, Mahavir did

reorganize the philosophical tenets of Jainism to correspond to his

times. Lord Mahavir preached five great vows while Lord Parshva

preached four great vows.

 

In the matters of spiritual advancement, as envisioned by Mahavir,

both men and women are on an equal footing. The lure of renunciation

and liberation attracted women as well. Many women followed

Mahavir's path and renounced the world in search of ultimate

happiness.

 

In a few centuries after Mahavir's nirvana, Jain religious order

(Sangha) grew more and more complex. There were schisms on some

minor points although they did not affect the original doctrines as

preached by the Tirthankars. Later generations saw the introduction

of ritualistic complexities which almost placed Mahavir and other

Tirthankars on the throne of Hindu deities.