Tirthankar Lord Mahavir life History – The 24th and final Tirthankara of the Jain religion was Tirthankar Lord Mahavir. All Tirthankaras were born as humans, but through self-realization and meditation, they have acquired a level of perfection or enlightenment. They are the Jainism Gods. Arihants and Jinas are other names for Tirthankaras.
- Tirthankara : The four-fold order of religion (monk, nun, layman, and laywoman) is established by the tirthankara.
- Arihant : One who vanquishes his inner foes, such as rage, greed, desire, and ego.
- Jina : A person who overcomes their inner demons, such as rage, greed, passion, ego, etc. The term “Jains” refers to those who follow Jina.
Mahavir was born in Bihar, India, in 599 B.C. as a royal. He left his family and the royal household at the age of 30, gave up his material things, including his clothes, and became a monk.
To control his urges and emotions, he spent the following twelve years in intense quiet and meditation. He went extended periods without eating. He took care not to disturb or hurt any other living things, such as plants, birds, or animals. His methods of meditation, days of fasting, and manner of conduct serve as a lovely model for monks and nuns engaged in religious life. He spent twelve years on his spiritual quest. He had grasped the perfection of perception, wisdom, power, and happiness. This epiphany is referred to as keval-jnana.
He travelled barefoot for the next thirty years, teaching to the populace the timeless truth he had discovered. Rich and poor, monarchs and commoners, men and women, princes and priests, touchables and untouchables—he attracted people from all walks of life.
He established a four-fold order for his adherents, consisting of a monk (Sadhu), nun (Sadhvi), layman (Shravak), and laywoman (Shravika). They eventually become known as Jains.
The ultimate goal of his Mahavir teachings is to show students how to completely release themselves from the cycle of birth, life, suffering, and death in order to arrive at a state of perpetual joy. This is also referred to as Moksha, nirvana, or complete freedom.
He emphasised that every living thing (soul) has been bound by karmic atoms from the beginning of time, which have accumulated as a result of its own good or bad activities. The soul develops the habit of seeking pleasure in materialistic commodities and possessions under the influence of karma. Those are the underlying reasons for selfish, violent thoughts, actions, wrath, hatred, greed, and other vices. More karma is accumulated as a result of them.
He advocated for the combination of correct belief (samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-jnana), and right conduct (samyak-charitra) in order to achieve one’s own emancipation.
The five major vows are the foundation of Jains’ ethical behaviour.
- Nonviolence(Ahimsa) is the practise of not harming any living thing.
- Truthfulness (Satya) is the ability to communicate just the pure truth.
- Non-stealing (Asteya) means not taking anything that has not been lawfully granted.
- Chastity (Brahmacharya): refraining from sensuous enjoyment
- Complete separation from people, places, and material possessions is known as non-possession or non-attachment (Aparigraha).
These vows are fundamental to the life of Jains. The common people attempt to uphold the vows to the extent that their lifestyles will allow, while monks and nuns adhere to them fully and completely.
When Lord Mahavir passed away at the age of 72 (527 B.C. ), his cleansed spirit departed the body and attained total emancipation. He evolved into a Siddha, a pure mind and freed soul who lived forever in unbounded happiness. People celebrated the Festival of Lights (Dipavali) in his honour on the eve of his redemption.