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The Sublime Message of Mahavira
by Bal Patil
The place and contribution of Jainism and Bhagwan Mahavira in the history of Indian culture and civilisation is a most fascinating subject. So seminal has been the influence of Jainism and its teachings as propounded by the 24 Tirthankaras fordmakers to the path of liberation (right from the 1st Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha to the 24tth Tirthankara, Mahavira) on ancient Indian thought that it would be proper to pose the question: What would have been the state of Indian culture and religious evolution had there not been Jainism and the uniquely ethical impact brought to bear upon by its religious teachings?
Sixth century B.C. was a glorious millennium in the history of the ancient Indian civilization. It marks a period of great religious rejuvenation and of the emergence of heterodox religious revolt as represented by Jainism and Buddhism - the arch contenders with the declining hegemony of Vedic brahmanism.
It would be a mistake to suppose that Jainism originated in the sixth century B.C. with the advent of Bhagwan Mahavira. That the genesis of Jainism can be traced to the deepest antiquity, and that it was a wholly indigenous and characteristically ethnical outcome of the Indian environment, is now recognized by scholars both Indian and foreign.
A fairly convincing testimony of the antiquity of Jainism comes from the Vedas, particularly the Rigveda. The genealogy, life and ascetic practices of Rishabhadeva, the first Jain Tirthankara, are described in detail in the first six adhyaya of the fifth skandha of the Bhagavat Purana.
This is corroborated by Dr. Mrs. N.R. Guseva of the academy of Sciences of the erstwhile U.S.S.R. and a Jawaharlal Nehru prize winner, in her ethnological monograph Jainism. (1971) She notes: "Ancient Indian literature contains indications of the deep antiquity of the sources of Jainism and it also indicates that the ksatriya and ascetics from Vratyas, that is , non-Aryans, played a noticeable role in establishing non-Vedic teaching. Only one interpretation can be given to this, and that is, in those times, the followers of Jainism were, in the main, representatives of the pre-Aryan population of the country. This means that there is basis to assert that the chief characteristics of this non-Vedic religion were engendered by a non-Aryan ethnical environment."
Jainism is also a pioneer in the evolution of human ethics by reason of the tremendous discovery of the principle of ahimsa, or non-violence, which Dr. Albert Schweitzer asserts was "clearly expressed by Jainism" for the first time in human history. The uniqueness of this ethical contribution is also recognized by Dr. Walther Schubring when he says in his celebrated classic on Jainology The Doctrine of the Jains, that "The 'reverence towards life' (as Albert Schweitzer put it) by which the realm of life was so immeasurably extended, permeates the discipline of Mahavira's order in a way as no other ethical prescription does."
That the concept of ahimsa, which represents the essence of the Jain religious and ethical message, was foreign to Vedic thinking is shown by the eminent Indologist, Prof. W. Norman Brown, in his Tagore Memorial Lectures, 1964-65. Prof. Brown states: "The ethical concept which it (ahimsa) embodies was entirely foreign to the thinking of the early Vedic Aryans, who recognized no kinship between human and animal creation , but rather ate meat and offered animals in sacrifice to the gods. The double doctrine of ahimsa and vegetarianism has never had full and unchallenged acceptance and practice among the Hindus and should not be considered to have arisen in brahmanical circles. It seems more probable that it originated in non-Brahmanical environment, was promoted in historic India by the Jains and the Buddhists, and was adopted by the Brahmanic Hinduism after it began to win its way in North India where Brahmanic Hinduism was developed." (Man in the Universe).
The Jain contribution in the field of ahimsa has been acknowledged by Lokmanya Tilak:"In ancient times innumerable animals were butchered in sacrifice. Evidence in support of this is found in various poetic compositions such as Meghaduta. But the credit for the disappearance of this terrible massacre from the brahmanical religion goes to the share of Jainism." (Bombay Samachar, 10-12-1904)
It is also interesting to note in this context that there is a vital connection between the concept of ahimsa and rebirth. A belief in the doctrine of rebirth led to the idea of the unity of all life and, consequently, to the ethical concept of non-violence in ancient India. Once the doctrine of transmigration of souls came to include rebirth on earth in animal as well as human form depending on one's karma, it created a sense of kinship among all life.
It was this priceless legacy of non-violent culture which Mahavira Vardhamana, the 24th Tirthankara, was destined to inherit and propagate for the benefit of humanity. Mahavira, a scion of the princely family of Licchavi, the son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala, was born in 599 B.C. There is slight variation regarding certain incidents in Mahavira's life between the Digambara and Svetambara tradition. According to the Digambara version, he remained a bachelor till the age of 30 and then became an ascetic. But according to the Svetambara tradition, Mahavira married and had a daughter.
Bhagwan Mahavira attained kevaljnana (omniscience) after twelve years of severe penance on the banks of the river Rijukula, near Jribmhakagrama under the Sala tree. For the next thirty years Mahavira journeyed across various regions propagating his teachings. He attained nirvana in 527 B.C. at the age of 72 years near Pavapuri.
During his peregrinations in Magadha and Bengal, Mahavira faced persecution and many other hardships. But he bore all his sufferings with courage and equanimity. Thus he lived up to his honorific - a great hero.
Mahavira preached in Ardhamagadhi, the language of the people, and his spoken words can be discerned in Thananga, esp. in Thananga 4. As Dr. Schubring observed: "In them Mahavira renders proof of his extensive practical experience and of both his profound knowledge of the world and of human nature, and had they been handed down to us in an oratorical form, the Canon of the Jains would certainly be not inferior to that of the Buddhists aesthetically."
Unexcelled as a teacher, Mahavira was also a great organizer of Jain ascetics and the laity. The establishment of the Jain Samgha is again a clear confirmation of his systematic thinking. He classified his disciples into four sections, Muni, Aryika, Sravak and Sravika of which the first two belonged to the monastic order while the last two were of the laity.
Mahavira was not only "the most versatile thinker we know of in ancient India" but also was a bold religious innovator and a fearless reformer. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this last Tirthankara of Jainism gave a fresh orientation to the principles of that religion and its ethical system.
The greatest contribution of Mahavira's teaching was its stress on the sanctity and equality of all life. It was logical therefore that Mahavira should have simultaneously emphasized the cardinal importance of self-control and tolerance. In other words, he declared that deeds and not birth make a man what he is, that all life should be protected and possessions should be limited. It was a revolutionary assertion in the context of the times.
Mahavira admitted into the Jain ascetic fold men and women regardless of caste considerations. He taught that every man was entitled to salvation without the intervention of any authority. But the most distinctive aspect of Mahavira's teachings is the Jain theory of logical judgment known as Syadvada, which tolerates the conflicting points of view and represents the counterpart of the principle of ahimsa . It is a doctrine of the peaceful co-existence of conflicting philosophies.
Dr. A.N. Upadhye, the late General Editor of the Bharatiya Jnanpith, points out: "This analytical approach to reality has saved him (a Jain) from extremism, dogmatism and fanaticism and has further bred in him a remarkable intellectual toleration, a rare human virtue indeed."
Jainism understood correctly in the light of its dialectics of syadvada or anekantavada rooted in the twin concepts of truth and non-violence which were wielded by Mahatma Gandhi with a decisive effect in India's freedom struggle, and its insistence on limited possessions offers a real advance in human thought. It has a crucial relevance to the chaotic times we live in when as Einstein said "a new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels."
I believe Annie Besant, the great theosophist, summed up the essence of Jainism in her Convention Lectures delivered in 1897: "One might almost sum up the atmosphere of Jainism in one phrase that we find in the Sutra Kritanga (3.20), that man by injuring no living being reaches the Nirvan which is peace. That is the phrase that seems to carry with it the whole thought of the Jain: peace - peace between man and man, peace between man and animal, peace everywhere and in all things, a perfect brotherhood of all that lives. Such is the ideal of the Jain, such is the thought that he endeavours to realise upon earth." Seven Great Religions.
This is a most pertinent interpretation of ahimsa as taught by Mahavira and Jainism in our world tottering on the brink of environmental and nuclear disaster. Humanity is at a crossroads on the threshold of the Third Millennium: It has of necessity to make a critical choice. I think that Jainism in its total perspective of weltanschauung, or worldview, is a real modern religion with universal significance.
It is a matter of great pride and hope that Jainism as preached by 24 Tirthankaras from Rishabhanatha to Mahavira offers a new way of life. As Julian Huxley said: "The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself - not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, but in its entirety, as humanity. We need a name for this new belief, perhaps transhumanism will serve: man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature." Religion Without Revelation, p.195.
It is one's earnest belief that the next logical step in the evolution of the Jain principle of ahimsa will be a a revolutionary humanism which will assert the right of every human being to live, think and act in a spirit of syadvada. Would it be too much to hope then that man will rally back from the brink of disaster by taking the panacea of transhumanistic message of Jainism?
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Bal Patil is Convenor, Jain Minority Status Committee, Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha. Co-author of Jainism (Macmillan Co.1974) with Dr.Colette Caillat ex-Rector, Sorbonne University, Paris, and Dr. A.N. Upadhye, ex-President, All-India Oriental conference. Author of Supreme Courts volte face On Constitutional Amendment (published by Govt. of Maharashtra, 1980).
Member, Maharashtra State Minorities Commission, Government of Maharashtra, (Representing Jain Minority community in Maharashtra State, India)
54, Patil Estate, 278, Javji Dadaji Road, Mumbai 400007
E-mail: president@globaljains.com or balpatil@vsnl.com
Web Site: www.globaljains.com
This article was published in The Times of India, Special Report on Mahavira Jayanti, April 16, 2000.
Posted by editor on September 30, 2003 10:28 AM