Mahavir Ka Jivan Darshan

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Mahavir ka Jivan Darshan," by Niraj Jain, in English:

This text, "Mahavir ka Jivan Darshan" (The Life Philosophy of Mahavir), authored by Niraj Jain, interprets Lord Mahavir's teachings as a philosophy of "Sarvodaya" – the welfare and upliftment of all. It states that Lord Mahavir's entire life philosophy is encapsulated in this concept of universal welfare. He presented the principles of truth, non-violence (ahimsa), non-stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacharya), and non-possession (aparigraha) as the means to establish this "Sarvodaya" for humanity.

The author emphasizes that Mahavir's philosophy is not a restrictive set of prohibitions (e.g., "don't do this, don't go there"). Instead, it's a proactive approach to life, guiding individuals towards growth and self-perfection, ultimately aiming to transform the soul into the divine.

A crucial prerequisite for this journey of self-elevation is "Atma Bodh" (Self-Realization) – knowing oneself. Without self-awareness, the path of spiritual practice that Mahavir advocates cannot be traversed. The text quotes a saying that meeting oneself is a significant achievement in this world.

The text then identifies mind, speech, and body (Man, Vani, Kay) as the three primary tools of human activity. Whether actions lead to merit or demerit, kindness or harm, desire or practice, enjoyment or asceticism, benefiting others or harming them, goodness or badness – all these depend on the coordinated effort of mind, speech, and body. Lord Mahavir's message is to refine these three powers to shape human life. In essence, his life philosophy is summarized as: ahimsa in action, syadvada in speech, and anekanta in thought.

Ahimsa (Non-Violence): This is defined broadly as conducting oneself in such a way that no physical or mental pain is caused to others. Mahavir consistently advocated for non-violence towards all living beings. Ahimsa first makes us aware of the existence of others, considers their convenience or inconvenience, and declares the right of all beings to live. Beyond physical violence, Mahavir aimed to free us from subtle and mental violence (Bhava Himsa) that we commit through our minds. Lies, theft, sexual misconduct, and excessive accumulation are all forms of this violence, which are considered the five cardinal sins (Panch Pap). Living by avoiding these, both in action and thought, is the essence of ahimsa in conduct. The text highlights that many individuals may not harm others physically but are perpetrators of violence through their minds. Similarly, some may never steal physically but are thieves of thought, and others may never look at someone improperly but engage in mental adultery. Numerous individuals, despite lacking basic necessities, are consumed by insatiable greed and desire. Mahavir's teaching is to understand and guard against these subtle, psychological forms of sin to uphold ahimsa in our conduct.

Syadvada (Anekanta in Speech): Every object in the universe possesses multiple characteristics, even those that appear contradictory. For example, a person can be a father, a son, a brother, a husband, older to some, younger to others, all simultaneously. A lemon is yellow, sour, and possibly light or heavy. The difficulty lies in expressing all these attributes at once. Our speech can only describe them sequentially. This means that what we say is never absolute truth but rather relative and partial truth. There can be other perspectives and ways of perceiving reality. Syadvada is the attempt to articulate truth while acknowledging the possibility of unexpressed nuances and other viewpoints. By using terms like "syat" (perhaps, in a certain way) or "kathanchit" (in some respect), we acknowledge partial truths while accepting that reality can be viewed from countless other perspectives that our speech cannot fully encompass. Syadvada allows us to accept these partial truths and their underlying multiple aspects.

Anekanta (Multifacetedness in Thought): As discussed in relation to truth, every object in the universe has multiple qualities. Anekanta, in thought, is the process of contemplating the universe or one's own soul from different angles and in its various contexts. This is the most significant characteristic of Mahavir's thought process. Just as Shankara based his philosophy on non-dualism (Advaita) and Buddha on the Middle Path (Madhyama Pratipada), Mahavir used Anekanta as the foundation for presenting his ideas. All great souls have sought truth and tried to explain it through their speech. Mahavir's quest for truth is termed Anekantavada. The seed of anekanta can only sprout in the soil of truth and its temple is built on the foundation of completeness and reality. Perceiving complete and real truth is rare, and even if known, its full articulation is challenging due to limitations of time, place, language, and the mental state of the speaker and listener. Those who grasp only partial truth face even greater difficulties.

These difficulties in articulating truth have given rise to various doctrines, sects, and beliefs that often clash, creating an atmosphere of disharmony and animosity in human society. After deep contemplation, Lord Mahavir developed the Anekanta system of thought which allows for fair treatment of those who understand truth partially. Through anekanta, it becomes possible to reconcile one's own partial truth with another's seemingly contradictory but partially true perspective, thereby moving towards a more complete and real understanding. In this philosophy, completeness is inherent even in partial contemplation. As soon as one perspective comes into focus, all other potential viewpoints are implicitly present. Thus, anekanta in thought enables us to grasp truth and reality even with our limited knowledge.

The text concludes by stating that according to this life principle of Lord Mahavir, a seeker whose conduct is purified by ahimsa, whose speech is benevolent and authentic through syadvada, and whose thoughts are cleansed by the waves of anekanta, becomes qualified for self-realization. By manifesting the soul as the divine, such a practitioner succeeds in escaping the cycle of birth, aging, and death – achieving self-accomplishment and liberation. The philosophy of Mahavir finds its fulfillment where the code of conduct is bound by ahimsa, speech is adorned with syadvada, and contemplation is touched by the rainbow of anekanta.