Mahavir - pinnacle of spirituality

Mahavir - the man who left all the worldly pleasures to seek ‘the truth’, the man who never angered, was never jealous, was least interested in the luxuries of life, who ate to live and not to satiate his palate, who lived to spread happiness and not collect wealth, who never preached but always taught, who taught to make people aware and not boast his own knowledge, who never argued but always discussed, who sought truth and got enlightenment, who smiled in his personal pains and empathised with others in theirs, who never wanted revenge but believed in the power of forgiveness.

The man who relinquished the last cloth on his body, just because it got stuck in a rose plant and if he had tried to get it back, a few branches of the plant could have been damaged. So, he left it there and never wore anything else after that.

Mahavir was the epitome of non-violence, an idealistic human being to be followed and cherished. He was a lover, a lover of honesty, nature, kindness and the entire human race. He never discriminated on the basis of caste, colour, creed or gender.

On this birthday of Mahavir Swami, let us take the oath of being truthful and loyal to our partner, be patriotic, take every possible care of our parents, being honest with our customers, love everyone, hate no one, be happy and spread happiness.

He is the answer to most of the global problems; in the present times, if we adopt his teachings even to an extent as small as 20%, all our troubles, hatred and disliking for each other would vanish. This world would become a paradise. His simple living, his ‘live and let live’ style of life is the real solution to all the troubles between nations, creeds and castes.

But the only trouble is, if only a few people follow him and walk on his footsteps, they will suffer because generations like to follow Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam and never Mahavir or Buddha. They like violence, they believe in the power of hatred, they prefer ‘an eye for an eye’ over forgiveness. Walking the path of violence and hatred is much easier than following the travails of Mahavir and practicing non-violence. We sincerely need guides like him, those who are willing to brighten our thoughts and help us in reviving the whole panorama.

His philosophy should act as the colour in our life’s sketch. His ideologies should be the ultimate lesson in selflessness and happy living. Driven by this selfless act, we can be kind and helpful not only to our brothers and sisters, but to the whole mankind. And that is something that can bring peace and harmony in the whole world.

--Sudharm Baxi

P.S. - The hindi translation of this article appeared in Dainik Bhaskar on 28th of March, Jodhpur(Rajasthan).