ماها فيرا .. كتاب المائة الأوائل

Maha Vera

MAHAVIRA

599-527 BC approximately

The Jainism originated in the sixth century BC. It is an Indian religion based on the liberation of the soul through knowledge and faith. Maha Vira (meaning the Great Hero) was the name given by the Jains to Vardhamana, who is the prominent figure in their religion.

Vardhamana was born in 599 BC in northern India, where Gautama Buddha was born a generation before Vardhamana. In fact, the similarities in the life history of these two men are truly amazing. Since Vardhamana was the youngest son of one of the leaders, and he was raised in the arms of luxury and happiness, like Gautama Buddha, and he abandoned the life of luxury and wealth when he was thirty and abandoned. (his wife and son) and decided to search for truth and honesty and achieve them.

Vardhamana became a monk in a small religious congregation called Parsvanana. For twelve years, he was busy with deep thinking and meditation, subjecting himself to asceticism and austerity. He fasted a lot and did not keep any property of any kind, not even a small cup to drink water or collect alms. Although he kept for himself one robe that he always wore, but after a while he discarded this robe and started walking completely naked. Insects may crawl on his body and his naked skin without removing them, even if they bite him, and that is an attempt to torture him. His body allows his spirit to transcend.

Even in India, where there were many such wandering religious men, the sight or behavior of Maha Vir was disapproving, insults and even beatings that he endured without trying to take revenge or restore his dignity.

And when he became forty-two, he decided that he had reached the goal of spiritual enlightenment. . He began preaching his teachings and the penetrating insight he had gained. When he died in the year 527 B.C., he had had several disciples.

The teachings of Maha Vira are somewhat similar to the teachings of (Buddha), the Jains believe. That when a person dies, his soul does not die, but it is reincarnated in another being (and it is not necessary that he be a human being). Perfect morality, human actions affect his luck and status in the next life, and removing the accumulated sins in the human soul and purifying this soul is one of the goals of the religion (Yani). Jain monks were practicing a kind of violent austerity. And there is a manifestation of (Jainism), which is stressing the principle of ahis ma or non-violence, and this includes non-use of violence with animals and humans. As a result of this belief, we find (Yanin) vegetarians who do not eat animal meat. As for the fanatical among them, they do not kill a fly, and they do not eat in the dark, because it is possible that he swallows an insect while he does not see it. And thus causes her death, and the extremist (Jainists) used to hire people to sweep the street in front of them, so that there would not be some insects that . It is possible that they trampled it unintentionally.

The Jains did not work in agriculture because manual labor was forbidden according to their religion. Although their country is agricultural, they never worked in agriculture, but in trade.

The Jainism influenced the Hindu doctrine, which prohibits the slaughter of animals, as well as the impact of the doctrine of non-violence on (Gandhi), the Indian leader, the independence of India, who was influenced by the teaching of one of the Jainism philosophers, and considered this philosopher his spiritual teacher.