The Basic Thought Of Bhagavan Mahavir

If you wish to read a short book that encapsulates the teachings of Bhagavan Mahavira, this is the book for you. It succinctly describes the self-realisation he attained in 557 BCE (at the age of 42) and adumbrates the insights he achieved.

 

This work was originally written in Hindi in 2002 upon the request of the Government of Madhya Pradesh, on the occasion of the 2600th birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira. The author, in simple, contemporary, yet powerful language reveals to us the teachings of Mahavira.

 

This book is extremely popular because it is a non-sectarian book written in simple language. Complex concepts of the Jain doctrine are explained in a reader-friendly manner, without resorting to jargon. Readers have said that reading this book is akin to entering a palace, with each door opening on its own and inviting you further inside.

 

Mahavira attained omniscience after realising the true nature of reality. His knowledge transcended barriers of space and time, so that he could see the past, present and future concurrently. Self and nonself became evident. All substances in the world, together with all their manifestations, became manifest to him, as clear as a gooseberry held in the palm of one's hand. And all of this was spontaneous, effortless, without conation or the need for sensory perception.

 

The attainment of omniscience enabled Mahavira to assimilate within himself the mutual relationship between entities and set standards of appropriate behaviour which allowed each living being the space to live in peace and tranquility with all others. He perceived the eternal truths of anekanta (many-sidedness of reality), syadvada (contextual concomitance of each substance in the universe), ahimsa (non-violence), aparigraha (detachment from external substances), achaurya (refraining from taking what does not belong to one) and brahmacharya (purity of mind and body) and underlined the key importance of tolerance and mutual respect for harmonious coexistence with all living beings in the universe. He knew that if one waters the roots of a plant, one need not water its flowers, fruits and leaves - hence his tremendous emphasis on tolerance and mutual respect, the cornerstones of a peaceful existence.

 

Mahavira, victorious in the struggle between self and nonself, realised the importance and uniqueness of the soul, its distinctness from the body, and the nonidentical nature of the body with the soul. Mahavira's supreme detachment from all that existed other than his soul has been beautifully captured by Indian sculpture, which depicts him either in seated or standing position, with eyes half closed, but aware and alert - awake to the self and inattentive to the external world. Mahavira knows himself. Knowing oneself is knowing everything. The primary focus of the omniscient soul is itself.

 

We are proud to publish this book. We have published the Hindi, English and Gujarati versions of this book which is now available in 10 languages:

 

Bengali (1 edition) ~ Bengali translation by Dr Kanhaiyalal Bhura

English (13 editions) ~ English translation by Manish Modi

Gujarati (3 editions) ~ Gujarati translation by Bhagavati Prasad Upadhyay

Hindi (40 editions)

Kannada (1 edition) ~ Kannada translation by Indira Subraya Hegde

Marathi (1 edition) ~ Marathi translation by Ramchandra Shauche

Punjabi (1 edition) ~ Punjabi translation by Dr Ravinder Jain & Purushottam Jain

Sindhi (1 edition) ~ Sindhi translation by Jhammu Chhugani

Telugu (1 edition) ~ Telugu translation by P Radhakrishna

Urdu (2 editions)  ~ Urdu translation by Mushtaq Ahmed Rakesh