Mahavir Jayanti Festival

¤ The Birthday of Lord Mahavira

As a religion, Jainism originated around 5^th-6^th century b.c. Its founder Mahavira was born in 540 b.c., in a suburb of Vaishali called Kundagrama. Vardhamana, popularly known as Mahavira or the Great Hero, preached his religious doctrine around the same time as Buddha (founder of Buddhism).

Though both rejected the Hindu caste hierarchies and challenged the sanctity of the Vedas, their paths veered in different directions. Buddha chose the Middle Path, a balance between luxury and asceticism whereas Mahavira was a staunch believer of an extreme form of asceticism. This might be cited as one of the reasons why Buddhism has a far greater number of adherents than Jainism did in India. In a country with a population of over a billion, about 3 million people practise Jainism.


¤ Mahavir Jayanti

The birthday of Mahavira, the founder of the Jain sect.is largely spent in prayer rather than in any ostentatious display of jubilation. In places with a sizeable Jain population, like Old Delhi and Gujarat, peaceful processions are organised where children put up skits depicting different phases of Mahavira’s life. This day is considered to be auspicious enough to undertake new ventures or organise other social activities.

Central to the Jain philosophy is the doctrine of an extreme form of self-conquest by virtue of which Jainism is regarded as the most rigorous ascetic faith in the world. The term Jaina is derived from jina, which means conqueror. Though accepted as the founder of this religion, Mahavira is regarded as the 24^th and the last Tirthankara (fordmaker).

According to the belief of the Jains, all the 24 fordmakers were successful in acquiring perfect wisdom (kaivalya) by conquering their desires, thus enabling themselves to sever their bonds with the material world. The bottom line in the Jain philosophy is that there is no personal god or even a single impersonal Absolute. The stress is on the quest of the individual who is regarded as an independent jiva (soul) towards attainment of self-perfection through the tri-ratna (three jewels) of Jainism – right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.


¤ Jainism Follows The Path Ahimsa- Non Violence

Jainism caught the popular fancy after Mahatma Gandhi adopted the all-important credo of ahimsa, or non-violence, a notion central to the doctrine of the Jains, as the best weapon to combat British domination. Adhering to its philosophy of extreme asceticism, Jains take the motto of Ahimsa paramo dharmah (non-violence is the supreme religion) very seriously. In India there is always a chance that you might spot a Jain monk with a fine cloth covering his mouth and nose in order to avoid any involuntary killing of germs. Sometimes he might carry a small broom in his hand in order to remove any small creature out of his way because he fears he might unknowingly tread on it. All devout Jains follow a strictly vegetarian diet.

The Jains have constructed many magnificent and ornate temples in India.

The two principle sects of Jainism are the Shwetambara (white clad) and the Digambara (sky clad). Though their ultimate goal remains the same, a hair’s breadth of difference divides the two sects. The Digambaras believe in emulating the life of Mahavira to the last detail, going to the extent of shedding their clothes in order to follow the doctrine of non-violence completely. On the other hand, the Shvetambaras are moderates and are generally clad in white clothes. Deliverance for women could be a possibility in this religious order.

As the emphasis is on renunciation – the ultimate liberation of man from the material world, Jain festivals are marked not by pomp and gaiety but by time spent in quite introspection.

The festival of Deep Diwali is celebrated 10 days after Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Great significance is attached to this occasion because it commemorates the liberation of Mahavira from the never-ending cycle of birth and rebirth. An array of lamps is lit in all the Jain religious shrines to compensate for the darkness caused by the passing away of the ‘light of the world’. Mount Girnar at Junagadh is worth a visit at this time for a glimpse of the spectacular display of lamps.