Mahavir

Mahavir (c . 540 BC), original name Verdhaman Mahavir was the 24th Tirthankar (path-finder) of the Jains. He lived in the sixth and fifth century BC, was the son of a Vaishali noble belonging to the princely family, renounced the world at the age of 30, joined the order of Parsvanath, the 23rd Tirthankar, and attained supreme knowledge. After renouncing the world he is spent twelve years in austerity and meditation. He received enlightenment at the age of 42 and thereafter came to be known as Jain. He died at Pawa, now in modern Bihar, a state in India.

Jainism derived its name from his second name Jaina which means the Conquerer. Historians suggest his date of birth around 540 BC, however, according to Jain legends, he was born at the beginning of the sixth century BC. Both his dates of birth and death are controversial.

Wisdom & Quotes

• A Wise man should be neither glad nor angry, for he should know and consider the happiness of all things... Life is Dear to the Many who own fields and houses, who get Dyed and coloured Clothes And jewels And earrings, And grow up attached to them ... Only those who are of controlled conduct do not desire these things ; therefore , Knowing birth and death , you should Firmly Walk The path .

For nothing is inaccessible to death, and all beings are fall of themselves, they love pleasure and hate pain, they shun destruction and cling to life. They long to live. To all things life is dear.
-Acharanga Sutra

• As the dead leaf When it's time is up

Falls from The tree to the ground,
So is the life of man.
Gautama, always be Watchful!
As the dew drop that sways on a blade of grass
Lasts but a moment,
So is the life of man.
Gautama, always be watchful!
For The soul which suffers for its carelessness
Is Whirled About In the Universe,
Through good and evil karma.
Gautama, always be watchful!
When the body grows old and the hair turns white,
And all the vital powers decrease...
Despondency and disease befall, and the flesh wastes and decay.
Gautama, always be watchful!
So cast away all the attachments,
And be pure as a Lotus or as water in autumn,
Free from all attachment.
Gautama, always be watchful!
-Uttaradhyayana Sutra

• Body , House , Wealth and Wife,

Sons and friends and enimies -
All are Different from the soul.
Only the fool thinks them his own.
........................
From all directions come the birds
And rest together in the trees;
Butin the morning each goes his own way,
Flying in all directions.
................................
Death Is Not For me. Why then Should I fear?
Disease is not for me. Why then should I despair?
I am not a child, nor a youth, nor an old man;
All these states are only of my body.
.......................................
Time and again in my foolishness I have enjoyed
All kinds of body and have discarded them,
Now I am wise!
Why should I long for rubbish?
.......................................
The soul is one thing, Matter another -
That is the quintessence of truth.
Whatever else may be said
Is merely it's elaboration.
- Istopadesa

Jaina Canon