Mahavir Jayanti: The twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of the Jain religion at this time was Lord Mahavir. In accordance with Jain philosophy, all Tirthankaras were mortals who, through self-realization and meditation, acquired a degree of perfection or enlightenment. These are the Jains' deities.
In the year 599 B.C., in the Indian state of Bihar, Lord Mahavir was born on the thirteenth day of the rising moon of the Chaitra month. In accordance with the Gregorian calendar, this day is in April and this year it falls on April 4. His birthday is celebrated as Mahavir Jayanti day.
Mahavir Jayanti: Lord Mahavira's Spiritual Awakening
Mahavir was a prince, and his parents gave him the name Vardhaman. He had access to a variety of worldly pleasures, conveniences, and services since he was a king's son. Yet when he was thirty years old, he renounced his worldly belongings, abandoned his family and the royal palace, and became a monk to find a way to end suffering.
To overcome his wants, emotions, and attachments, Mahavir spent the following twelve and a half years in deep silence and meditation. He took great care not to disturb or hurt any other living thing, including plants, animals, or birds. He also went for long periods without food.
Mahavir spent the following thirty years walking barefoot across India, teaching the masses the timeless truth he had come to understand. The ultimate goal of his teaching is to show students how to completely liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, life, suffering, and death to arrive at a state of perpetual joy. This is also referred to as Moksha, nirvana, or total freedom.
Mahavir preached that right faith (samyak darshana), right knowledge (samyak jnana), and right conduct (samyak charitra) together is the real path to attain the liberation from the karmic matter of one's self.
Mahavir Jayanti: Lord Mahavira's Teachings
At the heart of right conduct for Jains lie the five great vows:
Nonviolence (Ahimsa)- not to cause harm to any living beings
Truthfulness (Satya)- to speak the harmless truth only
Non-stealing (Asetya)- not to take anything not properly given
Chastity (Brahmacharya)- not to indulge in sensual pleasure
Non-possession/Non-attachment (Aparigraha)- complete detachment from people, places, and material things
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