Tattvartha Sutra

ONE of my fondest childhood memories is walking on a lakeside, barefoot, with my mother, with her warm, reassuring hand wrapped tightly on mine. My fascination towards the fish wasn't unknown to her and when on any splash or movement in the still water I'd exclaim "maa look, there's a fish!". She'd unfailingly smile everytime and say "yes, yes it is". During one such stroll, way back in time, she told me a story about a little girl and how she was able to make a big difference. The girl would go to the seashore, every morning, to collect empty shells, so she could sell them later. One day, early in the morning she saw the last night's storm had washed up thousands of starfish on the beach. And a lot of people had gathered to see the sight. Without a second thought, the little girl started picking them up, one by one, and throwing them back into the sea. A man, seeing her gruelling efforts, walked up to her and remarked "th...

NEW evidences coming under light every other day are now bringing the fact forth, that Jainism was once a largely followed major religion in the Indian subcontinent. One such archaeological site, declared a UNESCO a world heritage site in 2013, is the Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajasthan, India. The marvellous fort, with a 38 km long boundary wall protecting the entire fort complex, is believed to have been built around 200 BCE by the Jain ruler, King Samprati also known as the Jain Ashoka. King Samprati was the Grandson of Emperor Ashoka and was ordained into Jainism by a Jain Acharya called Suhasti. There are a total of 360 temples in the fort complex, of which 300 temples are identified as belonging to Jainism and rest 60 to Hinduism. The fifteen feet thick boundary walls of the fort are so unbelievably magnanimous, that it's often called The Great Wall Of India, comparing it to The Great Wall Of China. The fort was reconstructed in its present structure by Rana...

WE convince ourselves that life will be better tomorrow, than it is today. It'll all be fine after we get married, and have a baby and then maybe another one. And then when it dawns upon us that babies are consistently drooling and pooping, attention-seeking minions of satan and not the angels we thought, we make do with the understanding that maybe the kids aren't old enough, and we'll be absolutely content when they are. But after they grow up, we're frustrated that now, we have teenagers to deal with. We tell ourselves that our lives will be complete if our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a bigger apartment, shinier car, or go on that exotic vacation we planned years ago, or maybe just maybe situation will ameliorate after we retire. But the truth is, if there's any time to be happy, it is in this precise moment. It is now. Life will always be stocking up with challenges day after day, one after another, it's for the best to ...

Table Of Contents : Historical Vs Mythological Who Was Mahavira? Mahavira's Early Life Mahavira's Renunciation Mahavira's Nirvana Who Was the Buddha? Buddha's Early Life Buddha's Renunciation Buddha's Nirvana Historical Vs Mythological Before we jump into history and facts and findings, what needs to be prefaced is the difference between the adjectives 'historical' and 'mythological' and why Mahavira and the Buddha are historical and NOT mythological figures. A historical personality is someone whose existence can be evidenced, verified, and proven through historical records, excavations, archaeological evidences or basically through more than a bunch of legends and sagas here and there. On the other hand, a mythological figure is exactly what it is : a myth! And a myth is exactly what it is : unverifiable! The difference between historical and mythological would be same as the difference between say, dinosaurs and demons...

WHEN an old lady turned eighty five, she was asked what she would do if she had her life to live over again. "I'd make more mistakes next time," she said. "I'd relax, I'd limber up. I would be sillier than I have been on this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances, climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I'd eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, and I've had my moments, and if I were to do it all over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else, just moments. One after another, instead of living so many years ahead of every day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, and a raincoat. If I were to do it all over again, I'd t...

WE are living in times where it's becoming increasingly important for each one of us to do better, to be better than ourselves in multidisciplinary ways. We are living in times where what was once a process of becoming greater is now being used as a weapon for ruthless expansion of one's faith : to exterminate pluralism, diversity and people with different beliefs. In such times, in an anthology of his speeches published as the September-1997 third edition of "Pavan-Pravachan", the great worshipper of humanitarian values Acarya Vidyasagar asserts in his mediation on  The Sanctity Of Jainism And Its Purpose In Our Lives , that the expansion of one's self is the most cardinal action for a successful life and one should give up the compulsive need of forceful expansion of their faith. As a religious figure advocating for communal harmony and peaceful existence, he calls upon the strategy to become better than ourselves by celebrating the pri...

Acarya Vidyasagar  (born October 10, 1946), in the erstwhile British India, is not only the most celebrated leader of Jain spirituality of our times but also the most introspective one — his discourses, even though more general than specific to the common lives, often tend to search the intricate depths of the purpose of religion in life. In one of his speeches published in the September-1997 third edition of " Pavan Pravachan " on the occasion of Chaturmas of three of his prominent disciples in Bhopal, India, the Acarya talks about religion as a science of self upliftment. "Out of many religions existent in the world today, there’s one religion that shows way to take ourselves closer to greatness from affliction and that religion is Jainism. The principles of Jainism emphasize upon placing your personal upliftment first, than promotion of your faith for its expansion." The sky-clad Acarya further enlists the need of putting your own spiritual elevatio...