Mahavira buddha biography enlightenment

The paths of Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha

Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha were contemporaries, although Lord Mahavira was a little older. Lord Mahavira lived from 599 to 527 BC and Lord Buddha lived from 567 to 487 BC. It seems that the Buddha took birth in a Jaina family. Both Lord Mahavira and the Buddha were born in the state of Bihar in northern India. Bihar is considered to be the cradle of both Jainism and Buddhism.

Sometimes the mendicant life of Lord Mahavira and the Buddha brought them into the same vicinity. On at least three occasions, they were preaching in the same village at the same time, but destiny did not allow them to meet personally.

Because of their tremendous respect for each other, Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha were both interested in each other’s philosophies. They used intermediaries to send and receive messages from one to another.

There are more than sixty references to Lord Mahavira in Buddhist literature. This has added considerably to our knowledge of Mahavira’s life.

Now, thousands of years after these two immortal spiritual lions lived on earth, their light has spread in different ways. Buddhism is found mostly outside India, in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar and other places. But Jainism is found only within our Indian subcontinent.

We can say that Buddhism has gone out of India to spread India’s lofty message of spirituality, whereas, Jainism has remained within the boundaries of India to proclaim India’s spirituality.

Striking similarities

The Buddha was born into a Jaina family. So, too, was Mahavira.

The Buddha’s parents were Kshatriya rulers. Even so, were Mahavira’s.

The Buddha’s mother, Queen Maya, dreamt of several most significant symbols prior to the Buddha’s birth, including an elephant and a white lotus.

Mahavira’s mother, Queen Trishala, dreamt of fourteen special symbols prior to Mahavira’s birth, including an enormous white elep

24th tirthankara of Jainism

This article is about the 24th tirthankara of Jainism. For other topics, see Mahavira (disambiguation)

Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, Mahāvīra), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, Vardhamāna), was the 24th Tirthankara (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his life are uncertain and varies by sect, historians generally consider that he lived during the 6th or 5th century BCE, reviving and reforming a proto-Jain community (which had possibly been founded by Parshvanatha), and he was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha.

Jains regard him as the spiritual successor of the 23rd TirthankaraParshvanatha. According to traditional legends and hagiographies, Mahavira was born in the early 6th century BCE to a roy

I said, “Then why this difference? Either put mahatma in front of both or put bhagwan.”

Now he was in a great dilemma. He could not write Mahatma Mahavira. The Jainas would kill him, they would expel him – he was a Jaina. Nobody, not a single Jaina in twenty-five centuries, has made such an insult – writing about Mahavira as just a mahatma. Mahatmas are available in this country for one rupee a dozen. They are so cheap, every village has its own mahatma. But he was not willing to write bhagwan before Gautam Buddha because no Jaina accepts Gautam Buddha as equal to Mahavira. He is enlightened, but not of the same height. Mahavira’s enlightenment is complete; Buddha’s enlightenment is incomplete – partial enlightenment, not total. And the same is the situation of the Buddhists. I have asked Buddhist monks. They are not ready to call…

One Buddhist monk was born an Englishman, but got converted when he was young. I don’t know whether he is still alive or not, but he was a world-famous man, Sangharakshita. He lived in the Himalayas, in Kalimpong. He used to come to the university where I was teaching, and he became interested in me because he was always invited to the Philosophy Department. I used to raise questions and he was in difficulty trying to answer them. But he was a very nice person, he never became angry. On the contrary, if he could not answer me, he used to ask if I had some idea of what the answer could be.

I said, “I never ask anything unless I know the answer.”

We became friends. He even started staying with me while he was in the city. I asked him, “What do you think about Mahavira?” Mahavira and Buddha were contemporaries.

He said, “About Mahavira? He was enlightened, but not so completely as Gautam Buddha.”

The same nonsense goes on around the world. But the reason the disciples are concerned or the so-called masters are concerned is the same. It is the ego that needs a certain kind of gratification.

As far as J. Krishnamurti a

Mahavira was the founder and the last Tirthankara of Jainism. He was born in 599 BC in Kundalpur, a village in the Vaishali district of Bihar, India. Mahavira was born to a royal family and he renounced the world at an early age to become a monk. He preached for 30 years and achieved enlightenment on the night of Diwali. Mahavira’s teachings have inspired millions of people across the world and his legacy continues to live on to date!

Birth Of Mahavira

In Bihar, India, Mahavira was hailed as a hero. His parents were Kshatriyas, and he was raised into a wealthy and privileged family. Mahavira’s birth name was Vardhamana, which means “prosperous or growing”. He was also sometimes called Nigantha Nataputta, which means “leader of those who are free from bonds”.

Mahavira’s father was Siddhartha, a local chieftain, and his mother was Trishala, a princess from the Lichchhavi clan. Mahavira had an older sister, Visakha, and a younger brother, Nanda.

When Mahavira was about thirty years old, he renounced his comfortable life as a prince and became an ascetic. He left his home, family, and possessions behind to live an ascetic life. For the next twelve years, he wandered as a beggar and a mendicant, living a life of severe self-denial.

During this time, Mahavira practised intense meditation and underwent severe austerities. He also fasted frequently and slept on the ground. He wore simple clothes and went barefoot. Mahavira’s asceticism was so extreme that it is said that he sometimes stood on one leg for hours at a time.

At the age of 42, Mahavira achieved enlightenment while meditating under a tree. After that, he spent the next thirty years teaching his followers the principles of Jainism.

Life of Mahavira

Mahavira was born in the year 540 BCE in a royal family of Videha, present-day Bihar. His parents were Siddhartha and Trishala. He was named Vardhamana,