Jainism: Mahavira, A Socialist

By M P K Kutty

How is Mahavira (599 to 527 BC), one of the Tirthankars of the Jain religion, relevant to modern times? After all he lived in an age when science had not brought about any revolutionary changes in the lifestyle of man. No BMWs, Pepsi, video parlours or McDonald's fast food joints were in existence then. Despite all the conveniences offered by the gadgets of science, there are moments when we feel that man's unrestrained accumulation and consumption are not an unmixed blessing.

Mahavira was born to affluent parents. His father, Siddhartha, was king of the principality of Vaishali (Bihar) and his mother was Queen Trisala. Soothsayers interpreting some of the dreams of the queen had stated that the son born to them might become chakravarty (emperor). They further explained that he would be a dharma chakravarty , who would develope the ideals of ahimsa (non-violence), freedom, relativism, co-existence and non-possessiveness. Of his tenets, non-violence ought to appeal to the modern mind. The saint believed that ahimsa represented the supreme dharma . To be able to practise this dharma , it is necessary to be delivered from one's passions. Passions constitute the seeds that produce the fruit of violence.

For Mahavira, the concepts of non-violence and non-possessiveness are closely related. Violence and acquisitiveness go hand in hand. Asked how man could attain enlightenment, he told a disciple: "By renouncing violence and possessiveness." "Can a man be spiritually disciplined?" the disciple asked again. "Yes, he can," replied the master. "Lord, how can he do so?" was the next question. "By renouncing violence and possessiveness," repeated the master.

He maintained that possessiveness and violence are inseparable. Mahavira would point out that accumulation or concentration of wealth in a few hands also constituted a form of violence and would naturally invite the wrath of the dispossessed or the disadvantaged. The way out is to end the monopoly of power and wealth. The proponent of non-violence held that the concept included the ideal of liberty, the doctrine of anekantavada, and an egalitarian society free from all sorts of discriminations.

Progress of science has not negated the teachings of the saint. If anything, the threat of environmental destruction in the pursuit of man's unrestrained accumulation and consumption has only served to highlight the dangers inherent in ignoring the teachings of the Jain sage.