The birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, the twenty-fourth and the last Thirthankar, is a most auspicious day for the Jain community. The day falls on April 17. When he was born, a bright light spread in all the three worlds . The day is also known as Mahavir Janm Kalyanak. While one may celebrate this day with fervour, the essence of a true follower is to practise Lord Mahavir’s teachings in daily life.
One of the most important teachings of Lord Mahavir is ahimsa, or non-violence. He taught us not to kill any living being, not to hurt any living being or do anything that could cause distress to the other. Today, people live extremely hectic lives. Often a lot of anger, sorrow, anxiety and other feelings bother them each day. Lord Mahavir’s teachings, if followed to the core, can bring a positive change in any kind of situation. One must start the day thinking about the Lord in the morning. As the day progresses, one should not speak any lie or judge anyone who may have done something wrong. Lord Mahavir has said one should look at everyone, even an enemy, as a friend, and one must treat women with true respect. If one has borrowed anything, he or she must return it. This helps instil a feeling of honesty and credibility. Besides ahimsa, karuna was an important teaching.
One must live with four key principles of Lord Mahavir — maitri bhav (sentiment of friendship), pramod bhav (sentiment of appreciation), karuna bhav (sentiment of compassion) and madhyastha bhav (being neutral). As one imbibes these principles, enmity, anger, anxiety and other negative feelings disappear from life. When we overcome all the negativities, we are on the right path of the lord.
Acharya Dev Shrimad Vijay Jinchandra Suriswarji Maharaj