Lord Mahavira - Obstacles of His Life

Edited by Mrs. Bharati T. Salgia

Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last of the Jain Tirthankaras, was the son of king Siddharatha and queen Trishla, who ruled at Kundalgram in Bihat (India). At the age of thirty he abandoned his princely pleasures and comforts to become an ascetic (sadhu).

The life of a sadhu is a path of spiritual discipline, which is full of pain and obstacles. Lord Mahavira had to face many upsaragas (obstacles) as an ascetic, but his firm faith in meditation gave him the strength to bear all physical pain without anger and enmity. With his inner peace he forgave all that tortured him. He believed each person is tied to his previous karmas (deeds). In order to cleanse himself of his vices and bad deeds, a man must accept all pain. Avoiding pain would only mean reserving it for the future life.

The harsh winds, the severe summer heat and bitter biting cold did not spare him. But he withstood all pain without complaint. To purify his soul, he accepted and invited every pain as a challenge to his power of tolerance. His boundless forgiving nature changed the heart of the wicked.

Jain literature has many examples of the sufferings of Lord Mahavira. Following are some well-known incidents of obstacles in his life.

1. The Cowherd's Cruelty Towards The Lord.
It was a beautiful evening when Lord Mahavira was in deep meditation, completely unaware of his surroundings. A cowherd told Mahavira to watch his oxen, for he had to go home to milk the cows. Without waiting for a reply from the Lord, he left. When he returned and did not see the oxen, he began to curse the Lord in great anger. Later after searching all over, he returned and found the oxen sitting by the side of the Lord. He got angry and suspicious and started beating the Lord with the thick ropes off the shoulders of the oxen. Suddenly, a hand stopped the cowherd. He looked back and saw a heavenly person who said, "stop! You do not know that this ascetic is the crown-prince Mahavira, son of King Siddharatha!" When he heard this he was very ashamed of his deed and fell at the feet of the Lord and begged for forgiveness. After some time, the Lord's meditation was over. He opened his eyes, and saw the cowherd at his feet. He forgave him with a smile. He also saw God Indra standing with folded hands and requesting humbly, "O Lord, the people on this earth are ignorant of your asceticism and renunciation. Therefore, kindly permit me to be your humble bodyguard and protect you from all the pain in your path of accomplishment."

Lord Mahavira did not accept the help of God Indra and said with a smile, "Knowledge and Moksha (emancipation) is possible only by self- courage, exertion and labor. It is not possible to achieve knowledge with the help of others. Only self-help could be the helper of a person."

2. Imposition of Voluntary Restriction.
Lord Mahavira's "Tapa" (penance) and meditation helped him to keep free from external or worldly happiness. He had a body, but he could think himself free from it. Once during his wanderings he came to the hermitage of the great sage Duijanta. He requested Lord Mahavira to pass his rainy season at his hermitage, and the Lord accepted.
The cows came and ate the grass around the hermitage. The other hermits drove away the cows to save their hermitage. Once all the other hermits went out when they returned, they saw that the cows have eaten up all the grass. Lord Mahavira, deep in his meditation, did not notice the cows that ate up all the grass around his hut. The hermits complained about him to Duijanta, the head ascetic. Duijanta was very angry and said scornfully to Mahavira, "Even the birds take care of their own nests, and you being a Kshatriya, and a prince, could not protect even your own hut from cows?"
Lord Mahavir did not say anything but started thinking, "Whose hermitage, whose palace? If I had to guard this hermitage then why should I have left willingly the palaces? It is not worthwhile to stay here. Here ways and means are given more importance than meditation. There is also anger and prejudice in the minds of the hermits." From that day on he accepted the following five vows for the rest of his life.

(1) Never to live in an unwelcome place.
(2) Always think of the soul and not the body.
(3) Silence is golden. To speak only in connection with his alms, to know the path and in reply to a question.
(4) He should take his food using his own palm as a dish.
(5) Never render service to a householder just to fulfill his own needs.

3. Yksha Obstruction And Subtugation.
Once Lord Mahavira reached the village of Asthika, nearby there was an old temple, which looks, very desolate and dreary. He decided to meditate there. It was the abode of a fierce Yaksha (demon). The villagers warned him of the danger and requested him to select another safe place. Mahavira insisted he wanted to meditate there, and said he was not afraid of the Yaksha.

It was evening, and the villagers left. Lord Mahavira stood there in deep meditation. After some time in the dense darkness the Yaksha made a loud roar. The whole temple was resounding with his loud cry. Lord Mahavira did not move and stood there like a stone statue. The Yaksha was very angry to see his defeat. He took frightening shapes of a monster, an elephant, a fearful lion, a hideous snake, and many others. Once he took the shape of poisonous insects and bit Lord Mahavira's whole body, but the Lord did not move. Finally, the Yaksha was ashamed of his defeat. He thought, "This man is a super-human being, and I must bow down to him". He gave up his criminal nature. The next morning the villagers came to see the Lord Mahavira. They were all worried about his condition. To their surprise, they found him in deep meditation! Then the village astrologer told the villagers, "This monk is not an ordinary saint. He is the omnipotent Charkravrti of the Dharma. By the mere stepping of his foot in this village, the problem of the evil yaksha is removed. The Yaksha has now become the follower of Lord Mahavira. Now our village is free from the fear of the yaksha."

4. Chanda-Kaushika Gets A Blessed Life
Whereever Lord Mahavira went, he changed vicious people into good-natured people. Once Lord Mahavira arrived at a village, the people of the village used the longer route to visit the hermitage. They avoided the shorter route through the dense forest where a poisonous serpent lived. Lord Mahavira chose the shorter route on purpose. Some cowherd boys warned him of the serpent. They said, " chanda-kaushika, the serpent, is also known as a Drishti-Visha sarpa, a serpent who has poison in his very eyes. Just by his mere sight he burns up the vegetation of the jungle and can kill anyone."

Lord Mahavira had made up his mind to reform the snake. He had made up his mind to change his poison to nectar. He came near the hole of the snake and stood in meditation. The snake came out and hissed poison at the Lord, but it did not affect him. He rained many poisonous stings at the Lord, but the Lord did not move. The snake was ashamed and lost faith in his power to kill. Finally, the Lord said, "Oh snake! Think and understand for a moment! Allow your anger to die! In your past life you were a teacher who had a great passion of anger. Because of your evil deeds in your past life, you are a snake in this life."

Through the mercy of the Lord Mahavira he gained knowledge of his previous misdeeds and repented deeply. This changed his mind and he gave up vicious deeds. In the future, even if someone harassed him, he bore it with peace and quite. When people learned of his change of heart, they poured milk and ghee on him. But these eatables made the giant body of the Chandra-Kaushika a breeding ground for ants and insects. He suffered all pain until he breathed his last. After death, he took birth in the eighth heaven. It was all by the mere association with Lord Mahavira.

5. A Volley of Upsargas By Gos Sangam.
The gods who live in heaven cannot attain moksha (salvation), but a man who becomes an ascetic through his penance and meditation can attain moksha. The Lord of Gods Indra praised the unique virtues of Lord Mahavira. Hearing this one God sangama was burning with jealousy. He thought, "How can a man, a mere statue of bones and skin be worshipped by the Gods of the heaven?"

Lord Mahavir was meditating in a garden outside the village of Petala. It was a pleasant evening when suddenly the wicked God Sangama spread his net of tortures. There was a fierce storm followed by strong winds and heavy rain. On the happy face of Lord Mahavira here was not a sign of despair. God sangama transformed his body into different fierce animals but Lord did not move.

The Sangama created a pitiable scene where Yashoda, the Lord's wife when he was a prince, begged of the Lord, "Oh Lord, did you marry me to ruin my life? Kindly take pity on me. Your brother has thrown me out of the palace with insulting words. Your dear daughter has also ruined herself by her deep sorrow caused by her father's desertion." He picturesque drama did not vibrate the mind of the Lord because he was completely detached from the world.

The God sangama changed the scene. A very beautiful young damsel with her five maidens began to spread a net of charm on the Lord. But this had no effect on the Lord.

Now there was another change in the scene, A starving and hungry traveler wanted to cook his food. He wanted to make a hearth to build a fire. He used the Lord's feet hearthstones and built the fire, but the lord did not move.

Then sangama was so mad with anger hat he released hundreds of birds that started eating the flesh of the Lord. There was still no effect on the Lord!

The Sangama inflicted another upsarga on the lord. In this incident the police were trying to catch some thieves. When the thieves were caught, they pointed at the Lord and said, "He is our Guru. He has taught us how to rob." The policemen started beating up the Lord, but there was no sign of pain visible on the lord's face.

Each upsarga inflicted by sangama lasted for six months at a stretch! Now sangama was confused, surprised and also frightened. He fell at the feet of Lord Mahavira and asked for pardon. Suddenly, he saw tears in the eyes of Lord Mahavira and asked humbly, "Oh Lord, are you suffering from inner pain? Why do I see tears in your eyes now?" Then Lord answered, "These tears are not tears of bodily pain; but they are tears of pity for your future. All who come in contact with me have conquered their vices. In your case, the scene of your future life came before me. Because of your deeds (karma) you have made a whole mountain of suffering for yourself."

6. The Last Upsarga
Twelve years of meditation and penance passed with great success for Lord Mahavira. His life was exemplary. He put forth-unsurpassable examples of truth, non-violence, forgiveness, compassion, fearlessness, yoga and true knowledge.

In the thirteenth year he faced another upsarga. Near the village of Shammani he stood in a meditation posture. Just as at the beginning of his asceticism so also at the end, he met a cowherd who left his oxen in the care of Lord Mahavira. He came later and not seeing his oxen around asked the Lord in a great anger, "Where are my oxen?" The Lord in deep meditation did nor answers. He asked over and over again but received no answer. Finally, he was so angry that he pushed two sharp pointed wooden pegs through the ears of the Lord. After his meditation was complete, the Lord arrived in a nearby town. He reached the house of a banker named Siddharatha. A physician by the name of Kharaka was at the banker's house. He looked at the Lord and knew something was wrong. He looked all over and found the wooden pegs in his ears. He told Siddharatha of the Lord's suffering and returned later with special medicinal oils at the place of Lord's meditation. At that time, the Lord was in deep meditation. The physician removed the pegs from the Lord's ears, and there was a fountain of blood running from the Lord's ears! All the people who were gathered to see the Lord were very miserable to see his pin and suffering. But the Lord stood their calm and quite in deep meditation.

Thus in each incident of upsarga we see the conquest of the Lord's soul and mind over his physical pans. His meditation and penance purified his soul. It helped him to separate himself from physical and worldly things, which are perishable and mortal, and concentrate on the salvation of his soul, which is immortal.

We all as Jains should worship and think of Lord Mahavir in our prayer. If we say our prayer every morning and night, it will take us away from the routine of our daily hum-drum existence and make us ponder on our inner-self (mind and soul). After thinking and meditating even for a few minutes we will feel more strength and peace with which to face the pains and sorrows of the world.

These above six upsargas were published in a book "Jainism- Past and Present" in 1984 by Dr. Tansukh J. Salgia.

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Article Courtesy : Mr. T. J. Salgia, E-Mail : tsalgia@gw.odh.state.oh.us

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