Mahvira

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The last Jina was a man named Vardhamana, better known as Mahavira or "the Great Hero". Born in 550 BCE, Mahavira was the founder of the Jain community. Being the last guru of the Jains, Mahavira held all the beliefs of Jainism- he practiced non-violence, or ahimsa, and vegetarianism. He even gained mastery over love, pleasure, hate, pain, attachment and aversion, and in return, freed his soul from the karmas clouding truth, perception, knowledge and ability. He reached enlightenment in 13 years time. In 420 BCE he committed salekhana, or fasting to death, and died. Although Mahavira's physical body terminated, his teachings lived on and sustained mixed with Gandhi's ethics [1] .

For more information on Mahavira: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/history/mahavira.shtml Annie Ren

References

  1. Beniretto, Rosie, and Clay Elliot, comps. Manual for Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilizations. Vol. II. Houston: St. John's School, 2013. 163. Print.


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