U N D E R S T A N D A N D T R A N S C E N D🔗

I welcome you all with my love and respects. Mahāvīra, one of the greatest enlightened Masters, happened on the planet earth. According to me He is the only Master who is able to create a technology or the formula to reproduce not only enlightened beings, but also to create the purest tradition.

Understand, we can be really proud of one important feature of the Vedic tradition or the traditions which are born in Hinduism. No terrorist group has got their base on this Vedic tradition, the traditions which are born in Hinduism.

The other day there was a discussion. Somebody was telling me, 'Swamiji, people become violent and terrorist, how can you blame the enlightened master or the great master who created that tradition? We can't blame the master if people start misunderstanding his teachings and become terrorists.'

I said, 'No, that Master has to be blamed because he has created a possibility for misinterpretation.' An enlightened Master is responsible and he should be very clear about what should be done, and he should have very clearly expressed what should not be done. An enlightened person is expected to have intelligence about how things can get degraded, and he should create a system which can prevent degradation.

So if I have to see with this understanding, I can say Mahāvīra is the only Master who created the purest tradition.

His philosophy, his tradition, however much it may get degraded, can never accept a terrorist group. It can never be the base for terrorism. Because he has gone to the extreme, he knows how the human mind can slowly, slowly degrade and how the human mind can slowly, slowly do the 'text torturing'.

For example, in our tradition we follow vegetarianism. All our devotees are expected to be vegetarians. Somebody asked me, 'Swamiji, why can't egg be considered as vegetarian?'

Okay, today you say egg is vegetarian. Then you will say, 'After all, a few days later, if I eat the same egg once it becomes a chicken, what is wrong? If I would have eaten it a few days ago, it would have been ok. Now I am eating just after a few days, then why should it be non-vegetarian?' Then you will go on to say, 'Okay, when chicken is vegetarian why not hen?' This is how misinterpretation and natural degradation happens.

Degradation is easily possible if you allow any loopholes. Understand, if there are some terrorist groups in some religion, the enlightened Master or the person who created that religion is responsible. He did not have enough intelligence to create a system without loopholes.

It may be shocking but let me be very clear, if tomorrow some terrorist groups are created out of the teachings which I am creating, which I am giving, I am responsible. I should have the intelligence to talk, and to teach very clearly without allowing any loopholes. It is my responsibility to express my teachings very clearly.

Enlightenment – To the Point

If the first generation disciples are Truthful, honest, spiritual, without violence, it means the Master lived a pure life, a beautiful life.

Except Mahāvīra there is no other Master who can boast of a beautiful first generation of disciples enlightened first generation, who did not fight with themselves.

The moment the Master dies, the first thing that happens is a problem and fight among the disciples. Only Mahāvīra can boast there was no fight, there was no trouble even after he left the body.

The first generation of disciples was completely enlightened. The reason is he lived that kind of life.

Actually all these days I did not speak on Mahāvīra's sutras, the Jain Sutras, because I thought people can't digest it. It is too much Truth!

To tell you honestly, when I tell people, please stop smoking, they drop me, not smoking! If you give the Truth as it is, it is very difficult for them.

Man actually needs little lies, little hope for his life. But you can't add this little bit of lies and hope with Mahāvīra. He is a pure energy, pure consciousness. How much you try to misinterpret, you can't do; he is very clear.

You can't entertain people with Mahāvīra. He is not an entertaining philosopher. No. He is Truth in its true form. So I thought let me have a right group, only then I should start speaking on Mahāvīra. Only then I should talk on Mahāvīra's sutras. Now we are going to see not only the sutras directly by Mahāvīra, but also some sutras from His disciples - the Akaranga sutras. The beauty with the Akaranga sutras is that they give you the techniques to apply Mahāvīra's teachings. They become like an applied science. So we will see the teachings from Akaranga sutras also.

Such pure, simple Truths expressed by Mahāvīra - for a normal man it is very difficult to digest. My close disciples used to ask again and again, 'Swamiji, why don't you speak on Mahāvīra?' Because I have spoken on Bhagavad-gītā, Ashtavakra Gita, the Upanishads, on Buddha, on the Sermon on the Mount. So they were again and again asking me, 'Swamiji, please speak on Mahāvīra.' I told them, 'I am afraid that you guys will run away!'

Mahāvīra is a pure Truth. He is not compromising. Understand, he is not compromising. I always tell people, if I speak on Mahāvīra, I am afraid that you may run away because the Truth is in its purest form. You can't add any stories or jokes, you can't dilute. It has to be expressed in a clear, authentic way.

One more important thing, you can't edit Mahāvīra's sutras because there is no repetition. You can't edit. You can't say, 'Oh, these sutras are beautiful, and these others are all repetition.' You can't reduce them, you can't take away even a single word.

He is so clear, straight to the point of enlightenment. He is not starting his works with an introduction. No introduction. He is not preparing you mentally.

See, you need introduction if I am going to say something which I have not experienced, so I have to prepare you. If I am going to say the straight Truth, you don't need an introduction, I don't have to give a big introduction. I don't have to prepare you. Here Mahāvīra is not preparing. No introduction. He is telling the honest Truth.

Many times I am surprised even the so-called followers of Mahāvīra, even the people who are born in the Jain community, do not read or do not give much time to the philosophy of Mahāvīra. They spend more time in front of Mahāvīra's statue. See, you can easily escape from a statue. They spend more time with Mahāvīra's idol because he is just sitting silently, and you can do whatever you want. If you don't do also he will not ask you. But with his words, with his teachings, he will start working on you.

I have seen people go to the Jain temples, sit in front of that Mūrti, and from morning till night they will do all the rituals, but they are afraid to read the literature, the words of Mahāvīra! As long as you are playing with Mahāvīra's Mūrti, you can put flowers, you can put sandal, you can put Prasādam, you can put offerings - you will be working on him. But the moment you read his teachings he will be working on you. But we are afraid of that, we are afraid of allowing him to work on us. It is very easy if you work on him, if you just stop with idol worship.

See, I am not saying idol worship is wrong. It is beautiful if it inspires you to follow him. If it inspires you to follow his teachings and words, idol worship is a beautiful technique. But many times I have seen people use idol worship to escape from the teachings. Then it is dangerous. Understand, please don't work on Mahāvīra, allow him to work on you! Let him work on you. Let the teachings penetrate your being.

Again I request you all, if I hurt you in some way, please forgive me, because the teachings of Mahāvīra are straight Truth.

He is basically by blood a kṣatriya. Kshatriya doesn't know courtesy, because he is not begging from anybody. A Brāhmaṇa will always be courteous, because by his birth he is supposed to receive and eat. ```

Understand, when I say these words, they don't have meaning for a modern society. In the modern day the Brāhmaṇa does not mean he eats from others. I am talking about those days when Brāhmaṇa was supposed to receive and eat. So naturally he would be a little humble and courteous. He would think twice before hurting people. But a kṣatriya, especially if he gets enlightened, he will not compromise. He will tell the Truth straightaway. And one more thing, kṣatriya is not afraid of death, he doesn't bother, 'If you kill me, that's okay but I am going to tell the Truth.'

Arihanta means who has conquered all the enemies, who has killed all the enemies. The first enemy is fear, your own fear. The desire to live, the lust for living is the first enemy. You may say, 'Then should we commit suicide?' No, I am not telling you to commit suicide. But too much of desire or too much of fear that you may die, is the first enemy. Mahāvīra has conquered that enemy, the fear. That is the reason he was able to tell the Truth as it is.

One more thing: before entering into any enlightened Master's teachings, or any great Master's teachings, you should analyze to whom it is delivered, for what purpose it is delivered - because you should see the ulterior motive of the teaching. What for are those teachings delivered? You should understand all this to evaluate the purity of the teachings. Understand, the purity of the teachings should be evaluated before you enter into the teachings.