text:
|24th Jain Tirthankara
Statue of Mahavira at Shri Mahavirji, Rajasthan
|Other names
|Vīr, Ativīr, Vardhamāna, Sanmati, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta
|Venerated in
|7 cubits (10.5 feet) (traditional)
|72 years
|Personal information
c. 497 BCE (historical)[2][3]
c. 599 BCE (traditional)[2]
Kundagrama, Vaishali, Vajji (present-day Vaishali district, Bihar, India)
c. 425 BCE (historical)[2][3]
c. 527 BCE (Svetambara)[2]
c. 510 BCE (Digambara)[2]
Pawapuri, Magadha (present-day Bihar, India)
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Mahavira (IAST: Mahāvīra, /məˌhɑːˈvɪərə/;[4]), also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara (ford-maker) of Jainism. In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BC into a royal kshatriya family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of thirty, abandoning all worldly possessions, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening and became an ascetic. For the next twelve and a half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). He preached for thirty years, and is believed by Jains to have died in the 6th century BC, though the year he is believed to have died varies by the Jain sect.[5][2] Scholars such as Karl Potter consider his biographical details as uncertain,[6] with some suggesting he lived in the 5th century BC contemporaneously with the Buddha.[2][3] Mahavira died at the age of 72, and his remains were cremated.[7][8]
After he gained Kevala Jnana, Mahavira taught that the observance of the vows ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment) is necessary to spiritual liberation. He gave the principle of Anekantavada (many-sided reality),[9] Syadvada and Nayavada. The teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Gautama Swami (his chief disciple) and were called Jain Agamas. These texts were transmitted through oral tradition by Jain monks, but are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st century when they were first written down. The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are some of the foundational texts of Jainism.
Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture with the symbol of a lion beneath him.[10] The earliest iconography for Mahavira is from archaeological sites in the north Indian city of Mathura.[11][12] These are variously dated from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD. The day he was born is celebrated as Mahavir Janma-kalyanak (popularly known as Mahavir Jayanti), and the day of his death is observed by Jains as Diwali.[13]
- 1 Titles and names
- 2 Historical Mahavira
- 3 Biography per Jain traditions
- 4 Teachings
- 5 Legacy
- 6 See also
- 7 Notes
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Titles and names[edit]
The early Jain and Buddhist literature that has survived into the modern era uses other names or epithets for Mahavira. These include Nayaputta, Muni, Samana, Niggantha, Bramhan, and Bhagavan.[14] In early Buddhist Suttas, he is also referred to by the names Araha (meaning "worthy"), and Veyavi (derived from the word "Vedas", but contextually it means "wise" because Mahavira did not recognize the Vedas as a scripture).[15] Buddhist texts refer to Mahavira as Nigaṇṭha Jñātaputta.[16] Nigaṇṭha means "without knot, tie, or string" and Jñātaputta (son or scion of Natas), refers to his clan of origin as Jñāta or Naya (Prakrit).[17][18][19] The Jain text Kalpasutras states that he is also known as Sramana because he is "devoid of love and hate".[20]
According to later Jain texts, Mahavira's childhood name was Vardhamāna ("the one who grows"), because of the increased prosperity in the kingdom at the time of his birth.[21] According to the Kalpasutras, he was called Mahavira ("the great hero") by the gods because he stood steadfast in the midst of dangers and fears, hardships and calamities.[20] Mahavira is also called a Tirthankara.[17]
Historical Mahavira[edit]
Though it is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira was an actual person who lived in ancient India, the details of his biography and the year of his birth are uncertain,[6] and continue to be a subject of considerable debate among scholars.[22] Digambara text, Uttarapurāna mention that Mahavira was born at Kundpur kingdom of Videh.[23] and Svetambara text, Kalpasūtra use the name Kundagrama.[14][24] It is said to be located in present-day Bihar, India. This is assumed to be the modern town of Basu Kund, which is about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Patna, the capital of Bihar.[25][3] However, it is unclear if the ancient Kundagrama is the same as the current assumed location, and the birthplace remains a subject of dispute.[6][14][26] Mahavira renounced all his material wealth and left his home when he was twenty-eight by some accounts,[5] or thirty by others,[27] then lived an ascetic life and performed severe austerities for twelve years, and thereafter preached Jainism for a period of thirty years.[5] The location where he preached has been a subject of historic disagreement between the two major sub-traditions of Jainism – the Svetambaras and the Digambaras.[14]
The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes he was born in 599 BC and died in 527 BC, while the Digambara tradition believes 510 BC was the year he died.[5][2] The scholarly controversy arises from efforts to date him and the Buddha, because both are believed to be contemporaries according to Buddhist and Jain texts, and because, unlike for Jain literature, there is extensive ancient Buddhist literature that has survived.[2] Almost all Indologists and historians, state Dundas and others, accordingly date Mahavira's birth to about 497 BC and his death to about 425 BC.[2][3] However, the Vira era tradition that started in 527 BC and places Mahavira in the 6th century BC is a firmly established part of the Jain community tradition.[2]
The 12th-century Jain scholar Hemachandra placed Mahavira in the 5th century BC.[28][29] According to Kailash Jain, Hemachandra made an incorrect analysis that, along with attempts to establish Buddha's nirvana date, has been a source of confusion and controversy about Mahavira's year of nirvana.[30] Kailash Jain states the traditional date of 527 BC is accurate, adding that the Buddha was a junior contemporary of the Mahavira and that the Buddha "might have attained nirvana a few years later".[31] The place of his death, Pavapuri (now in Bihar), is a pilgrimage site for Jains.[5]
Biography per Jain traditions[edit]
According to Jain texts, 24 Tirthankaras have appeared on earth in the current time cycle of Jain cosmology. Mahavira was the last Tirthankara of Avasarpiṇī (present descending phase or half of the time cycle).[note 1][33] A Tirthankara (Maker of the River-Crossing, saviour, spiritual teacher) signifies the founder of a tirtha, which means a fordable passage across the sea of interminable cycles of births and deaths (called saṃsāra).[34][35][36]
Belonging to Kashyapa gotra,[20][25] Mahavira was born into the royal Kshatriya family of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala of the Ikshvaku dynasty.[37][note 2] This is the same solar dynasty in which Hindu epics place Rama and the Ramayana,[38] and in which the Buddhist texts place the Buddha,[39] and the Jains attribute another twenty-one of their twenty-four Tirthankaras over millions of years.[40][41]
According to the Digambara Jains, Mahavira was born in 540 BC.[42] According to the Svetambara Jain texts, he was born in 599 BC. Mahavira's birthday, in the traditional calendar, falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar.[5][43][44] In the Gregorian calendar, this date falls in March or April and is celebrated by Jains as Mahavir Jayanti.[45]
Kundagrama, the site of Mahavira's birth is believed by tradition to be near Vaishali, a great ancient town in the Gangetic plains. The identity of this place in the modern geography of Bihar is unclear, in part because people migrated out of ancient Bihar for economic and political reasons.[14] Dundas states that, according to the "Universal History" in Jain mythology, Mahavira had undergone many rebirths before his birth in the 6th century. These rebirths included being a hell-being, a lion, and a god (deva) in a heavenly realm in Jain cosmology just before his last birth as the 24th fordmaker.[46] According to the texts of Svetambara sect, his embryo was first formed in a Brahman woman, but his embryo was then transferred by the divine commander of Indra's army, Hari-Naigamesin, to the womb of Trishala, the wife of Siddhartha.[47][48][note 3] The embryo transfer legend is not accepted by the adherents of the Digambara tradition.[50][7]
Jain texts state that, after Mahavira was born, the god Indra came from the heavens, anointed him, and performed his abhisheka (consecration) on Mount Meru.[46] These events are illustrated in the artwork of numerous Jain temples and play a part in modern Jain temple rituals.[51] The Kalpa sutras describing Mahavira's birth legends are recited by the Svetambara Jains during annual festivals such as Paryushana, but the same festival is observed by the Digambaras without the recitation.[52]
Early life[edit]
Mahavira grew up as a prince. According to the second chapter of the Śvētāmbara text Acharanga Sutra, both of his parents were followers and lay devotees of Parshvanatha.[53][21] Jain traditions do not agree on whether Mahavira ever married.[7][54] According to the Digambara tradition, Mahavira's parents wanted him to marry Yashoda but Mahavira refused to marry.[55][note 4] According to the Śvētāmbara tradition, he was married to Yashoda at a young age and had one daughter, Priyadarshana,[46][25] also called Anojja.[57]
Jain texts portray Mahavira as a very tall man, with his height stated to be seven cubits (10.5 feet) in Aupapatika Sutra.[58] In Jain mythology, he was the shortest of the 24 Tirthankaras, with earlier teachers believed to have been much taller, with the 22nd Tirthankara Aristanemi, who lived for 1,000 years, stated to have been forty cubits tall (60 feet).[59]
At the age of thirty, Mahavira abandoned the comforts of royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening.[32][60][61] He undertook severe austerities of fasting and bodily mortifications,[62] meditated under the Ashoka tree, and discarded his clothes.[32][63] There is a graphic description of his hardships and humiliation in the Acharanga Sutra.[64][65] According to the Kalpa Sūtra, Mahavira spent the first forty-two monsoons of his life at Astikagrama, Champapuri, Prstichampa, Vaishali, Vanijagrama, Nalanda, Mithila, Bhadrika, Alabhika, Panitabhumi, Shravasti, and Pawapuri.[66] He is said to have lived in Rajagriha during the rainy season of the forty-first year of his ascetic life. This is traditionally dated to have been in 491 BC.[67]
After twelve years of rigorous penance, at the age of forty-three Mahavira achieved the state of Kevala Jnana (omniscience or infinite knowledge) under a Sāla tree, according to traditional accounts.[60][68][69] The details of this event are mentioned in Jain texts such as Uttar-purāņa and Harivamśa-purāņa.[70] The Acharanga Sutra describes Mahavira as all-seeing. The Sutrakritanga elaborates the concept as all-knowing and provides details of other qualities of Mahavira.[14] Jains believe that Mahavira had the most auspicious body (paramaudārika śarīra) and was free from eighteen imperfections when he attained omniscience.[71] The Śvētāmbara believe that Mahavira traveled throughout India to teach his philosophy for thirty years after gaining omniscience.[60] The Digambara, however, claim that after attaining omniscience, he sat fixed in his Samavasarana, giving sermons to his followers.[72]
The Jain texts state that Mahavira's first disciples were eleven Brahmins who are traditionally called the eleven Ganadharas.[42] Gautama was their chief.[72] Others were Agnibhuti, Vayubhuti, Akampita, Arya Vyakta, Sudharman, Manditaputra, Mauryaputra, Acalabhraataa, Metraya, and Prabhasa. Mahavira's disciples are said to be led by Gautama after him, who later is said to have made Sudharman his successor.[60] These eleven Brahmin–Ganadharas, as the early followers, were responsible for remembering and verbally transmitting the teachings of the Mahavira after his death, which came to be known as Gani-Pidaga or Jain Agamas.[73]
According to the Jain tradition, Mahavira had 14,000 muni (male ascetics), 36,000 aryika (nuns), 159,000 sravakas (laymen), and 318,000 sravikas (laywomen) as his followers.[74][75][76] Some of the royal followers included King Srenika (popularly known as Bimbisara) of Magadha, Kunika of Anga, and Chetaka of Videha.[66][77] Mahavira initiated the mendicants with the Mahavratas (Five vows).[42] He delivered fifty-five pravachana and answered thirty-six unasked questions (Uttaraadhyayana-sutra).[60]
Nirvāṇa, Moksha[edit]
Jains believe Mahavira attained omniscience at the age of 42, under a Sala tree on the banks of River Rijupalika near Jrimbhikagrama.[78] He preached, then died at the age of 72. The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes his death occurred in 527 BC, while the Digambara Jain tradition believes this happened in 510 BC.[2] His jiva (soul) is believed in all Jain traditions to be in Siddhashila (abode of the liberated souls).[79]
According to Jain texts, Mahavira's nirvana[note 5] (death) occurred in the town of Pawapuri (Bihar).[81][82][13] His life as a spiritual light and the night of his nirvana is remembered by Jains as Diwali on the same night that Hindus celebrate their festival of lights.[13][79] On the night that Mahavira died, his chief disciple Gautama is said to have attained omniscience.[76]
The accounts of Mahavira's death vary among the Jain texts, some describing a simple death but others describing grandiose celebrations attended by gods and kings. According to the Jinasena's Mahapurana, the heavenly beings arrived to perform his funeral rites. According to the Pravachanasara, only the nails and hair of Tirthankaras are left behind; the rest of the body is dissolved in the air like camphor.[83] In some texts he is described, at age 72, to be giving his final preaching over six days to a large crowd of people. Everyone falls asleep, only to awaken to find that he has disappeared, leaving only his nails and hair, which his followers cremate.[84]
Today, a Jain temple called Jal Mandir stands at the place of Mahavira's nirvana (moksha).[85] Jain artwork in temples and texts depicts the final liberation and cremation of Mahavira, sometimes symbolically shown as a miniature pyre of sandalwood and a piece of burning camphor.[86]
Previous births[edit]
Mahavira's previous births are discussed in Jain texts such as the Mahapurana and Tri-shashti-shalaka-purusha-charitra. While a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in the transmigratory cycle of saṃsāra (world), the births of a Tirthankara are reckoned from the time he determined the causes of karma and developed the Ratnatraya. Jain texts discuss 26 births of Mahavira before his incarnation as a Tirthankara.[66] According to the texts, Mahavira was born as Marichi, the son of Bharata Chakravartin, in one of his previous births.[46]
- Tiloya-paṇṇatti of Yativṛṣabha discusses almost all of the events connected with the life of Mahavira in a form convenient to memorisation.[87]
- Acharya Jinasena's Mahapurāṇa include Ādi purāṇa and Uttara-purāṇa. It was completed by his disciple Acharya Gunabhadra in the 8th century. In the Uttara-purāṇa the life of Mahavira is described in three parvans (74–76) in 1,818 verses.[88]
- Vardhamacharitra is a Sanskrit kāvya (poem) describing the life of Mahavira written by Asaga in 853.[89][90][91]
- Kalpa Sūtra is a collection of biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira.
- Samavayanga Sutra is a collection of texts containing Lord Mahavira's teachings.
- Acharanga Sutra describes the penance of Mahavira.
Colonial-era Indologists, considered Jainism and Mahavira's followers to be a sect of Buddhism because of the superficial similarities in their iconography, meditative and ascetic practices.[16] However, as studies and understanding progressed, the differences between the teachings of the Mahavira and the Buddha were found to be so markedly divergent that the two gained recognition as separate religions.[92] Mahavira, states Moriz Winternitz, taught a "very elaborate belief in the soul" unlike the Buddhists who denied it[clarification needed], the ascetic practices in his teachings have been of a higher order of magnitude than those found in either Buddhism or Hinduism, and his emphasis on Ahimsa (non-violence) against all life forms is far greater than in all other Indian religions.[92]
Jain Agamas[edit]
Mahavira's teachings were compiled by his Ganadhara (chief disciple), Gautama Swami.[93] The sacred canonical scriptures comprised twelve parts.[94] The Mahavira's teachings were gradually lost after around 300 BC, according to the Jain tradition, when a severe famine in the Magadha region of ancient India caused a scattering of the Jain monks. Thereafter, attempts were made by Jain monks to gather again, co-recite the canon, and re-establish it in its entirety.[95] These efforts identified differences between recitations of the Mahavira's teachings, and an attempt was made in the 5th century AD to reconcile the differences.[95] However, the reconciliation efforts failed, with Svetambara and Digambara Jain traditions continuing with their own incomplete, somewhat different versions of the Mahavira's teachings. In the early centuries of the common era, Jain texts containing Mahavira's teachings were written down in palm leaf manuscripts.[73] According to the Digambaras, Āchārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic who had partial knowledge of the original canon. Later, some learned Āchāryas restored, compiled, and wrote down the teachings of Mahavira that were the subject matter of the Agamas.[96] Āchārya Dharasena, in the 1st century CE, guided Āchārya Pushpadant and Āchārya Bhutabali as they wrote down these teachings. The two Āchāryas wrote on palm leaves, Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama – among the oldest known Digambara Jain texts.
Five vows[edit]
Jain Agamas prescribe five major vratas (vows) that both ascetics and householders have to follow.[97] These ethical principles were preached by Mahavira:[60][98]
- Ahimsa (Non-violence or Non-injury). Mahavira taught that every living being has sanctity and dignity of its own and it should be respected just as one expects one's own sanctity and dignity to be respected. Ahimsa is formalised into Jain doctrine as the first and foremost vow. The concept applies to action, speech, and thought.[99]
- Satya (Truthfulness) – Neither lie, nor speak what is not true, do not encourage others or approve anyone who speaks the untruth.[99]
- Asteya (Non-stealing) – Theft is explained as "taking anything that has not been given".[100]
- Brahmacharya (Chastity) – Abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures for Jain monks, faithfulness to one's partner for Jain householders.[99][101]
- Aparigraha (Non-attachment) – For laypersons, the attitude of non-attachment to property or worldly possessions; for mendicants, not owning anything.[102]
The goal of these principles is to achieve spiritual peace, better rebirth, or, ultimately, liberation.[103][104][105] According to Chakravarthi, these teachings help elevate a person's quality of life.[106] In contrast, states Dundas, the emphasis of Mahavira on non-violence and restraint has been interpreted by some Jain scholars to "not be driven by merit from giving or compassion to other creatures, nor a duty to rescue all creatures", but resulting from "continual self discipline", a cleansing of the soul that leads to one's own spiritual development and ultimately brings about spiritual release.[107]
Of these precepts, Mahavira is most remembered in the Indian traditions for his teachings of ahimsa (non-injury) as the supreme ethical and moral virtue.[60][108] Mahavira taught that the doctrine of non-injury must cover all living beings,[109] and causing injury to any being in any form creates bad karma which affects one's rebirth and future well-being and suffering.[110] According to Mahatma Gandhi, Mahāvīra was the greatest authority on Ahimsa.[111][112][113]
Mahavira taught that the soul exists, a premise that Jainism shares with Hinduism but not Buddhism. According to Buddhism, there is no soul or self, and its teachings are based on the concept of anatta.[114][115][116] In contrast, Mahavira taught that the soul is permanent and eternal with respect to dravya (substance).[117] Mahavira additionally taught that the soul is also impermanent with respect to paryaya (modes that originate and vanish).[117]
To Mahavira, the metaphysical nature of the universe consists of dravya, jiva, and ajiva.[77] The jiva gets attached and bound to samsara (worldly realms of suffering and existence) because of karma (activity).[77] Karma, in Jainism, includes both actions and intent, and it colors (lesya) the soul; its particles stick to the soul and affect how, where, and what the soul is instantaneously reborn into after a being dies.[118]
There is no creator God, according to Mahavira's teachings, and existence has neither beginning nor end. However, there are gods and demons in Jain beliefs, whose jivas are a part of the same cycles of births and deaths depending on the accumulated karmic particles.[119] The goal of spiritual practice is to liberate the jiva from all karmic accumulation, and thus enter the realm of the siddhas who are never reborn again.[120] Enlightenment, to Mahavira, is the consequence of a process of self-cultivation and self-restraint.[107]
Mahavira taught the doctrine of "many-sided reality". This doctrine is now known as Anekantavada or Anekantatva.[121][122] This term does not appear in the earliest layer of Jain literature or the Jain Agamas, but the doctrine is illustrated in the answers of Mahavira to questions his followers asked.[121] According to Mahavira, truth and reality are complex and always have multiple aspects. Reality can be experienced, but it is not possible to express it completely with language. Human attempts to communicate are Naya, or a "partial expression of the truth".[121] Language is not Truth, but a means and attempt to express Truth. From Truth, according to Mahavira, language returns and not the other way around.[121][123] One can experience the truth of a taste, but cannot fully express that taste through language. Any attempt to express the experience is syāt, or valid "in some respect" but still remaining a "perhaps, just one perspective, incomplete".[123] In the same way, spiritual truths are complex, with multiple aspects, and language cannot express their plurality, yet through effort and appropriate karma they can be experienced.[121]
The Anekantavada premises of Mahavira are also summarized in Buddhist texts such as the Samaññaphala Sutta, wherein he is called Nigantha Nataputta.[note 6] The Anekantavada doctrine is another key difference between the teachings of the Mahavira and those of the Buddha. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, rejecting, in answer to questions, extremes of the answer "it is" or "it is not". The Mahavira, in contrast, accepted both "it is" and "it is not", with the qualification of "perhaps" and with reconciliation.[125]
The Jain Agamas suggest that Mahavira's approach to answering all metaphysical philosophical questions was a "qualified yes" (syāt). A version of this doctrine is also found in the Ajivika tradition of ancient Indian philosophies.[126][127]
In contemporary times, according to Dundas, the Anekantavada doctrine has been interpreted by many Jains as intending to "promote a universal religious tolerance", and a teaching of "plurality" and "benign attitude to other [ethical, religious] positions", but this is problematic and a misreading of Jain historical texts and Mahavira's teachings.[128] The "many pointedness, multiple perspective" teachings of the Mahavira is a doctrine about the nature of reality and human existence, and it was not a doctrine about tolerating religious positions such as on sacrificing or killing animals for food, violence against disbelievers or any other living being as "perhaps right".[128] The five vows for Jain monks and nuns, for example, are strict requirements, and there is no "perhaps".[129] Beyond the renunciant Jain communities, while Mahavira's Jainism co-existed with Buddhism and Hinduism through history, according to Dundas, each were also "highly critical of the knowledge systems and ideologies of their rivals".[130]
One of the historically contentious views within Jainism is in part attributed to Mahavira and his ascetic life where he never wore any clothes as a mark of disowning everything (interpreted as a consequence of the fifth vow of Aparigraha). The disputes triggered by this teaching of Mahavira are those related to gender and whether a female mendicant (sadhvi) can achieve spiritual liberation just like a male mendicant (sadhu) through Jain ascetic practices.[131][132]
The main sub-traditions of Jainism have historically disagreed, with Digambaras (sky-clad, naked mendicant order) stating that a woman is by her nature and her body unable to practice asceticism, such as by living naked, and therefore she cannot achieve spiritual liberation because of her gender. She can at best, state the Digambara texts, live an ethical life so that she is reborn as a man in a future life.[note 7] In this view, she is also viewed a threat to a monk's chastity.[134] In contrast, Svetambaras (white-clad, wear clothes) have interpreted Mahavira's teaching as encouraging both males and females to pursue a mendicant ascetic life with the possibility of moksha (kaivalya, spiritual liberation) regardless of gender.[134][132][135]
Rebirth and realms of existence[edit]
Rebirth and realms of existence are foundational teachings of Mahavira. According to the Acaranga Sutra, Mahavira comprehended life to exist in myriad forms, such as animals, plants, insects, water bodies, fire bodies, wind bodies, elemental forms, and others.[110][136] He taught that a monk should avoid touching or disturbing any one of them including plants, never swim in water, nor light a fire or extinguish it, nor thrash their arms in the air as such actions can torment or hurt other beings that live in those states of matter.[110]
Mahavira preached that the nature of existence is cyclic, where the jiva (soul) of beings is reborn after death in one of the triloka – heavenly, hellish, or earthly realms of existence and suffering.[137] According to Mahavira, human beings are reborn, depending on one's karma (actions) as a human, animal, element, microbe, and other forms, on earth or in a heavenly or hellish state of existence.[110][138][139] Nothing is permanent, everyone, including gods, demons and beings on the earthly realms, die and are reborn again based on their karma merits and demerits. It is the Jina who have reached Kevala Jnana who are not reborn again,[110] and attain the siddhaloka or the "Realm of the Perfected Ones".[138]
Ascetic lineage[edit]
Mahavira has been mistakenly called the founder of Jainism.[140] Jains believe that there were 23 teachers before the Mahavira, and they believe that Jainism was founded in far more ancient times than that of the Mahavira, whom they revere as the 24th Tirthankara.[62] The first 22 Tirthankaras are placed in mythical times. For example, the 22nd Tirthankara Neminath is believed in the Jain tradition to have been born 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankara named Parshvanatha.[141] Mahavira is sometimes placed within Parshvanatha lineage, but this is contradicted by all Jain texts, which state that Mahavira renounced the world alone.[11]
Jain texts suggest that Mahavira's parents were lay devotees and followers of Parshvanatha. However, the lack of details and mythical nature of the legends about Parshvanatha,[142][143] combined with medieval-era Svetambara texts portraying Parsvites as "pseudo-ascetics" with "dubious practices of magic and astrology" have led scholars to debate the evidence for Parshvanatha's historicity.[11] Regardless of scholarly speculations, according to Dundas Jains believe that Parshvanatha lineage influenced Mahavira. Parshvanatha, as the one who "removes obstacles and has the capacity to save", has been a highly popular icon and his image the greatest focus of Jain devotional activity in temples.[11] Of the 24 Tirthankaras, the Jain iconography has celebrated Mahavira and Parshvanatha the most since the earliest times, with sculptures discovered at the Mathura archaeological site that have been dated to the 1st century BCE by modern dating methods.[11][12][144]
According to Moriz Winternitz, Mahavira may be considered as a reformer of a pre-existing sect of Jains called Niganthas (fetter-less) that is mentioned in early Buddhist texts.[16]
The two major annual festivals in Jainism associated with Mahavira are Mahavir-Jayanti and Diwali. During Mahavir Jayanti , Jains celebrate the birth of Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankara (Teaching God) of Avasarpiṇī.[45] In Mahavir Jayanti, the five auspicious events (Kalyaans) of Mahavira's life are re-enacted.[145] Diwali marks the anniversary of Nirvana or the liberation of Mahavira's soul, the last Jain Tirthankara of the present cosmic age. It is celebrated at the same time as the Hindu festival of Diwali. Diwali marks the New Year for Jains and commemorates the passing of their 24th Tirthankara Mahavira and his achievement of moksha.[146]
The Svayambhustotra by Acharya Samantabhadra is the adoration of twenty-four Tirthankaras. Its eight shlokas (aphorisms) express adoration of the qualities of Mahavira.[147] One such shloka is:
O Lord Jina! Your doctrine that expounds essential attributes required of a potential aspirant to cross over the ocean of worldly existence (Saṃsāra) reigns supreme even in this strife-ridden spoke of time (Pancham Kaal). Accomplished sages who have invalidated the so-called deities that are famous in the world, and have made ineffective the whip of all blemishes, adore your doctrine.[148]
The Yuktyanusasana by Acharya Samantabhadra is a poetic work consisting of 64 verses in praise of Mahavira.[149]
Mahavira's teachings influenced many personalities. Rabindranath Tagore wrote:
Mahavira proclaimed in India that religion is a reality and not a mere social convention. It is really true that salvation can not be had by merely observing external ceremonies. Religion cannot make any difference between man and man.
A major event associated with the 2,500th anniversary of the Nirvana of Mahavira took place in 1974. According to Padmanabh Jaini:[150]
Probably few people in the West are aware that during this Anniversary year for the first time in their long history, the mendicants of the Śvētāmbara, Digambara and Sthānakavāsī sects assembled on the same platform, agreed upon a common flag (Jaina dhvaja) and emblem (pratīka); and resolved to bring about the unity of the community. For the duration of the year four dharma cakras, a wheel mounted on a chariot as an ancient symbol of the samavasaraṇa (Holy Assembly) of Tīrthaṅkara Mahavira traversed to all the major cities of India, winning legal sanctions from various state governments against the slaughter of animals for sacrifice or other religious purposes, a campaign which has been a major preoccupation of the Jainas throughout their history.
Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture with the symbol of a lion beneath him.[10] Every Tīrthankara has a distinguishing emblem that allows worshippers to distinguish similar-looking idols of the Tirthankaras.[151] The lion emblem of Mahavira is usually carved below the legs of the Tirthankara. Like all Tirthankaras, Mahavira is depicted with Shrivatsa[note 8] and downcast eyes.[154]
The earliest iconography for Mahavira is from archaeological sites in the north Indian city of Mathura. These are variously dated from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD.[155][156] The use of the srivatsa mark on Mahavira's chest, along with his dhyana-mudra posture, appears in Kushana Empire-era artwork. The differences in the Mahavira artwork between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions appear in the late 5th century AD and thereafter.[155] According to John Cort, the earliest archaeological evidence of Jina iconography with inscriptions precedes its datable texts by more than 250 years.[157]
Many images of Mahavira have been dated to be from the 12th-century and earlier.[158] An ancient sculpture of Mahavira was found in a cave at Sundarajapuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu. K. Ajithadoss, a Jain scholar based in Chennai, dated the sculpture to the 9th century AD.[159]
Rock cut sculpture depicting Mahavira at Samanar Hills, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Four-sided sculpture depicting Mahavira (found during excavation at Kankali Tila, Mathura)
Tirthankara Rishabhanatha (left) and Mahavira (right), 11th century. British Museum.
Temple relief of Mahavira, 14th century. Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Relief depicting Mahavira (Thirakoil, Tamil Nadu)
16-foot 2-inch-high single stone statue of Mahavira at Ahinsa Sthal, Mehrauli, New Delhi[160]
Mahavira Statue in Cave 32 of Ellora Caves
According to John Cort, the Mahavira temple at Osian, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is the oldest Jain temple surviving in western India. It was constructed in the late 8th century AD.[161] Other temples of Mahavira include:
- Jal Mandir, Pawapuri
- Shri Mahavirji, Karauli, Rajasthan
- Muchhal Mahavir Temple, Rajasthan
- Sankighatta, Karnataka
- Lakkundi Jain Temple in Lakkundi
- Rata Mahaveerji, Bijapur, Rajasthan
- Bhandavapur Jain Tirth
See also[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mahavira.
- ^ Heinrich Zimmer: "The cycle of time continually revolves, according to the Jainas. The present "descending" (avasarpini) period was preceded and will be followed by an "ascending" (utsarpini). Sarpini suggests the creeping movement of a "serpent" ('sarpin'); ava- means "down" and ut- means up."[32]
- ^ Trishala was the sister of King Chetaka of Vaishali in ancient India.[25]
- ^ This mythology has similarities with those found in the mythical texts of the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.[49]
- ^ On this Champat Rai Jain wrote: ""Of the two versions of Mahavira's life — the Swetambara and the Digambara— it is obvious that only one can be true: either Mahavira married, or he did not marry. If Mahavira married, why should the Digambaras deny it? There is absolutely no reason for such a denial. The Digambaras acknowledge that nineteen out of the twenty-four Tirthamkaras married and had children. If Mahavira also married it would make no difference. There is thus no reason whatsoever for the Digambaras to deny a simple incident like this. But there may be a reason for the Swetambaras making the assertion; the desire to ante-date their own origin. As a matter of fact their own books contain clear refutation of the statement that Mahavira had married. In the Samavayanga Sutra (Hyderabad edition) it is definitely stated that nineteen Tirthankaras lived as householders, that is, all the twenty-four excepting Shri Mahavira, Parashva, Nemi, Mallinath and Vaspujya."[56]
- ^ Not to be confused with Kevalajnana (omniscience), which he achieved at age 42.[80]
- ^ Samaññaphala Sutta, D i.47: "Nigantha Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint. Just as if a person, when asked about a mango, were to answer with a breadfruit; or, when asked about a breadfruit, were to answer with a mango: In the same way, when asked about a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, Nigantha Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint. The thought occurred to me: 'How can anyone like me think of disparaging a brahman or contemplative living in his realm?' Yet I [Buddha] neither delighted in Nigantha Nataputta's words nor did I protest against them. Neither delighting nor protesting, I was dissatisfied. Without expressing dissatisfaction, without accepting his teaching, without adopting it, I got up from my seat and left."[124]
- ^ According to Melton and Baumann, the Digambaras state that "women's physical and emotional character makes it impossible for them to genuinely engage in the intense [ascetic] path necessary for spiritual purification. (...) Only by being reborn as a man can a woman engage in the ascetic path. Later Digambara secondary arguments appealed to human physiology in order to exclude women from the path: by their very biological basis, women constantly generate and destroy (and therefore harm) life forms within their sexual organs. Svetambara oppose this view by appealing to scriptures."[133]
- ^ A special symbol that marks the chest of a Tirthankara. The yoga pose is very common in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Each tradition has had a distinctive auspicious chest mark that allows devotees to identify a meditating statue to symbolic icon for their theology. There are several srivasta found in ancient and medieval Jain art works, and these are not found on Buddhist or Hindu art works.[152][153]
- ^ Tandon 2002, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dundas 2002, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d e Taliaferro & Marty 2010, p. 126.
- ^ "Mahavira" Archived 2017-05-13 at the Wayback Machine.. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
- ^ a b c d e f Doniger 1999, p. 549.
- ^ a b c Potter 2007, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b c Dundas 2002, p. 22.
- ^ Sharma & Sharma 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Sharma & Khanna 2013, p. 18.
- ^ a b Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 192.
- ^ a b c d e Dundas 2002, pp. 30–33.
- ^ a b Umakant P. Shah 1987, pp. 9–11.
- ^ a b c Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 897.
- ^ a b c d e f Dundas 2002, p. 25.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 25–26.
- ^ a b c Winternitz 1993, p. 408.
- ^ a b Zimmer 1953, p. 223.
- ^ von Dehsen 2013, p. 29.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 31.
- ^ a b c Heehs 2002, p. 93.
- ^ a b Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 32.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Pannalal Jain 2015, p. 460.
- ^ Doniger 1999, p. 682.
- ^ a b c d von Glasenapp 1925, p. 29.
- ^ Chaudhary, Pranava K (14 October 2003), "Row over Mahavira's birthplace", The Times of India, Patna, archived from the original on 3 November 2017
- ^ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 3.
- ^ Rapson 1955, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Cort 2010, pp. 69–70, 587–588.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, pp. 74–85.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, pp. 84–88.
- ^ a b c Zimmer 1953, p. 224.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 54.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 181.
- ^ Upinder Singh 2016, pp. 312–313.
- ^ Britannica Tirthankar Definition, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ George M. Williams 2008, pp. 52, 71.
- ^ Evola 1996, p. 15.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, pp. 220–226.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 15–17.
- ^ a b c Wiley 2009, p. 6.
- ^ Dowling & Scarlett 2006, p. 225.
- ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 313.
- ^ a b Gupta & Gupta 2006, p. 1001.
- ^ a b c d Dundas 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 21, 26.
- ^ Mills, Claus & Diamond 2003, p. 320, note: Indra is referred to as Sakra in some Indian texts..
- ^ Olivelle 2006, pp. 397 footnote 4.
- ^ Mills, Claus & Diamond 2003, p. 320.
- ^ Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 5–9.
- ^ Dalal 2010, p. 284.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 30.
- ^ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 99, Quote: "According to the Digambara sect, Mahavira did not marry, while the Svetambaras hold a contrary belief.".
- ^ Shanti Lal Jain 1998, p. 51.
- ^ Champat Rai Jain 1939, p. 97.
- ^ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 188.
- ^ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 95.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e f g George 2008, p. 319.
- ^ Jacobi 1964, p. 269.
- ^ a b Wiley 2009, pp. 5–7.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, p. 30.
- ^ Sen 1999, p. 74.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 27.
- ^ a b c von Glasenapp 1925, p. 327.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 79.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 30.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, p. 30, 327.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 31.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2016b, p. 5.
- ^ a b Upinder Singh 2016, p. 314.
- ^ a b Wiley 2009, pp. 6–8, 26.
- ^ George 2008, p. 326.
- ^ Heehs 2002, p. 90.
- ^ a b von Glasenapp 1925, p. 39.
- ^ a b c Caillat & Balbir 2008, p. 88.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 30–31.
- ^ a b Doniger 1999, p. 549-550.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 29–31, 205–206, Quote: "At the end of almost thirty years of preaching, he died in the chancellory of King Hastipala of Pavapuri and attained Nirvana.".
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 222.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 22-24.
- ^ Pramansagar 2008, p. 38–39.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, p. 328.
- ^ "Destinations : Pawapuri". Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015.
- ^ Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 14, 29–30.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 45.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 46.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 59.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 19.
- ^ Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 47.
- ^ a b Winternitz 1993, pp. 408–409.
- ^ Cort 2010, p. 225.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. xi.
- ^ a b Wiley 2009, pp. 6–8.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. xii.
- ^ Sangave 2006, p. 67.
- ^ Shah, Umakant Premanand, Mahavira Jaina teacher, Encyclopædia Britannica, archived from the original on 5 September 2015
- ^ a b c Shah, Pravin K (2011), Five Great Vows (Maha-vratas) of Jainism, Harvard University Literature Center, archived from the original on 31 December 2014
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. 68.
- ^ Long 2009, p. 101–102.
- ^ Long 2009, p. 109.
- ^ Cort 2001, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Appleton 2014, pp. 20–45.
- ^ Adams 2011, p. 22.
- ^ Chakravarthi 2003, p. 3–22.
- ^ a b Dundas 2002, pp. 88–89, 257–258.
- ^ Jain & Jain 2002, p. 13.
- ^ Titze 1998, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e Taylor 2008, pp. 892–894.
- ^ Pandey 1998, p. 50.
- ^ a b Nanda 1997, p. 44.
- ^ a b Great Men's view on Jainism, archived from the original on 16 May 2018,
Jainism Literature Center
- ^ "Anatta", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013, archived from the original on 10 December 2015,
Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").
- ^ Collins 1994, p. 64.
- ^ Nagel 2000, p. 33.
- ^ a b Charitrapragya 2004, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 99–103.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 90–99.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 91–92, 104–105.
- ^ a b c d e Charitrapragya 2004, pp. 75–79.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 229–231.
- ^ a b Jain philosophy Archived 21 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine., IEP, Mark Owen Webb, Texas Tech University
- ^ Samaññaphala Sutta Archived 9 February 2014 at WebCite, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1997)
- ^ Matilal 1998, pp. 128–135.
- ^ Matilal 1990, pp. 301–305.
- ^ Balcerowicz 2015, pp. 205–218.
- ^ a b Dundas 2002, pp. 232–234.
- ^ Long 2009, pp. 98–106.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 233.
- ^ Long 2009, pp. 36–37.
- ^ a b Harvey 2014, pp. 182–183.
- ^ Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 1396.
- ^ a b Arvind Sharma 1994, pp. 135–138.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 55–59.
- ^ Chapelle 2011, pp. 263–270.
- ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 41–42, 90–93.
- ^ a b Long 2009, pp. 179–181.
- ^ Gorski 2008, pp. 125–128.
- ^ Wiley 2009, p. 5.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 226.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 220.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Cort 2010, pp. 25–32, 120–122, 166–171, 189–192.
- ^ George 2008, p. 394.
- ^ Bhalla 2005, p. 13.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 164–169.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2015, p. 165.
- ^ Gokulchandra Jain 2015, p. 84.
- ^ Jaini 2000, p. 31.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 225.
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 426–428.
- ^ Jainism: Jinas and Other Deities Archived 26 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine., Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- ^ Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 1553.
- ^ a b Umakant P. Shah 1995, pp. 15–17.
- ^ Cort 2010, pp. 273–275.
- ^ Cort 2010, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 193.
- ^ Saju, M T (3 October 2015), "Ancient Mahavira sculpture found in cave near Theni", The Times of India, Chennai, archived from the original on 17 May 2017
- ^ Titze 1998, p. 266.
- ^ Cort 1998, p. 112.
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Low carb paleo giving me panic attacks and palpitations?
Created December 03, 2013 at 7:05 PM
I went paleo last year when I was 236 lbs at 5'9'' as a female, size 14 pants and xxl shirts. I lost 63 lbs and went down to 173, a loose size 8 pant and medium shirts with about 25 lbs left to go as a goal. I thought why not do a fat fast and in a week, I lost 14 lbs. I was feeling great until one night I had a massive panic attack for the very first time in my life at 25. I couldn't breath and I had to be rushed to the hospital. They injected me with lorazapem and told me that my diet led to this episode. I did test a little bit low on potassium but otherwise I was fine. When I was released, I didn't want to worry about food so I ate paleo, but a higher carb paleo and I rapidly began to gain weight. I don't know if its real weight however because I still fit in medium and 8, I just look a bit more bloated at 185ish so maybe its just water weight? Anyway I'm fine most of the time until I begin to go lower carb to lose again. This is the only way that my appetite is suppressed and I don't go overboard and the only way I really begin to see results. I also take supplements now to prevent becoming deficient in anything but each time I attempt to go back to low carb I begin having horrible panic attacks (can't breath, feel nauseous, like i will faint, palpitations, irrational obsessive fear). Why is this happening? I'm taking supplements, getting enough fat in my diet, enough sleep, drinking broth, keeping positive, i didn't eat junk so I'm not detoxing from grains or refined sugar. Am I just not meant to be low carb anymore? Should I just eat moderate carb and fat paleo with lower calories and wait to get to my ideal weight in a longer time? I really need help. When I talk to my doctor he tries to discourage paleo completely and recommends a low fat high carb and high fiber diet that made me fat to begin with during my vegan days!!!
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1 Answers
on December 03, 2013
at 09:03 PM
There are several things you could try to get adapted to burning fat instead of carbs - your mitochondria have to remember how to do that, and your cells need to see the new source of energy.
Try consuming coconut oil or MCT oil (you can put it in coffee for example.) It will provide a ready source of ketones. Start very slowly with this - say a teaspoon and work your way to a tablespoon a day; try to drop the carbs when you do consume MCT/coconut gradually.
Alpha Lipoic Acid can help with the adaptation.
L-Glutamine is an amino acid that can cross the blood-brain barrier and can be used as a source of energy and it quiets down cravings for carbs.
Make sure you're consuming enough meat as well. Calculate your lean body mass in pounds, multiply that by 0.8-1, then if it's chicken, multiply by 3, if it's something like beef, multiply by 4 to get how many grams of meat you need to eat. Or eat 3 palm sized portions a day.
It does sound like your body is used to a higher glucose level, and when it drops too far below that, it thinks you'll crash, so it signals cortisol, which sadly causes your panic attack, but it also does signal gluconeogenesis, which if you don't have enough spare protein from food, will cause muscle catabolism.
You should avoid doing very low carb and fasting at the same time, that will lead to this very issue.
Edit: just got this via email, might help:

subset: commoncrawl


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- You pay me to work -- I like to earn my pay.
- -- Luke Cage
Appearing in "Knights and White Satin!"Edit
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Raymond Huxley Forsythe Jr.
Other Characters:
- Murph
- Three other unidentifed hoodlums/hitmen
- Laura Forsythe
- Catherine Forsythe
- Raymond Huxley Forsythe Sr.
- United States of America
- New York State
- New York City
- An unidentified suburb of New York City
- New York State
Synopsis for "Knights and White Satin!"Edit
After busting up some hitmen who have come to try and assassinate him, Luke Cage is visited by Laura and Catherine Forsythe, who have come to seek his help because they believe that somebody is trying to kill their Polio stricken grandfather, the wealthy Raymond Huxley Forsythe Sr.
Luke agrees to take on the case, and travels to their mansion in the country. Right from the start, the find peril in the way of traps and robots in suits of armor which attack both Luke and terrorize the Forsythes. When Raymond Forsythe requires immediate medical attention after the attack, he's sent away in ambulance.
Luke eventually learns that there is another Forsythe, Raymond Jr., who only stands to earn Raymond Sr.'s fortune if Raymond Sr. dies before Raymond Jr.'s 25th Birthday. Luke then finds Forsythe Jr. in a hidden room within the mansion. The two have a brief battle where Luke knocks him out by throwing a table at him. After all is settled, Luke returns to New York a little richer, and with an additional payment: kisses from both the Forsythe women, right in front of Claire, which lands Luke in hot water.
- This issue features a letters page, Comments to Cage. Letters are published from Jerry Pearson, Dave McDonnell, S. Brenner, and Sheldon Wiebe.
- As seen on page one, this issue is Story#12252.
- Claire Temple is mistakenly referred to as "Clair" this issue.
- No trivia.
See AlsoEdit
Recommended ReadingEdit
- None.
Links and ReferencesEdit
- None.
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Aeti Power Systems and Controls Limited is recruiting to fill the vacant positions below:
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High Pressure Welder P91 Job Vacancy at Aeti Power Systems and Controls Limited
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- Operate welding machine that feeds wire to bond materials.
- Use molten metal to join two pieces of metal.
- Connect copper plumbing pipes and thinner metals.
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- Load parts correctly and monitor machine constantly.
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- Dismantle large objects such as ships and aircraft.
- Knows the properties of various rods and fluxes used in welding metals
- Measure routings of pipe and fabricate pipe to fit existing in-line piping system; utilize instrumentation cut sheets to do take outs for fabrication of spool pieces
- Plan and layout sequence of installation to avoid obstructions
- Cut pipe using port-a-band saw, reciprocating saw, pipe cutters, power saw, cutting torch, and pipe cutting machine
- Welds include butts, sockets, boss roots, weldolets and fillets
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***NOTE***: Click NEXT to go to the next vacant positions.


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It's his own personal business, why should he have to tell his fans every little detail of his life? I understand that he's a popular rap figure in today's music industry but that doesn't mean he needs to share that kind of news. Let the man live his life in some secrecy.
A private life is a private life. If J. Cole decided not to tell his fans he was married until he did for a specific reason, that is between he and his wife. To assume that just because you idolize some famous person you've never met should need to give you daily updates on their life is asinine.
Granted, once in the spotlight one must except that fans will take an acute if not unreasonable interest in one's personal life. If that is over the top for someone, don't go into entertainment. On the other hand, no one is OBLIGED to inform the public of their personal lives. The focus should be on the work, not on what happens in private.
Why do we feel that we need to know all about every one's private issues? Once you hit celebrity status, your privacy is much tougher to hide and more importantly it is much more impressive when you do! J.Cole owed NOTHING to his fans when it comes to anything outside his talent, as we are accustomed to thinking we need to know everything about everyone. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all forms of social media are often stalked by fans and feel then become a part of someone's life just by taking in the images that are provided by the individuals and the paparazzi themselves. It is frankly, none of our business and to share news of that magnitude should be allowed only by the parties involved! Who cares...married or not, he's talented!


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Discover best selling kindle books by Rachel Macy Stafford from local library. Read book reviews and check book availability from public library with one click.
For more book recommendations, please check out New York Times® Best Sellers, Children's Book Recommendations or the complete list of Featured Book Lists and Award Winners
Only Love Today is the inspirational read from best-selling author of Hands Free Mama, Rachel Macy Stafford. Millions of Stafford's fans from her blog and her books find hope, challenge, and inspiration through her poetic and powerful short pieces on her blog. Only Love Today brings these pieces and many new, original entries together in a beautiful book based around the four seasons. From finding daily surrender in the autumn and daily hope in the winter, to daily bloom and daily spark in the spring and summer, you will always find fresh beautiful words for your day.
With a flexible, non-dated structure, Only Love Today is perfect to pick up at any time of the year and find hope and encouragement to address your current challenge or need – family, parenting, relationships, finding peace in a stressed out world. Stafford offers you strength and vision for a new and more connected way to live. This is a timeless book of inspiration to remember and live for what really matters.
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--Arianna Huffington, Chair, President, and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, nationally syndicated columnist, and author of thirteen bookshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/
DISCOVER THE POWER, JOY, AND LOVE of Living "Hands Free"
If technology is the new addiction, then multi-tasking is the new marching order. We check our email while cooking dinner, send a text while bathing the kids, and spend more time looking into electronic screens than into the eyes of our loved ones. With our never-ending to-do lists and jam-packed schedules, it's no wonder we're distracted.
But this isn't the way it has to be.
In July 2010, special education teacher and mother Rachel Macy Stafford decided enough was enough. Tired of losing track of what matters most in life, Rachel began practicing simple strategies that enabled her to momentarily let go of largely meaningless distractions and engage in meaningful soul-to-soul connections. She started a blog to chronicle her endeavors and soon saw how both external and internal distractions had been sabotaging her happiness and preventing her from bonding with the people she loves most.
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New York Times bestselling author and widely known blogger, Rachel Macy Stafford, reveals nine habits that help you focus on investing in the most significant parts of your life. As your hands, heart, and eyes become open, you will experience a new sense of urgency—an urgency to live, love, dream, connect, create, forgive, and flourish despite the distractions of our culture. By following each daily Hands Free Declaration, you will be inspired to adopt mindful daily practices and new thought-processes that will help you:
• Make meaningful, lasting human connections despite the busyness of everyday life.
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• Pursue the passions of your heart without sacrificing your job or your daily responsibilities.
• Evaluate your daily choices to insure you are investing in a life that matters to you.
With a Hands Free Life perspective, you will have the power to look back and see you didn't just manage life, you actually lived it—and lived it well.


text:
the redundant 'it' of 'it is raining'
He talk so brilliantly about many things but I've not come across a more perfect description of the ego.
Now, an ego is not the same thing as a particular living organism. The organism is something real, though it is not a separate thing but a feature of the universe. On the other hand, what we call the ego is something abstract, it has the same order and kind of reality as an hour or an inch or pound or a line of longitude. It exists for purposes of discussion, for convenience.
…this image is not ourselves anymore than the idea of a tree is a tree, anymore than you can get wet in the word 'water'.
So far so good. But what he says next is the key and core of practice. And that's the idea of the unnecessary tension of ego. He compares the ego 'I' with the bodily 'eye'. When the eye is working OK we don't notice it, it doesn't make us aware of the optical nerve and the lens or the retinal image being upside down. But the ego gets in the way and makes it's presence known:
If my ego, my consciousness, is working, I ought not be aware of it; yet I am, as some sort of nuisance, the thing that sits in the middle of everything.
I think I have discovered that [the ego] is a chronic and habitual sense of muscular strain, which we were taught to do in the process of perfoming normally spontaneous things to order. When you are taking off in a jet plane, and the plane has gone rather further down the runway than you think it should have without getting up in the air, you may start pulling at your seatbelt to get off the ground. Of course, this is perfectly useless. A similar thing happens when somone tells us to look carefully, to listen or pay attention. We start st raining the muscles around our eyes, ears, jaws and hands. We try to use our muscles to make our nerves work which is, of course, futile and infact hinders the functioning of the nerves.
This chronic tension , which in Sanskrit is called sankoca meaning contraction, is the root of what we call the feeling of ego.
How brilliant. The redundant tension that we carry with us is completely unecessary since life goes on quite easily and wonderfully without all that huffing and puffing.
Watts goes on to explore this sense of effortless life as the universe proliferating itself. Like Shelley he notes that we are the eyes of the universe observing itself and finding that is is good – or at least interesting. This brings up the question, 'Well, yes, but who is doing the observing?' – which as Watts points out is fallacious question:
When you ask the question 'who is doing the chasing?' you are still working under the assumption that every verb has to have a subject, and that when there is an action there has to be a doer. This is merely a grammatical convention, leading to what Whitehead called the 'fallacy of misplaced concreteness' like the famous 'it' in 'it is raining'. So when one declares that there cannot be a knowing without a knower, one is saying no more than there cannot be a verb without a subject; that, however, is a grammatical rule, not a law of nature.
The universe is just verbs not nouns. It's a constant stream of patterns and processes and trying to perceive 'stuff' in it is just a trick of the eyes. "What we call stuff is simply pattern seen out of focus".
All this totally ties in with the way I'm feeling right now in the first days of Spring. Spring is the seasonal embodiment of all that change. What was dead comes back to life. What was underground is resurrected into the air. No wonder Easter is when it is. But the illusion that something died in the first place is just another trick of the eyes. We just didn't pay attention to the constant change.
Watt's brilliance is to make clear and distinct things that are cloaked in high falutin' spiritual gobbledegook. We're taught that egolessness, enlightenment is nigh-on impossible but, actually, all we need to do is relax that tension. That seat-belting-pulling clench. The ego is a useful abstraction but we don't need it all the time,
The ego cannot be transcended because it does not properly exist. You cannot do anything about a non-existent thing, anymore than you can cut a cheese with a line of longitude.
As Tilda said: 'Less talk, more action. Less paralysis. More work.'
Enjoy that Spring thing.
7 Comments
EmilyMarch 22, 2008 at 7:54 pm
It's making me crazy, this photo! How how HOW did you get that effect on your hand? Or is it a Trade Secret? Doesn't matter, I can't even take a straight forward photo of a tree.
GinnyMarch 22, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I love to know how you achieved that effect on your hand!
Please don't worry about revealing trade secrets; I can't
even take simple photos…
EmmaMarch 22, 2008 at 10:14 pm
How DID you do that??
SRMarch 23, 2008 at 8:01 am
Brilliant! I love Alan Watts and couldn't
agree with you more. He makes the unreal
JeffApril 24, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Superb post. I just found your blog. I'll be back and I'll look for Watts. I had a spontaneous "moment of enlightenment" many years ago. I've never been able to put my finger on it so precisely, but it's just as you say – the absence of 'ego'. A broad, expansive, and completely connected feeling unfettered by the perception of "I."
VickyJune 26, 2008 at 11:51 pm
…egO ?
My (human) circle , round-trip within one other bigger
circle (Uni verse = self rotating)
"EgO" is what a pupil can focuse and be focused in.
That energy ,light from which I came and I'll get back
(after this stay on Earth)is the reflection of egO(emEna),
of ME.
Sokrates thought that one human EXISTS only when
the MIRROR tells him how to reflect back ONE glistering
BEAM= one revealed reason!!!
VickyJuly 11, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I wish you every happiness Al, you have an angelic heart.
It seems that there are powers beyond mortal reason…
It's some other dimension now.. compared to the HEAT-period –
yet.. in its very essence my attachment is just the same
particular as it was back then. (You probably have no idea
who am I ..why should you remember me… So strange can
sometimes be: I visited your country a few years
ago, I simply couldn't restrain but feel .. I can't really
describe the feeling even to myself, it'll be too week
word to say .. the most melancholic creature in this whole
universe. Even if I had the appropriate (for you) somatic
shape it could've been just the same, but KNOWING THAT
I can't ever hope to be desired and the absurd strength
within me which doesn't give me any relief .. One thought
I longed to exchange with you.. With YOU among all the
stars. The Sky will stay one great secret after all.
I think I'm gonna stay silent , I've already said too much.
It hurts for me to remember my impression unique for its
beauty, for its unparalleled authenticity!
..who knows w h y I had to choose you! And why the fate had to
cause me all this pain.
I adore you!!!


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Full Menu
English composer Henry Purcell is perhaps best known for his wonderfully moving music for voices. His rare instrumental chamber works were, unfortunately, neglected for many years, only to be rediscovered as part of our era's renewed interest in the Baroque.
The much-admired 'Golden Sonata' (Sonata IX) is included here, though there is certainly much else to savour. Purcell often reminds us that the brave use of experimental dissonance is not only a feature of our own musical era and his own native style engages boldly with contemporary continental influences to thrilling effect.
This recording not only marks and celebrates Purcell's 350th birthday, but is also a wonderful debut for the Retrospect Trio, a Baroque 'supergroup' newly signed to the Linn label. Formerly known at The King's Consort, they relaunched their career after the departure of former member and leader Robert King. Here they ably and energetically illustrate their stated aim - "to bring the music of the past alive".


text: Most read: Stephen Jarislowsky explains why you shouldn't put your clients' money in an RRSP The new print issue of Wealth Professional is out. If you can't find the print version the e-version can be found online, here. One piece not to be missed in the issue...an extended Q&A with the moral voice of Canadian capital markets, Stephen Jarislowsky. It is always a privilege to interview this country's most successful financial advisor. Hard truths and deep wisdom…a chat with Mr. Jarislowsky is always a revelatory experience. This time was no different. He talks out on everything from the real dynamics driving the Montreal corruption scandals to post-war interest rates before explaining (perfectly rationally) why you shouldn't put client money in RRSPs, which is not a bit of advice one hears that often, but is something Jarislowsky has said for years. Think about it: RRSP payouts are taxed as income, while investment funds invested outside of an RRSP are taxed at the lower dividend and capital gains rates. As Stephen Jarislowsky puts it in the WP Q&A: "You can prove that anyone with relatively large means, an RRSP is something you should never buy. Once you start paying out of your RRSP you pay as income. You don't get any benefit for the lower capital gains tax. If you take the capital gains tax, you only pay half tax. If you have a two million dollar RIF, only one million belongs to you, the rest belongs to the government. If you make 9%, as our firm has done for private clients, I can assure you, if you paid the capital gains you would make more money than if you took it out at the as a RIF. The only reason for a RRSP is to get someone to save. But other than that there is no advantage for a person who is disciplined." Also out right now is the WP "Advisors on Fund Providers Survey 2014" If you haven't had a chance to fill it out yet, please, take a minute or two—we'll publish the results in the October issue. SHARE


text:
: [Pokémon OPEN]
The Pokémon Trainer Academy (T) [Best Veteran 4Q '11]
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December 5th, 2012 (1:08 PM).
PkMnTrainer Yellow
Join Date:
Aug 2008
East Coast, USA
Valorie Ryder - Location
Valorie watched Mark as if searching for an answer for something. It only took her a moment to stop this as she came to an answer to his question though. "Alright, Sure..!" she said, only slightly eager. As if she'd ever turn down a battle! She reached into her satchel to search for a particular pokeball when human arms wrapped themselves around her thigh. A blush sprung to her cheeks immediately and she stopped what she was doing and glanced over her shoulder to find... a dwarf boy. It took her several long moments to go through the motions of figuring out this was not in fact an extremely affectionate stranger but Kiyoko, perhaps not understanding the implications of wrapping himself around the leg of a girl wearing a short skirt. Valorie honetly had to do a double take to remind herself that Kiyoko was a pokemon, and that this made things entirely different! She just sort of reached down topat Kiyoko's head in a somewhat affectionate manner.
By the time she had gotten over the initial shock of having a dwarf embrace her leg another shock had come to her attention--She was standing in front of herself, and the other her was mocking her! Valorie's expression just sort of went blank for a moment as she tried to figure out what in the blazes was going on here! It didn't take her long to figure out that this was Mistress.... Valorie's expression just sort of tensed, her cheeks bulging outwards slightly in an irritated manner as she gave a sort of semi-glare at Mistress, especially after being accused of loving Mark. What did she know anyway? Valorie balled her fists all tough-like and just sort of acted indignant towards the teasing, crossing her arms after Kilik put Mistress away as if to dare those around her to come tease her.
I'll--! Um... I'll do something bad! I swear!
Valorie jammed her hand back into her satchel and yanked out a pokeball, thoroughly frustrated now. She was looking forward to this. She tossed the ball out and... Flygon emerged. The female dragon type pokemon seemed to stretch and yawn, turning her attention down at Valorie and flashing her fangs in a non-threatning manner. Valorie glanced up at the larger pokemon before turning her attention to Mark. "Ready when you are." she said, slightly impatient, but otherwise trying to ignore the part of her that just wanted to hide her face somewhere.
It's been a long time since we crossed paths over space-time~
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text:
Biologist David Baltimore talks about the abundant promise and potential perils of the new gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9.
Late last year, a group of government officials, science policy experts, philosophers, and scientists—including Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, president emeritus and the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology at Caltech—convened at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, D.C., for the International Summit on Human Gene Editing. Several hundred people were there to discuss the scientific, medical, legal, and ethical implications of genome engineering technologies. Such technologies—chief among them a now-widespread genetic tool known as CRISPR-Cas9, known colloquially as "DNA scissors"—allow scientists to make precise edits to the genome, or the entire genetic script, of an organism.
By essentially rewriting genomes, researchers can, in weeks rather than years, create animal strains that mimic human diseases to test new therapies, easily knock out genes in the cells of animals and humans to test their function, and even change DNA sequences to correct genetic defects. Such edits can be made in both body cells and in germ-line cells (sperm and eggs), thus allowing scientists to alter heritable genes. "Over the years, the unthinkable has become conceivable," said Baltimore at the December 2015 meeting, which was sponsored by U.S., U.K., and Chinese scientific societies. "We're on the cusp of a new era in human history." We spoke with Baltimore—who led the organizing committee of the summit—about these new technologies and the issues they raise.
What was your motivation for participating in the conversation about the uses of genome engineering technologies?
I was most concerned about the ability to carry out germ-line modifications of humans using this technology. Other issues came up that seemed to me less concerning at the moment, like guidelines for basic research or for somatic gene therapy, which is the alteration of cells whose genomes are not passed along to the next generation, as opposed to heritable gene therapy.
What is the big issue with human germ-line modification?
The big issue is how simple it is, at least conceptually, to modify cells—embryonic stem cells as well as somatic cells. The major concern is the potential for off-target effects: If you carry out the germ-line modification of a gene that you have identified as of concern, how do you know that, somewhere else in the genome, there hasn't been an alteration that you didn't plan to do but that has occurred anyway? Most of the genome is not coding—it doesn't code for anything. So you wouldn't necessarily see a protein change. But that change would be heritable for generations into the future, where it might cause problems. You want to be pretty sure that such off-target alterations are not happening. We know that people have put a lot of effort into minimizing such off-target effects. Whether they have been minimized enough is a very important safety consideration.
We did not specify what the risks might be because that involved thinking about too many specific events. As a class, alterations of heritable traits for "cosmetic" purposes represent a type of genome modification that poses serious concerns because we may not know how the altered genes will interact with the rest of the genes in the body and with the genes of the offspring of the original carrier of the alteration.
Are you and your colleagues concerned about the potential for using this technology to create "designer" babies?
I think the thing to do is to distinguish between the long-term concern about modifications that are heritable but made for reasons that are "cosmetic," and a situation in which a modification is made in order to ameliorate a serious human disease. The example that I find most compelling is Huntington's disease. It involves a mutation in the genome that most people don't carry; the few people who do carry it suffer very serious deleterious consequences that only become apparent with age. Ridding the genome of that modified gene seems to me to be an unalloyed good. Therefore, the question becomes, do you need to use genome alteration technology to accomplish that end or is there some other way to accomplish that?
But there are situations that are not that clear-cut . . .
Exactly. You go from, on one side, Huntington's disease, and on the other side, the desire for a more intelligent child. One is easy—it can be fixed by changing a single gene. The other is much more complicated, since intelligence certainly isn't determined by a single gene. It is multigenic—the result of many genes. One is a pretty straightforward medical decision; the other is an issue that is very culturally bound. So those are the two poles, and then there is everything in between.
For the in-between situations, that is just a judgment call?
Yes, it is a judgment call. Who makes the decisions in those cases? Society, in the end, will make those decisions. The problem that I think everybody has with it is that although society has the ability to make decisions like that, it is a big world. And you could imagine things being done in other jurisdictions where we don't have control.
How do we manage that?
My personal thought is that the best we can do is to make absolutely unambiguous the consensus feeling of society. Because the scientific community is an international community, we do have the ability to at least provide moral guidelines. Any kind of modification that involves something as elusive as intelligence is a long way off. We don't understand it well enough to make modifications today, and so, to an extent, we are trying to establish a framework that will serve the world well into the future. That is a big order, and whether an international meeting can grapple with anything as profound as that, we will see.
What do you see as some of the most exciting applications for technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 that would have a positive impact on human health?
I think that the most exciting applications are in the research laboratory, where models of disease can be created and manipulated. Later, I hope that we will perfect methods for ridding the human genome of single-gene defects, like the ones that cause Huntington's disease. Gene editing is not the only way to prevent transmission of such defects to progeny, but it could become the easiest and most certain way.
You and the rest of the organizing committee released a statement at the end of the summit that offered some guidelines for the scientific community. What were the key conclusions about how to move forward with technologies like CRISPR-Cas9?
The key conclusions were that we should not go ahead with germ-line alterations until we are confident of the safety of the alteration procedure and there is a widespread consensus that the alteration will improve human health without a significant likelihood of an unexpected deleterious outcome. To me that means when we are confident of the technology, we will want to start by returning mutant genes to their wild-type—or naturally occurring—configuration. But a lot of decisions and recommendations will need to be made along the way in order to do safe and ethical basic research that could lead to confidence in the technology. So we also called for an ongoing international forum to encourage coordinated conversations and policy making among a wide range of experts.
Forty years ago, you were one of the organizers of the influential Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA, which laid out voluntary guidelines for the use of genetic engineering—the same type of guidelines you and your colleagues are advocating for now with genome engineering. What was the original inspiration for convening the Asilomar Conference?
It was the advent of recombinant DNA technology that drew our attention. We all worked in the biological sci- ences. We recognized that recombinant DNA technology was a game changer because it was going to allow scientific investigation of questions that heretofore had been unavailable. In some ways, many of us had designed our careers around the inability to do this kind of work, and, suddenly, we were going to be able to do things that we had only previously dreamed about, if we had considered them at all. But at the same time, there seemed to be potentially problematic aspects to it, in particular the ability to modify organisms, mainly microbial organisms, in ways that could have given the organisms the ability to be a danger to human health. Actually, we simply did not know whether that was a realistic concern or not. As we talked to other people, we discovered that no one knew. So it seemed like a good idea to take a breather and to give consideration to these concerns of potential hazards in an international meeting that would be convened in the United States.
Was there some thought that if you tried to self-regulate you could avoid governmental regulation?
It wasn't a matter of avoiding governmental regulation. It was that we thought that we—the scientific community—were uniquely capable of putting in perspective these new capabilities. The answer might have been to have legislation. In fact, as our thinking progressed, we realized that the very best situation would be to avoid legislation because legislation is very hard to undo. We wanted to be sure we would have the flexibility to respond to inevitably changing scientific perspectives.
In retrospect, do you think Asilomar was a success?
It worked out very close to how we hoped it would. That is, as we learned more, we became more comfortable with the technology; as we investigated potential hazards, we saw less and less reason to be concerned; and we had a built-in flexibility in the system to allow it to evolve in the context of newer understanding.
Are you aware of any situations where scientists did not follow the rules?
To my knowledge, that has never happened.
Where do you see this technology in 10 years? 100 years?
That is a good distinction—10 years versus 100 years. The latter is very hard to think about, because we have really no idea what scientific advances are going to be made in the next 100 years. About all we can be sure of is that they will be impressive and maybe revolutionary, and will present us with a very different technological landscape in which these questions will evolve. In 10 years, we certainly are likely to know the outline of what we are likely to see, and it is not going to be a whole lot different from what we are seeing today. I would guess that in 10 years, we would understand multigenic traits better than we do now. I do suspect that people will be gratified that at this time we began the basic considerations, because the problems will get more difficult rather than easier.


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Happy Camper
We arrived in Virginia Beach late-ish on the 3rd. We pitched the tent (which perfectly matched my Marc By Marc Jacobs Romper) in a pinch, and scooted straight down to the beach. We watched a fantastic sunset over the ocean and even caught a glimpse of dolphins playing in the surf.
I went for a dip in the Atlantic in my sailboat pattern swimming suit before we headed off to bed. My new-ish Aldo sandals were the perfect pick for tromping around the camp ground, taking long walks on the beach, and pushing the pedal to the metal on the way across the Chesapeake Bay.


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The Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 is a new Experimental Safety Vehicle from Merc that introduces several innovative systems to deal with everyday accidents.
A slew of vehicle safety systems are being showcased by Mercedes-Benz. The German premium car maker has created an Experimental Safety Vehicle, the ESF 2009 which is based on the upcoming S400 Hybrid. It is their first vehicle of this nature since the ESV 24 which was introduced at the 1974 Geneva Motor Show.
The ESF 2009 features inflatable metal structures developed to save space and increase crash protection. These include side impact bars which would be blown to pressures of between 10 and 20 bar. When deflated they could save some weight and actually allow for other safety apparatus to be fitted.
Then they have an auxiliary brake in the floor of the ESF 2009. What makes this brake interesting is that it works with a bag that is similar to interior air bags but is much tougher. When the car senses an imminent collision the brake bag inflates to create friction with the road thus also slowing the car down. In addition to that it lifts the car up by up to 80mm to compensate for dive.
The interior, along with standard air bag and restraint systems is fitted with seat bolsters that shift the passengers about 50mm into the centre of the cabin should the car sense that a side impact is about to take place. The other safety features of interest arereflective tyres and air bags installed inside a seatbelts.
Full details and more photos expected to be released in the coming weeks.


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Hello dear readers! Have you heard of Cheburashka, the monkey-like character from Russia? I didn't know of him until I came to Japan, but perhaps he's popular in your country?
I visited the Cheburashka Cafe in Kichijoji with friends as part of an early birthday celebration.
I ordered curry and salad which came with a little Cheburashka biscuit. It was pretty good!
Here's a full shot of the outfit I wore that day:
Thanks to my friends for a lovely day, and thank you for reading!