QUOTES OF LORD MAHAVIRA
There is nothing as fearful as death, and there is no suffering as great as birth. Be free from the fear of both birth and death, by doing away with attachment to the body.
Do not be in dread of the dreadful, the illness, the dis ease, the old age, and even the death or any other object of fear.
Living beings have desires. Desires consist in pleasure and pain.
One who entertains fear finds himself lonely (and helpless).
The valiant does not tolerate indulgence, nor does he tolerate abhorrence. As he is pleased with his own self, he is not attached to anything.
As a tortoise withdraws his limbs within his own body, even so does the valiant withdraw his mind within himself from all sins.
The enlightened should contemplate that his soul is endowed with boundless energy.
Only that man can take a right decision, whose soul is not tormented by the afflictions of attachment and aversion.
Objects of the senses pollute knowledge if it is not protected by discipline.
Discipline is the means of achieving liberation.
Even the noble becomes mean in the company of the wicked, as precious necklace on the neck of a dead body.
Just as everybody keeps away from a burning fire, so do the evils remain away from an enlightened person.
Keep yourself always awake. One who keeps awake in creases his wisdom. He who falls asleep is wretched. Blessed is he who keeps awake.
Birth is attended by death, youth by decay and fortune by misfortune. Thus everything in this world is momentary.
The courageous as well as the cowardly must die. When death is inevitable for both, why should not one welcome death smilingly and with fortitude?
The sun scorches only during the day, but cupid scorches in the day as well as in the night. One can protect oneself from the sun, but cannot from cupid.
O Self! Practise Truth, and nothing but Truth.
Enlightened by the light of Truth, the wise transcends death.
One who, being swayed by wishful thinking becomes a victim of passions at every step, and does not ward off the desires, cannot practise asceticism.
One devoted whole-heartedly to knowledge, faith and right conduct equally accomplishes in full the task of the sramana.
Truth alone is the essence in the world.
One should not speak unless asked to do so. He should not disturb others in conversation.
Discipline of speech consists in refraining from telling lies and in observing silence.
As gold does not cease to be gold even if it is heated in the fire; an enlightened man does not cease to be enlightened on being tortured by the effect of karma.
Don’t kill any living beings. Don’t try to rule them.
Don’t be proud if you gain. Nor be sorry if you lose.
The greatest mistake of a soul is non-recognition of its real self and can only be corrected by recognizing the self.
Every soul is independent, none depends on another.
It is better to win over the self than to win over a million enemies.
There is no separate existence of God. Everybody can attain god-hood by making supreme efforts in the right direction.
That with the help of which we can know the truth, control the restless mind, and purify the soul is called knowledge in the Jaina doctrine.
The nights that have departed will never return. They have been wasted by those given to unrighteousness.
