95 Life-Enriching Quotes by Lord Mahavira on Ahimsa, Life and Spirituality
Last updated on May 3rd, 2024 at 08:00 am
Lord Mahavira, also known as Vardhamana Mahavira, was an ancient spiritual leader and the last Tirthankara of Jainism. He stressed the significance of self-discipline, self-control, and inner purification through practices like fasting, meditation and a strict vegetarian lifestyle. Mahavira’s teachings revolved around the concept of karma, which states that every action, whether physical, mental or verbal, has consequences that shape one’s future experiences.
Lord Mahavira’s Wisdom on Karma
A soul can only achieve liberation by getting rid of all the karma attached to it. – Lord Mahavira
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. – Lord Mahavira
The unenlightened takes millions of lives to extirpate the effects of karma whereas a man possessing spiritual knowledge and discipline obliterates them in a single moment. – Lord Mahavira
Attachment and aversion are the root cause of karma, and karma originates from infatuation. Karma is the root cause of birth and death, and these are said to be the source of misery. None can escape the effect of their own past karma. – Lord Mahavira
Lord Mahavira’s Teachings on Non-violence
Silence and Self-control is non-violence. – Lord Mahavira
Don’t kill any living beings. Don’t try to rule them. – Lord Mahavira
Kill not, cause no pain. Nonviolence is the greatest religion. – Lord Mahavira
All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. – Lord Mahavira
Just as I do not like misery, so do others. Knowing this, one neither kills, nor gets killed. A sramana is so called because he behaves equanimously. – Lord Mahavira
The essence of all knowledge consists in not committing violence. The doctrine of ahimsa is nothing but the observance of equality i.e. the realization that just as I do not like misery, others also do not like it. Knowing this, one should not kill anybody. – Lord Mahavira
Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being. – Lord Mahavira
Lord Mahavira’s Perspective on Life
Anger begets more anger, and forgiveness and love lead to more forgiveness and love. – Lord Mahavira
Self! Practice Truth, and nothing but Truth. – Lord Mahavira
Eating constitutes the greatest obstacle to self-control; it gives rise to indolence. – Lord Mahavira
Birth is attended by death, youth by decay and fortune by misfortune. Thus, everything in this world is momentary. – Lord Mahavira
Discipline is the means of achieving liberation. – Lord Mahavira
He should not backbite and indulge in fraudulent untruth. – Lord Mahavira
One who entertains fear finds himself lonely (and helpless). – Lord Mahavira
It is better to win over self than to win over a million enemies. – Lord Mahavira
Do not deprive someone of his livelihood. This is a sinful tendency. – Lord Mahavira
Eating constitutes the greatest obstacle to self-control; it gives rise to indolence. – Lord Mahavira
The most important principle of the environment is that you are not the only element. – Lord Mahavira
Discipline of speech consists in refraining from telling lies and in observing silence. – Lord Mahavira
One should not speak unless asked to do so. He should not disturb others in conversation. – Lord Mahavira
In happiness & suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self. – Lord Mahavira
Even the noble becomes mean in the company of the wicked, as precious necklace on the neck of a dead body. – Lord Mahavira
That which subdues passions, leads to beatitude and fosters friendliness is called knowledge in the Jaina doctrine. – Lord Mahavira
Do not be in dread of the dreadful, the illness, the disease, the old age, and even the death or any other object of fear. – Lord Mahavira
A thief feels neither pity nor shame, nor does he possess discipline and faith. There is no evil that he cannot do for wealth. – Lord Mahavira
He who lies idle like a python simply wastes the ambrosia of wisdom. With the loss of his wisdom, he is no better than a bull. – Lord Mahavira
One should not utter displeasing words that arouse ill feelings in others. One should not indulge in speech conducive to evil. – Lord Mahavira
A truthful man is treated as reliable as the mother, as venerable as the guru and as beloved as the one who commands knowledge. – Lord Mahavira
Don’t accumulate if you do not need. The excess of wealth in your hands is for the society, and you are the trustee for the same. – Lord Mahavira
Just as a threaded (sasutra) needle is secure from being lost, in the same way a person given to self-study (sasutra) cannot be lost. – Lord Mahavira
Keep yourself always awake. One who keeps awake increases his wisdom. He who falls asleep is wretched. Blessed is he who keeps awake. – Lord Mahavira
Both the righteous and unrighteous must die. When death is inevitable for both, why should not one embrace death while maintaining good conduct? – Lord Mahavira
Greed even for a piece of straw, not to speak of precious things, produces sin. A greedless person, even if he wears a crown, cannot commit sin. – Lord Mahavira
One who neglects or disregards the existence of earth, air, fire, water and vegetation disregards his own existence which is entwined with them. – Lord Mahavira
By sincerity, a man gains physical, mental and linguistic straightforwardness, and harmonious tendency; that is, congruence of speech and action. – Lord Mahavira
One who, being swayed by wishful thinking becomes a victim of passions at every step, and does not ward off the desires, cannot practice asceticism. – Lord Mahavira
One may have a tuft or matted hair on the head or a shaven head, remain naked or wear a rag. But if he tells a lie, all this is futile and fruitless. – Lord Mahavira
The more you get, the more you want. The greed increases with the gain. What could be accomplished by two masas (grams) of gold could not be done by ten millions. – Lord Mahavira
Just as fire is not quenched by the fuel and the ocean by thousands of rivers, similarly no living being is satisfied even with all the wealth of all the three worlds. – Lord Mahavira
Truthfulness indeed is tapa (penance). In truthfulness do reside self-restraint and all other virtues. Just as the fish can live only in the sea, so can all other virtues reside in truthfulness alone. – Lord Mahavira
On the aggravation of one’s greed, a person fails to distinguish between what should be done and what should not be done. He is a daredevil, who cannot commit any offense even at the cost of his own life. – Lord Mahavira
If you want to cultivate a habit, do it without any reservation, till it is firmly established. Until it is so confirmed, until it becomes a part of your character, let there be no exception, no relaxation of effort. – Lord Mahavira
If one undertakes retrospection of the day’s events, one must do it regularly at the appointed hour, not fitfully, not doing it today, neglecting to do it tomorrow and the day after and then taking it up again on the fourth day. Such irregular practice is not conducive to the confirmation of the habit of retrospection. – Lord Mahavira
Can you hold a red-hot iron rod in your hand merely because someone wants you to do so? Then, will it be right on your part to ask others to do the same thing just to satisfy your desires? If you cannot tolerate infliction of pain on your body or mind by others’ words and actions, what right have you to do the same to others through your words and deeds? – Lord Mahavira
Lord Mahavira’s Revelations on Spirituality
Fight with yourself, why fight with external foes? He, who conquers himself through himself, will obtain happiness. – Lord Mahavira
Every soul is in itself absolutely omniscient and blissful. The bliss does not come from outside. – Lord Mahavira
Other beings perceive through their senses whereas the sramana perceives through the Agama. – Lord Mahavira
All souls are equal and alike and have the similar nature and qualities. – Lord Mahavira
Start the practice of self-control with some penance; begin with fasting. – Lord Mahavira
The enlightened should contemplate that his soul is endowed with boundless energy. – Lord Mahavira
Objects of the senses pollute knowledge if it is not protected by discipline. – Lord Mahavira
Only that science is a great and the best of all sciences, the study of which frees man from all kinds of miseries. – Lord Mahavira
The greatest mistake of a soul is non-recognition of its real self and can only be corrected by recognizing the self. – Lord Mahavira
External renunciation is meaningless if the soul remains fettered by internal shackles. – Lord Mahavira
All are my friends. I have no enemies. – Lord Mahavira
Every soul is independent. None depends on another. – Lord Mahavira
Enlightened by the light of Truth, the wise transcends death. – Lord Mahavira
Soul is the central point of spiritual discipline. – Lord Mahavira
The soul comes alone and goes alone, no one companies it and no one becomes its mate. – Lord Mahavira
One who is constantly careful in his deportment is like the lily in the pond, untarnished by mud. – Lord Mahavira
Just as everybody keeps away from a burning fire, so do the evils remain away from an enlightened person. – Lord Mahavira
The non-vigilant has fear from all directions. The vigilant has none from any. – Lord Mahavira
The nights that have departed will never return. They have been wasted by those given to unrighteousness. – Lord Mahavira
Only that man can take a right decision, whose soul is not tormented by the afflictions of attachment and aversion. – Lord Mahavira
All human beings are miserable due to their own faults, and they themselves can be happy by correcting these faults. – Lord Mahavira
There is no separate existence of God. Everybody can attain god-hood by making supreme efforts in the right direction. – Lord Mahavira
One who knows the spiritual (self) knows the external (world) too. He who knows the external world, knows the self also. – Lord Mahavira
One who remains equanimously in the midst of pleasures and pains is a sramana, being in the state of pure consciousness. – Lord Mahavira
The sadhaka (one who practices spiritual discipline) speaks words that are measured and beneficial to all living beings. – Lord Mahavira
There is no enemy out of your soul. The real enemies live inside yourself, they are anger, proud, greed, attachments and hate. – Lord Mahavira
As a tortoise withdraws his limbs within his own body, even so does the valiant withdraw his mind within himself from all sins. – Lord Mahavira
All unenlightened persons produce sufferings. Having become deluded, they produce and reproduce sufferings, in this endless world. – Lord Mahavira
That with the help of which we can know the truth, control the restless mind, and purify the soul is called knowledge in the Jain doctrine. – Lord Mahavira
Let me treat all living beings with equanimity and none with enmity. Let me attain samadhi (tranquility) by becoming free from expectations. – Lord Mahavira
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. – Lord Mahavira
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? – Lord Mahavira
The bhikshu (ascetic) should not be angry with one who abuses him. Otherwise he would be like the ignoramus. He should not therefore lose his temper. – Lord Mahavira
Let me give up attachment through unattachment. My soul will be my only support (in this practice of unattachment). (Hence) let me give up everything else. – Lord Mahavira
Let me renounce the bondage of attachment and hatred, pride and meekness, curiosity, fear, sorrow, indulgence and abhorrence (in order to accomplish equanimity). – Lord Mahavira
My soul characterized by knowledge and faith is alone eternal. All other phases of my existence to which I am attached are external occurrences that are transitory. – Lord Mahavira
Knowing that pleasing sound, beauty, fragrance, pleasant taste and soothing touch are transitory transformations of matter, the celibate should not be enamored of them. – Lord Mahavira
The soul is the Brahman. Brahmacharya is therefore nothing but spiritual conduct of the ascetic concerning the soul, who has snapped out of relationship with alien body. – Lord Mahavira
Knowing that the earth with its crops of rice and barley, with its gold and cattle, and all this put together will not satisfy one single man, one should practice penance. – Lord Mahavira
By practicing celibacy one can fulfill all other vows – chastity, tapas (penance), vinaya (humility), samyama (self restraint), forgiveness, self-protection and detachment. – 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. – Lord Mahavira
A man is seated on top of a tree in the midst of a burning forest. He sees all living beings perish. But he doesn’t realize that the same fate is soon to overtake him also. That man is a fool. – Lord Mahavira
Righteousness consists in complete self-absorption and in giving up all kinds of passions including attachment. It is the only means of transcending the mundane existence. The Jinas have said so. – Lord Mahavira
The yogi who is indifferent to worldly affairs remains spiritually alert to his own duty, namely, his duty towards his soul. On the other hand, one who indulges in worldly affairs is not dutiful to his soul. – Lord Mahavira
The five senses of the awakened always remain inactive. The five senses of the slumber always remain active. By means of the active five one acquires bondage while by means of the inactive five the bondage is severed. – Lord Mahavira
Those who are ignorant of the supreme purpose of life will never be able to attain nirvana (liberation) in spite of their observance of the vratas (vows) and niyamas (rules) of religious conduct and practice of sila (celibacy) and tapas (penance). – Lord Mahavira
A living body is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh but it is the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect perception (Anant-darshana), perfect knowledge (Anant-jnana), perfect power (Anant-virya), and perfect bliss (Anant-sukha). – Lord Mahavira
Mahavira’s contributions and his role as the 24th and last Tirthankara (ford-maker) hold immense importance within the Jain tradition.