Mahavira and Buddha — Great Preachers

The following reasons were responsible for the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.

1. Vedic religious ceremonies had become too rigid and expensive. They were beyond the means of ordinary people.
2. Corruption and evil practices crept into religious practices. This made the people look for alternative religious sects.
3. Most of the vedic literature was composed in Sanskrit which the common man could not understand.

Mahavira was born in the second half of the 6th century BCE at Kundagrama near vaishali in Bihar. He was the twenty-fourth and last of the tirthankaras. He is considered as the founder of Jainism because he made Jainism popular and systematic.
Mahavira renounced the world at the age of 30 in search of truth and became an ascetic. He practised severe penance and meditation for 12 long years. Finally, at the age of 42, he attained Spiritual Knowledge.

The main teachings of Mahavira are the following:

1. Ahimsa — Mahavira gave utmost importance to Ahimsa or non-injury to living beings. Jains believed in the existence of soul even in inanimate objects. So one should not do harm to living beings by their speech, deed or action.
2. Caste System — Mahavira preached universal brotherhood. He considered all men equal irrespective of their caste or creed.
3. Belief in God and Rituals — Mahavira did not believe in Gods or the Vedas. He opposed all forms of rituals and religious practices.
4. Karma and Rebirth — Mahavira believed in the Karma theory and preached that the ultimate goal of man is to attain freedom from worldly bonds or Moksha i.e., freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. It can be obtained by following the Triratnas or Three jewels, i.e., right knowledge, right faith, and right actions.

In order to make the soul pure and free from evil, Jainism has laid down five great principles to be observed by all. These include:

1. Ahimsa — Do not commit violence.
2. Satya — Do not tell a lie.
3. Asteya — Do not steal.
4. Aparigraha — Do not acquire property.
5. Chastity — Observe Brahmacharya.

The main reasons of the decline of Jainism were the following:

1. Jainism was not patronized by the contemporary rulers.
2. Jainism had to compete with Buddhism which became more popular.
3. Jainism advocated equality of men but it could not totally do away with the high and low position in society.

Gautam Buddha founded Buddhism. Buddha got enlightement under a peepal tree (Bodhi tree) at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

The four noble truths are the following:

1. The world is full of suffering.
2. Human desire is the cause of all suffering.
3. Suffering can be ended only by giving up desires.
4. Desires can be overcome by freeing oneself from the continuous cycle of birth, death and re-birth. This can be achieved by following the eight fold.

The way to Nirvana, in Buddhism, or the path that leads to removal of suffering, is known as the Ashtangika marg. It is also known as the Eightfold path or the Middle Path. The Ashtangika marg includes the following virtues:

1. Right action
2. Right belief
3. Right effort
4. Right means of livelihood
5. Right meditation
6. Right memory
7. Right speech
8. Right thought

Differences between Hinayana and Mahayana sects of Buddhism

Many factors contributed to the decline of Buddhism. Some of these are:

1. With the passage of time, a number of evils crept into it.
2. It lost royal patronage. The Gupta Kings patronised Hinduism.
3. Hinduism purified and reformed itself.
4. In the 7th and 8th century AD, the Turkish invaders plundered the Buddhist monasteries and forced the monks to flee.

(a) The persons in pictures are:

      A → Gautam Buddha
      B → Mahavira

Gautam Buddha founded Buddhism and Mahavira founded Jainism.

(b) Two teaching of each religion are:

Buddhism

1. Ahimsa — Buddha preached ahimsa or non-violence. He asked his followers to practise non-violence and to lead an upright life.
2. Nirvana — The ultimate goal of life is to attain Nirvana or salvation. It is a peaceful state of mind, which conquers all diseases and makes a person free from the cycle of birth and death.

Jainism

1. Caste System — Mahavira preached universal brotherhood. He considered all men equal irrespective of their caste or creed.
2. Belief in God and Rituals — Mahavira did not believe in God or the Vedas. He opposed all forms of rituals and religious practices.

(c) Similarities between Buddhism and Jainism are:

1. Both did not accept the Vedas.
2. Both preached Ahimsa or non-violence.

Dissimilarities between Buddhism and Jainism are: