| Sages,Rushis & Saints |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
MAHAVEER |
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| Severe
Tapas Mahaveera was determined to attain the highest knowledge. He was determined to destroy the bondage of action and its effect. So he undertook severe tapas - prayer and meditation. He meditated for days without a pause. He remained perfectly pure. A life of dedication is like walking on a razor's edge. Mahaveera spent days and nights in single-minded concentration. He wandered far and wide during the day. But he did not travel at night. Mahaveera was not worried about certain place cluing the nighttime. The smell of manure and the sweet scent of sandal were the same to him. He spent the night where he happened to be - a fair, a choultry, a cottage, the shelter of a tree, a village, a town, a garden, a field or a burial ground. Did he desire sound sleep? Was he to slumber for seven to eight hours? He had only four or five hours of sleep a day. On some days he slept just for an hour or two. Even in winter he did not coverhimself with a sheet. He prayed under the trees in cold and wind. It was the same even in summer. The bare body became black in the hot sun. He used no oil, no soap-nut powder. He did not rub the body with his hands or stones. Even if there was itching he did not scratch himself. He did not bathe. He applied no medicines to wounds. |
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