Cycle of time and Tirthanker

Indian culture is vibrant civilization. It is pounded with the feelings of sacrifice. This dazzling civilization has been nourished by three pulsating traditions – Jain, Buddhist and Vedic.

These three streams originated, flourished and blossomed on this Land of India. These three influenced the Indian mindset and have established in it. The basic concepts of these sacrifice, patience, tolerance etc are still seen in the Indian mindset.

Like शैव (shaiva) Dharma is on the name of shiva (शिव), Vaishnava (वैष्णव) Dharma is on the name of Vishnu (विष्णु), Buddhism is in the name of Buddha in the same way Jainism is associated with Jin (जिन). But Jin is not a particular person. Jin is an apostrophe to the personality who has gone beyond eroticism and animosity (राग-द्वेष) or attachment and aversion (प्रियता-अप्रियता). The main mantra of Jainism is Namaskaar Mahamantra (नमस्कार महामन्त्र). No particular person is obeyed but all the serene personalities are worshipped. Jainism is very lucid that anybody can become liberated, God or omniscient by up gradation of soul.

Languages change with time and location but name cannot decide that Jainism is recent. In context to time in this descending era (अवसर्पिणी, time span) Jainism is related to Lord Rishabh Dev.

Jainism doesn’t support super-natural incarnation. It distinctly submits that a Tirthanker (omniscient founder) takes birth like a general child but becomes omniscient founder. Vedic custom supports supernatural incarnation. And it means that God has to descend and born as a human. In the view of Geeta (A Vedic scripture) the purpose of supernatural incarnation is – when injustice is all around, it is to protect the priests and establish the Dharma vanish the offenders. The God of Vedic’s has to indulge in eroticism and animosity activities for his devotees still being beyond eroticism and animosity. For the welfare of inhabitants he has to even indulge in havoc. God has to commit virtue and sins becoming a human. They call it as a recreation of God. Jainism doesn’t support super-natural incarnation. A liberated soul (सिद्धत्व प्राप्त आत्मा) or God never again binds karma (A type of particle). In such case it doesn’t take birth and does not even involve in erotic and adversary activities. It is certain that everybody can be an omniscient founder (तीर्थंकर) by developing the inner ability through practice.

The cycle of time

As per Jainism the cosmos is eternally dynamic. It has no beginning or end. Vedic custom believes it as God’s creation. Jainism is clear that this visible world is relatively eternal. In relation to the basic element it is eternal and constant but it changes every moment relative to various forms. After every day there is night and after every night there is day. There are 6 seasons in a year and they change with definite time interval. The sequence of time keeps on changing regularly. Day, week, fortnight, year, century etc. keep changing, sufferings of people change with joy and misery. Sometimes the time is boon of rise and other time curse of downfall. It is all eternal. Its progeny is everlasting. In Jainism the rising period from the low to high is known as ascending era (उत्सर्पिणी काल) and the downfall period from high to low is known as the descending era (अवसर्पिणी काल).

The descending era has six unequal divisions which are known as (अर) a phase. The time shrinks with each phase as the snake shrinks from the head to the tail. The six divisions are:

In the ascending era these 6 divisions are vice-versa. The snake expands from tail to head same way in these divisions time span keeps on increasing. Ascending era and descending era both sum up and are called a complete time cycle (कालचक्र). A complete time cycle is of 2 million-billion saagar (20 करोडाकरोड सागर).

Era of twins or forests       

(यौगलिक या अरण्य युग)

Important facts of life of the twins

Twins man and woman born and die together.

There is no other relation except brother-sister, husband-wife, mother-father and son-daughter.

There was no king or citizen system.

There was no society.

There were no houses, village, towns and cities.

There were no activities of ownership.

There were no weapons.

Visible fire (स्थूल अग्नि) didn’t exist.

Human ate uncooked food.

They didn’t suffer of old age or disease.

They didn’t die in accidents (अपघात, अकाल मृत्यु).

Cow, buffalo, horse etc were not domestic animals.

There was no educational activity.

There were no religious customs like Samayik (A 48 minutes restrain practice), Paushadh (A day-night restrain practice with fasting) etc.

Age span was more than 10 billion Purav.

There was no farming, army or business.

All the twins had equal status and there was no envy. There was not feeling of low or high. All grew equally with the nature. Population was limited. Every twin couple gave birth to only a twin as son and daughter. In childhood they remained as brother and sister and lived as husband and wife in youth. In their last stage of life they gave birth to a twin (son-daughter) and expired in a short time. This system continued during the whole twin’s era.

This twin’s era continued well in the first and second phase of descending era and even included a bulk part of third phase. After that this system started breaking. Color, taste, smell, feel etc got worse than earlier. Due to gradual shortage of wish trees there was shortage of food, shelter and other basic needs than earlier. It is obvious that the situations get worse when there is shortage of basic needs. The mentality of people stimulates. Same happened with the twin’s. They were not familiar with the pain of shortage. The loss of comforts was awkward for them. They were uneasy with the shortage. They were unknown to the word ‘gathering’ so it became difficult for them to arrange fruits. Trees started shriveling, quantity of fruits decreased, at last the craving to snatch evolved. They started seizing max of trees, robbing and snatching started. Terror occupied the whole twin’s area. Disorder occupied the region.

Irregularity gives birth to regularity. Twin’s suffering of lawlessness gathered. They gathered and constituted small communities to maintain order. Those who constituted these communities were known as Kulkara. Everybody agreed to obey the Kulkara.

Main Kulkara’s are:

Vimalvahan

Chakshushmaan

Yashasvi

Abhichandra

Prasenjeet

Marudev

Naabhi

All the writers’ opinion doesn’t meet with the count of Kulkara. In स्थानांग (sthanang) and समवायांग (samvayang) seven Kulkara are mentioned while in Jambudveeppragyapti (जंबूद्वीपप्रज्ञपति) 15 Kulkara are mentioned.

When 1/8th Palyopam of third phase was left, the seventh Kulkara took birth. First Kulkara was Vimalvahan. According to आवश्यक निर्युक्ति details; A white elephant saw a human couple in the jungle. Due to the attraction from previous birth he let the couple climb up his back. Seeing the couple riding an elephant the twins thought – "This man is powerful than us." He rode a bright elephant so he was named Vimalvahan.

Law and order

Due to shortage of the peace had lost and disorder increased, to maintain it in order twin’s elected Vimalvahan as their leader. He was established as the first Kulkara. He organized a constitution for them and determined punishment for the offenders. He established the punishment ‘Hakar’ हाकार. When a twin did an offense he was said – "Ha! What have you done!" This sentence worked like severe punishment. The offender felt humiliated. This system worked for a long period.

This hakar system worked for first and second Kulkara. When the offenders didn’t resist with ‘Ha’ then in loud voice he was said ‘Ma’ means don’t do and people renounced the offence by this. This ‘Makar’ माकार system continued with third and fourth Kulkara. When Hakar and Makar didn’t affect then the 'धिक्कार' dhikar law evolved. This system continued from fifth to seventh Kulkara.

Kulkara solved the problems of twin with these three laws from time to time. Twin’s had a crisis of food. Shortage of wish trees and due to which time of shortage of fruits: no appropriate solution was founded. That’s why these laws failed at the time of seventh Kulkara, Naabhi. The law and order was disturbed. Robbing and snatching graph rose instantly. Everyday twin’s started complaining to Naabhi. Naabhi was very disappointed because he couldn’t resolve them. At that time Rishabh took birth.

A general omniscient and Arhat have no difference in serenity. Both have attained omniscience and omni vision but there is some basic difference