His teachings

He organized his followers into four groups: monks or Sadhus, nuns or Sadhvis, laymen called Shravaks and laywomen known as Shravikas. These four categories of followers came to be known collectively as the Jains. 

Lord Mahavir did not ascribe to idea of a god as the ultimate creator, protector and destroyer. He did not believe that ritualistic idol worship would put the human soul on the road to salvation. He believed that when a living being destroys all his karmas, he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss. He becomes omniscient and omnipotent. This living being becomes a God according to Jain religion. Hence Jains do not believe in one God. Gods in Jain religion are innumerable and the number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation. Every living being has a potential to become God of the Jain religion. 

Lord Mahavir also preached the gospel of universal love and believed that all human beings were equal and did not differentiate between men and women. He believed that both sexes could attain nirvana if they followed his teachings. 

In a few centuries after Mahavir's nirvana, Jain religious order moved away from the simplistic path preached by Mahavira and grew more and more complex. While the basic doctrines of the Jain philiosophy remained unaffected, the followers began to follow out over minor points as time went bv. Slowly ritualism and idol worship crept into Jainism and the follower placed Mahavira and other Tirthankaras on pedestals like Hindu deities. 

Today you will find idols of twenty-four Tirthankaras in Jain temples. All these idols represent the same qualities and virtues. However, at the bottom of each idol a unique symbol is placed to enable devotees to distinguish between them. Lord Mahavir's idol is recognized by the symbol of a lion. 
 

The search for nirvana

Lord Mahavir believed that the human soul was bound by its karma or its good and bad deeds. Driven by karma, the soul is attracted towards material desires and worldly possessions. This gives rise to violence, anger, hatred, greed, and other vices. As a result, the soul enters an endless cycle of birth, life, pain, misery and death.  Lord Mahavir aimed to teach people how to free themselves from this endless cycle and achieve a permanent state of bliss. This is also known as liberation, nirvana, absolute freedom, or Moksha.