Arahant Sariputta and Arahant Mahamoggallana |ForumIAS

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News: The sacred relics of Arahant Sariputta and Arahant Mahamoggallana, the chief disciples of Gautama Buddha from Delhi to Mongolia.

About Arahant Sariputta and Arahant Mahamoggallana

They were the two chief disciples of the Buddha.
Arahant Sariputta, known as the disciple foremost in wisdom.
Arahant Mahamoggallana, renowned for meditative powers and spiritual attainments.
Sariputta was born in Upatissa village, and Mahamoggallana in Kolita village.
Both were born on the same day in adjacent villages near present-day Nalanda in India.
Roles:
- Sariputta is renowned for his penetrating wisdom and clarity of understanding, came to embody the intellectual brilliance of the Dhamma.
- Maha Moggallana is known for his spiritual attainments and compassionate engagement with sentient beings, representing the mystical and experiential dimensions of Buddhist practice.
- Their relics symbolise the complementary pillars of Buddhist practice, wisdom and direct experience, and are revered as embodiments of the noble Sangha, one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism.

Arahant in Buddhism refers to a perfected individual who has realized the true nature of existence and attained nirvana (spiritual enlightenment).
Having completely freed themselves from the bonds of desire and attachment, an arahant is no longer subject to rebirth.
In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, attaining the state of an arahant is regarded as the ultimate goal of spiritual practice.
The Pali texts describe four progressive stages leading to arhatship:
1. Stream-enterer (Sotapanna): Achieved by overcoming false beliefs and doubts concerning the Buddha, the Dhamma (teaching), and the Sangha (monastic community). It marks entry into the path toward enlightenment.
2. Once-returner (Sakadagamin): Attained through the reduction of lust, hatred, and delusion. Such a person will be reborn only one more time in the human realm.
3. Non-returner (Anagamin): Reached by eliminating sensual desire and ill will, in addition to the attainments of the previous two stages. After death, the individual is reborn in a higher heavenly realm, where arhatship is ultimately attained.
4. Arhat (Arahant): The final stage of liberation, characterised by complete freedom from all defilements and the attainment of nirvana.
According to traditional teachings, except in rare and extraordinary circumstances, a person can attain arhantship only while living as a monk or nun