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Community Service -Tsunami Victims Funds Update
As you know, JAINA was in the forefront helping Tsunami Victims. Based on the intelligence we have gathered in India, we are proceeding with our long-term plan for rebuilding and rehabilitation. Our local partner Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana in Pune, has received approval from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Government for the building of twenty (20) schools in the Islands, We are adopting one school in CFO Nallaha, Middle Andaman, comprising of 8+2 classrooms (6,300Sq. ft.). We intended to adopt more school contingent upon funds collected. Construction and set-up for the opening of the school will be completed by the end of May 2005 so that the students can resume their academic year during the 1st week of June 2005. BJS would then hand over the school to the government of Andaman and Nicobar. As of today, we have received firm commitments from the following Jain Centers: 1.
Jain Center of Southern California, Los Angeles. A marble plaque in front of the school will be inscribed with the name of The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA), and each classroom will be inscribed with major Jain Center contributors, who have contributed more then twenty thousand dollars. If your Sangh has not forwarded your contribution to JAINA, we ask you to please send your tax deductible (USA) contribution payable to JAINA and mail to: Prakash
Mehta |
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| President’s
Message First, 2005 JAINA Convention preparations are proceeding very well. The registration trend is very positive. The volunteers from the Jain Center of Northern California are working very hard to make the convention a big hit. Please register quickly if you have not had a chance to do so. Second, Tsunami Relief fund drive is going very well. Bachubhai Ajmera and Prakash Mehta and Dr. Dhiraj Shah have identified a reliable NGO chaired by Shri Shantibhai Muttha to use our money for a building school in Andaman island. I am very pleased to note that many of our member centers have either committed to or are seriously thinking of going through JAINA. Please go through JAINA to get the maximum leverage out of our community funds. JAINA has decided not to charge normal administrative charge 3% on these funds. Third, I was in India during Dec. 25, 2004 through Jan. 25, 2005 when I met with a number of eminent Jain leaders in Bomaby, Ahemadabad, and Jaipur and discussed with them areas of common interest. I attended a Jain Doctors’ Medical Conference in Bombay. I went to Ladnu to attend International Preksha Meditation Program for 8 days and had several meetings with Acharya Mahapragyaji and his disciples. All in all, I came back with a lot of information useful for our community. Please read the full description of my trip in the next issue of Jain Digest. Fourth: Jain Center Resource Committee has prepared a very comprehensive check list that you can use if you are thinking of building a new temple. It will be published in the next issue of Jain Digest. Please read the attached report from this committee. Please Nitin Shah, Committee Chair, at 562-902-0277 if you have any questions. Fifth: We had run into problems with US Customs in releasing the JAINA calendar shipment. Thanks to Rajeev Pandya who has finally resolved the problem. The calendars are in the mail now. Thank you for your patience. Sixth: Thanks to Dilip V. Shah for arranging yet another successful pilgrimage to Shri Samet Shikharji for our community in Jan and Feb of this year. He is already planning a Pilgrimage to Temples of South India for 2006. Thank
you for your time. |
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From
the Editor of JAINA Spectrum |
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| JAINA
Is Growing!
The following Jain centers
recently applied and are now accepted as new member centers of JAINA
This brings
the new total of JAINA’s member centers to 65. If you know
of any other group in your area which is performing Jain religious
Kamlesh Shah
- Chairman, Membership Committee |
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Jaina
Convention Update Dr.
L. M. Singhvi, An eminent Jain Scholar, Ex Ambassador of India to
UK, Chair of Committee on Indian Diaspora will explore the theme
from Jain perspective. |
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JCNC
Community Rises for the Tsunami Relief Cause This event also included delicious North-Indian style dinner followed by aarti and prayers to all Jain deities. The concert was interlaced with speech by Sri.Parveen Jain about the devastation caused by tsunamis, and JCNC’s efforts to help the cause in the footsteps of its previously successful efforts during Gujarat earthquake. The generosity of small children, who emptied their piggy banks, did extra chores or made paper airplanes to raise funds were highlighted; young and old in audience responded generously by pledges and donations. This event, along with other efforts by JCNC so far, has collected $100,000, which will go towards the recovery programs for tsunami victims. Currently, the JCNC Tsunami Relief Committee is working with Jaina in co-sponsoring Schhol Projects in Andaman Nicobar." |
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| Interfaith
News DHARMA SUMMIT 2005 AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW JERSEY Dharma Summit 2005 to be held at Rutgers University on August 13-15, 2005 will provide a forum to the spiritual institutions to exchange thoughts and ideas, and share experiences on how to impart spiritual and cultural education to our future generations and remove bias and misperceptions about our faith traditions from the society. All sessions will be in panel format. Highlight will be six panels (1) Future of Dharma Traditions in North America; (2) How to evolve Temples, Religious Institutions to involve Younger Generations; (3) Reaching out to the Larger Community with Seva and Education, and removing Misperceptions; (4) How to protect Dharma from Distortion; (5) Workshop on Temple Management and Administration; and (6) Path Forward. Inauguration by Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. Admission is by invitation to the Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist temples and institutions across USA. Seats limited. For participation, please contact Naresh Jain at (201) 933-8963 or njain52253@aol.com or Dr. Ved Chaudhary at (732) 972-1489. BUILDING HOMES BY JAINS IN GUJARAT EXEMPLIFIED BY THE WEEKLY SOUTH BERGENITE FOR LONG TERM TSUNAMI RELIEF In
the 'Opinion' column of the weekly South Bergenite of Bergen County,
New Jersey, dated January 19, 2005, the editor explained that although
the outpouring of donations for Tsunami relief has been admirable,
the victims need long term relief. The editorial column cited an
example of the long-sighted effort of the Jain community in the
2001 earthquake hit Gujarat to help the victims by raising $650,000
and building homes at $3,000 a piece. In addition to providing shelter
to the people that had lost their homes, it created jobs for the
victims. Contact Naresh Jain or Susan Hebert at hebert@northjersey.com. Roots of the philosophy of nonviolence in Jainism adopted in the path of the struggle for civil rights in America by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were discussed by Naresh Jain of JAINA Interfaith Committee in the New Jersey Transit Boardroom at its Newark, headquarters on January 21, 2005. The program 'Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Era' was jointly organized by the Conference of Minority Transport Officials (COMTO) and New Jersey Transit. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GATHERING 2005 OF INTERFAITH ALLIANCE The Interfaith Alliance of Washington, DC, held its national gathering to discuss 'Getting Our House in Order' on March 4-6, 2005. Pravin Shah of JAINA Education Committee and Director in the Wake County Interfaith Council, presented the 'Essence of World Religions' book to the participants and that was very well received and generated many conversations. Contact Pravin Shah at education@jaina.org. JAINISM SEMINAR AT MIT, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSSETTSS Jainism 101 seminar will be held at MIT on Thursday, March 17, 2005. It is part of a three credit course on 'Understanding Religions' which includes a two hour learning session followed by a two week practice period. During these two weeks, the students will become vegetarians and will participate in the Boston Jain Center temple activities. Contact Sudhir Shah at sudhir@optonline.net or Nirav Shah at nbshah@mit.edu PRESENTING JAINISM IN THE WOMEN'S INTERFAITH GROUP Jainism will be presented by the international speaker Dr. Hema Pokharna on March 17, 2005 in the Interfaith Prayer and Meditation Group for Women of all faiths at 4S175 Naperville Road, Naperville, Illinois 60563. Contact Hema at ahinsa@mdiaccess.net
Teachings of Jainism will be presented at the monthly meeting of pastors, first ladies and church elders at a breakfast organized by the American Clergy Leadership Conference on Saturday March 19, 2005, at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey. CALL FOR INTERFAITH NETWORKING Several
Jain community members reach out to the American audience in schools,
churches and other forums in an effort to promote awareness about
Jain religion and its teachings of nonviolence. Every gathering
and every experience is UNIQUE. We can learn and network with each
other. To share your news and experiences, please email brief information
to Naresh Jain at njain52253@aol.com
including the title of the event, where held, what took place or
important feature, extent and type of Jain participation, names
of Jain representatives and their affiliated center or group, and
contact name with telephone number or email. |
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| Jain
Centers’ Resource Committee Jai Jinendra! It is with a tremendous pleasure that I present to you JAINA’s Jain Centers’ Resource Committee. In October 2004 I was asked to lead this committee that was newly chartered by JAINA. I feel very honored and privileged to be asked to be the chairman of this committee by JAINA. With recommendations by JAINA we have the following members in this committee: 1.
Nitin Shah (Chairman, Los Angeles) The objectives of the committee are: 1.
To gather information about existing centers/temples (including
expansions) in USA & Canada. Members of the resource committee collectively have lots of experience in all of the objectives and beyond and will be more than willing to help in any which way to any person working on establishing a Jain Center/Temple in their place. NO QUESTION IS A SMALL QUESTION SO PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME FOR ANYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR CENTER/TEMPLE! Finally,
we all feel very obliged that JAINA has given us this opportunity.
We commit to serve you all in every possible way. You will find
temple process guidelines with this. The information will also be
put on JAINA’s website. We plan to update the website periodically.
We also plan to have a session during JAINA’s convention in
July 2005 to give more information and to assist any needy community.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance in
any of your center’s issues. |
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