Dear Sadharmik brothers and sisters,
Jai Jinendra!

JAINA condemns the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and deeply saddened by the events, which brought bloodshed, mayhem, and dishonor to the temple of American democracy. JAINA urges recognition of the much-needed universal Jain values that aim to bring peace and harmony through the three main principles of Jainism (i.e) Ahimsa, Aparigraha, and Anekantavada.

For the first time, the JAINA Convention is opening the cultural show to international participants and expanding it to include all forms of performing art. Irrespective of what part of the world you are, JAINA invites you, as an individual or group, to participate and showcase your skill at JAINA Convention 2021. Find the Registration form link below.

JAINA is truly grateful to everyone who helped us raise $650,000 towards the JAINA Vaiyavach projects to serve our Sadhu Bhagwants. Our goal in 2021 is to raise Dollars One Million for all the projects related to the "Vaiyavach" of Sadhus and Sadhvi Bhagwant of all sects. Listen to Pujya Mahabodhi Suriji Maharaj explaining why one should do Vaiyavach Sewa. Please come forward and donate generously to this unique opportunity.

Watch the play, NARVIR – “Saga of our Solemn Duty”, in Hindi on Valentine Day February 14, 2021. The play is a fund raising event by Vaiyavach Committee. This play is presented by Dr. Bipin Doshi and Rangat Production, who brought us the much loved play Sheth Jagdusha.

Prayer for National Understanding and Reconciliation was hosted by Rumi Forum in Washington DC. Various religious leaders gave the message on Reconciliation. Kamlesh Shah, JAINA Director from the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington and a senior pathshala teacher represented the Jain faith and conveyed the message of Ahimsa to all attendees.

Jain Quantum, which has pioneered an accessible Jain literature search engine in English, announces the completion of Phase 2 which includes Multilingual search capability, Categorical search, and OCRed content of non-English material.

Watch the new Jinmandir entering its final stage of completion at the highest point of the International Headquarters of the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur.

Watch Palitana getting the Best Spiritual Destination of Gujarat award by the CM of Gujarat, Shri Vijaybhai Rupani.

Emotions and feelings are the keys to a happy and peaceful life. Understand the dynamics of how feelings are generated and how they can be changed.

Please see below for details or links, if any, on all the above items.

Sincerely,

Mahesh Wadher
JAINA President

Are you interested in participating in the 2021 Virtual Convention Cultural Show? We hope everyone in your Sangh is in good Saata and keeping safe. The 2021 JAINA Convention team is really excited to invite members or groups from your Sangh to participate in the Cultural Program at the 21st Biennial JAINA Convention Program. You may be already aware that this year the JAINA Convention is going to be hosted virtually (online) as a result, we will be hosting Jains not only from North America but from across the globe. This is going to be the first-ever global online JAINA Convention. Also, for the first time, we are opening the cultural show to international participants and expanding it to include all forms of performing art. We would truly appreciate it if you can send an announcement on behalf of JAINA inviting your members to participate in the Cultural Program. Anyone interested can fill out the Cultural Show form and someone from the JAINA Convention Cultural Program Committee will contact them. The people or group registering for this does not need to be part of any group or affiliated with any Jain Center to sign up. We truly appreciate your partnership in this and hope to receive a great response from your Sangh. Sincerely, Jayana Shah, CulturalPO@jaina.org Chair, Cultural Program Committee Convention Cultural Show JAINA Convention 2020-21 All rights reserved.

Listen to Pujya Mahabodhi Suriji Maharaj explaining why we should do Vaiyavach Sewa. It is considered as a solemn duty of Shravaks in Jainism. Do not miss this opportunity.

To attain Moksha, it is essential to accept monkhood and if one is not able to renounce the material world, he/she must at least accept monkhood in his/her heart and develop the highest regard for mendicants and be of service to Monks.

With Gurubhagwant's Blessings, we are now at $650,000. Our goal for 2021 is Dollars One Million. JAINA is truly grateful to all the generous donors who did their part in vaiyavach projects.

The fundraising is still ongoing for all the projects related to the “Vaiyavach” of Sadhus & Sadhvi Bhagwant of all sects.

JAINA IS INVITING YOU TO WATCH AN INSPIRATIONAL PLAY IN HINDI "NARVIR" - SAGA OF OUR SOLEMN DUTY ON VALENTINE DAY FEBRUARY 14, 2021.
IT IS A STORY OF THE PREVIOUS LIFE OF KING KUMARPAL. THE PLAY WILL BE BROADCASTED LIVE ON TV ASIA, JAINA WEBSITE AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.

The names of all the donors who have donated $500 or more until now towards Vaiyavach projects and any similar new donations henceforth until February 7th, 2021 will be displayed during the entire play on TV Asia screen, JAINA website, and other social media sites.

PUNYANUBANDHI PUNYA All Jains are aware that there is no facility available in India, to any Jain whether it be Sadhu-Sadhvi or Shravak-Shravika for learning Jain Granthas in depth. So Shrut Ratnakar trust has a dream of developing an Adhyayan Kendra – a Study Centre, in Jain Mahatirth Shankheshvar . Shrut Ratnakar Adhyayan Kendra will have a huge library with more than 50,000 books, two upashrayas for Sadhus and Sadhvis and also accommodation for student shravaks and shravikas. Nine study rooms and a research center with modern facilities for study and research in the area of Jain Religion, Jain Shasan etc. To accomplish our dream, we need help from all those who believe in this concept and are willing to incarnate it. Our scheme for study rooms is as follows: Abhyas rooms –Study rooms (Nine study rooms) Sadhu-Sadhvijis and all those who wish to learn Principles of Jainism will be able to study quietly and without disturbance in study rooms. Three rooms of the total nine rooms will be reserved for Sadhu-Sadhvijis. Each room can be sponsored for a donation of $15,000. This is humble request to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity for accomplishing Punyanubandhi puṇya.

Click here to read more about JAINA Vaiyavach Committee

JAINA condemns the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. It was an act of terror by individuals, some armed with military-style weapons. Being a symbol of non-violence, JAINA is appalled and deeply saddened by the events, which brought bloodshed, mayhem, and dishonor to the temple of American democracy.

As America reflects on this shameful episode, JAINA urges recognition of the much-needed universal Jain values that aim to bring peace and harmony:

• Ahimsa (non-violence): violence is never a solution to a complex problem such as the one that the country is living through currently. Resorting to violence is much easier than practicing non-violence, but the former never brings permanent solutions. As we look to celebrate MLK Day in the coming days, JAINA urges all Americans to practice Ahimsa.
• Aparigraha (non-possessiveness): promoting “let it go”, Jainism stands for the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping, and non-greediness. Aparigraha is the first step to advance in the road of Dharma - Righteousness. An Aparigrahi is always above selfishness.
• Anekantavada (non-absolutism): is respecting the views of others. JAINA encourages dialogue to resolve conflicts and understanding of multiple viewpoints.

JAINA is a nonpartisan organization and looks forward to working with the incoming administration and with members of both parties on Capitol Hill and in offices across America – as we always have and always will – to assure the protection, rights, and well-being of our community and of all peoples, and to defend the American democratic ideal. Let us continue to lead and show the world the path to peace through Jain principles.

Savita Jain
Public Relations and Media Director
JAINA, The Federation of Jain Associations in North America

In the aftermath of events in Washington DC last week, a prayer for National Understanding and Reconciliation was hosted by Rumi Forum. The forum fosters interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding. Local leaders from Christianity, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Jain faiths were invited. Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, Swami Durga Das Hutner, Rabbi Gilah Langner, Imam Kebba Sallah, and Rev. Rob Schenck gave the message of reconciliation.

Kamlesh Shah, representing the Jain faith, conveyed the message of Ahimsa to all attendees. He recited a prayer blessing all living beings and with an appeal to live in peace and harmony. He reiterated the message of Tirthankar Mahavira, for all to stay away from hatred. Why? Because hatred destroys peace. In closing, with the recitation of sloka in Sanskrit, he inspired the audience with hope and with a message “Let peace prevail upon us”.

Kamlesh Shah is a past President of Jain Society of Metro Washington and senior teacher at Jain Pathshala and a JAINA Director from the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington. He also serves as a Director and Vice President of the United Hindu and Jain Temple Association of Metropolitan Washington (UHJT). The association represents fourteen Hindu and Jain temples in Metropolitan Washington DC and Baltimore areas.

"JAINA Education Committee is proud to present you all with updates in our new project named "JAIN Quantum". We have come a long way while making https://jainelibrary.org/ available to all, for reading and enriching our knowledge, from our precious JAIN literature. Now, with technology more advanced and ability to do more, we are able to utilize our collection to make it more usable for our readers. So get on this Zoom meeting organized by YJA to know more about it." Since its inception in August 2020, Jain Quantum (www.jainqq.org) has pioneered an accessible Jain literature search engine designed for people of all backgrounds. In Phase 1 of the project, only the English literature was indexed on Jain Quantum. Now we are delighted to announce the completion of Phase 2 which includes:

(1) Multilingual search capability (now supports Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, German, Apabhramsa, Farsi, Bengali, Kannada, Sanskrit, Prakrit, and many more)

(2) Categorical search (can filter based on media category e.g. article, audio file)

(3) OCRed content of non-English material (currently we have 1 Million pages indexed in the search engine)

How to Use Jain Quantum

• Visit www.jainqq.org
• In the search box type your query (anything related to Jainism or spirituality)
• The results will appear below in real-time as you type
• Adjust the categories and search language by clicking the "Search Options" button

Online Zoom Presentation

Date/Time - Saturday, January 16th (3:30 pm ET – USA: New York time),
Anish Visaria will share the ideation and creation process and the future vision for Jain Quantum. He will also give a live demo for the use cases of the search engine, and why it is important to reference authentic literature.

Zoom Meeting Link - http://bit.ly/reflect-quantum
Q&A Form - http://bit.ly/quantum-questions
Facebook Event Link - https://fb.me/e/1Si8FUvNU

Adorning the highest point of the International Headquarters of the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur, the new Jinmandir is swiftly entering its final stage of completion. Watch a video to the construction site and other updates.