Dear Sadharmiks,
Jai Jinendra! Pranam!

During the JAINA EC February meeting, several new appointments of Chairmanship of JAINA Committees were approved. The new appointments were due to resignations or expiry of six-year term limits of the previous chairs. Please welcome the new committee chairs.

Previously, we informed you of the efforts by a group of Jains in Wisconsin to stop the expansion of a slaughterhouse. Their efforts have brought us incredibly good news. Read the story below of how activism by a small group can produce monumental results.

Read also a tribute to Acharyashri Chandanaji and her incredible journey of “compassion in action” on her 86th birthday and receiving the Padmashri Award.

Please attend the 2nd day of the JAINA Academic Liaison Committee co-sponsored 2-day virtual International Conference, ‘Beyond Violence: Jainism, Plurality, and World Religions’. Please find the Conference Schedule, Abstract, Registration details below.

Finally, the big moment is here. Witness the event LIVE as 9 Mumukshus take the vows of Jain Diksha with the blessing of Rashtrasant Param Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb on February 20, 2022.

Read an interesting article on Compassion Articulated by Yara Almouradi in the Jain Digest February 2022 issue.

JAINA Women’s Committee celebrates Women’s Day by organizing an exciting, educational seminar, Cryptocurrency Myths vs. Facts, on March 12, 2022. The seminar will be conducted on Zoom.

Jain Society of Middle Tennessee members recently completed Shree Laghu Shanti Sutras for the peace, safety, and good health of all the souls in the universe. They also did Navkar Mantra Jaap, Shree Uvasagharam Stotras Jaap, Shree Logassa Sutras Jaap, and Shree Santikaram Sutras Jaap. JSMT members will soon start Shree Moti Shanti for the Peace to all the souls of this universe. Please find the details to join in this noble cause.

Please attend the 23rd virtual session of 72 sessions on Philosophy of Jain Karma Theory by Pujya Dr. Shri Arunvijayji Maharaj Saheb on Saturday, February 19, 2022.

Sincerely,

Haresh Shah,
JAINA President

JAINA Committees

During the February 15 meeting, JAINA EC has unanimously approved the following twelve new chairmanships of committees:

Protest for Slaughter House Expansion in Franklin

The fight over the future of a slaughterhouse expansion in Franklin, Wisconsin is continuing more than a year after a nonprofit group filed a lawsuit against the city over its approval of the plant. The local Jain community, under the leadership of JAINA director Kamal Shah, has provided moral and financial support to the nonprofit group to stop the monstrous expansion of the slaughterhouse that is planning to kill a thousand additional animals daily.

In the most recent court hearing, the judge has ordered new hearings to address various concerns of the civic groups essentially bringing the approval process to ground zero meaning at least a two-year delay in the approval process. Jains in the state are not directly involved in the legal proceedings but are lending moral and financial support to the nonprofit - “franklin Community Advocates Inc.” For more details feel free to contact Kamal Shah at kamalshah318@gmail.com or at 414-795-3558’.

Tribute to Acharyashri Chandanaji

We were all delighted to hear the announcement of Acharya Shri Chandanaji receiving Padmashri on 26th January 2022– a day of her 86th birthday. The scheduled virtual celebration on the Zoom platform became a more joyous occasion. There was little time between the official announcement and the 3:00 pm celebration at Rajgir, home of Veerayatan. Traditionally, every January 26 over a thousand people would gather around Tai Ma wherever she may be - at Rajgir, Kutch, Palitana, or Nepal. All the Veerayatan Sadhvis were present but due to Covid regulations, a lot fewer people were invited as guests this year. The virtual birthday celebration combined with the award of Padma Shri on the Zoom platform was generously designed to permit 500 attendees but somehow the news spread and many more people opted to join in.

How did Acharya Shri Chandanaji’s Veeraytan in a remote part of Bihar become a global oasis for Jain values? How did an organization make up of a small group of Sadhviji’s become a household word in hundreds of thousands of homes not just in India but globally? How did Acharyashri become Tai Ma?

What was the turning point for the organization?

Read More

Beyond Violence: Jainism, Plurality,
and World Religions

Please attend the 2nd day of Virtual International Conference, ‘Beyond Violence: Jainism, Plurality, and World Religions on February 19, 2022. The conference is co-organized by Claremont School of Theology (CST) Jain Studies Program, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University (FIU), and co-sponsored by JAINA Academic Liaison Committee and International School for Jain Studies (ISJS).

Conference Details:

Panch Mahavratdhari Jain Diksha Mahotsav

The moment has finally arrived. 9 Mumukshus are beginning their inner journey. They will be blessed with the vows of JAIN DIKSHA by Rashtrasant Param Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb on 20th FEB, 2022. For the very time, JAINA and all the Jain centres in USA and Canada have got the blessed opportunity of doing anumodana.

Witness the event LIVE on YouTube, Zoom or Parasdham website. Special LIVE English Narration available.

Join LIVE on 19th FEB (in USA)

6.30 pm PST | 8.30 pm CST | 9.30 pm EST

Inside February 2022 Jain Digest: Compassion Articulated by Yara Almouradi

Professional artist Yara Almouradi, a Visual Arts professor at California State University at Fullerton, was a judge at the International Arts Contest “Compassion in Action 2021”. In this article, Yara tells us about the process of judging more than 300 entries in the contest and her impressions about the participants.

Yara says, “The contest entries clearly revealed the artists’ priorities in living life compassionately and conducting oneself with empathy in mind on a daily basis, thus proving that compassion and kindness are a lifestyle and a daily choice.” Read the full article below:

Compassion Articulated by Yara Almouradi

Read such 21 enriching, informative articles in the recently released February 2022 Jain Digest issue. The Jain Digest Editorial Team is sure that you would enjoy reading these articles. The issue of Jain Digest is now available on the JAINA Website in the link below.

JAIN DIGEST FEBRUARY 2022 Jain Digest

Women's Committee Celebrates Women's Day

Jain Center Latest News

Jain Society of Middle Tennessee (JSMT) members, completed 52,538 (goal was 51,111) Shree Laghu Shanti Sutras for the peace, safety, and good health of all the souls in the universe.

During Covid-19, on June 6, 2020, JSMT started Navkar Mantra Jaap for this noble cause and completed a total of 931,000 Navkar Mantra Jaap. Then JSMT members completed 251,000 Shree Uvasagharam Stotras Jaap, 251,000 Shree Logassa Sutras Jaap & 111,111 Shree Santikaram Sutras Jaap for this noble cause.

JSMT members will start Shree Moti Shanti for the Peace to all the souls of this universe. If you want to join this noble cause, please contact Kishore Shah at 9312175510 so we can include you in our group.

Shree Moti Shanti Jaap will start on Saturday, 19th February 2022. Every week on Saturday, you have to report in the WhatsApp group how many JAAP you completed from Saturday to Friday.

Philosophy of Jain Karma Theory

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JAINA Executive Team 2022-2023