Dear Sadharmiks,
Jai Jinendra! Pranam!

JAINA expresses the deepest grief on the passing away of Dr. Natubhai Shah on March 6 and expresses heartfelt condolences to his family and the Jain community of the UK. He was the Godfather of Jains of the UK, a Doctor, Writer, Philosopher, recipient of MBE award from her Majesty the Queen, JAIN RATNA Award from the Government of India, and an Initiator of many Jain activities in the UK. He attended many JAINA Conventions as an invited speaker. Let us all pray for his eternal peace. Aum Shanti!

JAINA congratulates Dr. Parveen Jain of Jain Center of Northern California on his ARIHANTA ACADEMY project. JAINA is happy to support this noble project.

Read the inspiring story of how the united Jain community in Wisconsin has succeeded in stopping the expansion of slaughterhouses in their neighborhood.

JSMC invites JainX adults, a group of adults who were born or are predominantly raised outside of India, to join their first JainX in-person Meet-n-Greet event on Sunday, March 13. Registration details are mentioned below.

Over 9 weeks from Ahimsa Day, October 2nd to Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, Joy of Sharing Foundation prepared 25,000 hot meals at two locations in Southern California. With many millions of turkeys being slaughtered for Thanksgiving Day, the Joy of Sharing Foundation created meals where harm to sentient beings like cows to the smallest microbes was minimized and compassion was maximized.

Dr Nitin Shah and Kinna ben from LA visited Kandivali Hitvardhak Hospital in Mumbai on 3/10/2022, where JAINA has donated an oxygen plant.

YJA Convention is returning to in-person after four years, will continue to focus on faith, community, and culture, with the theme “Navigating New Horizons”. YJA is excited to bring together over 750 youth from across the country. Please visit the YJA website for sponsorship opportunities and to donate.

Inside February JAIN DIGEST, read an interesting article where Reena Shah has highlighted several organizations in India that are providing opportunities for women to earn a living, increase their sense of self-worth, and more.

Sincerely,

Haresh Shah,
JAINA President

Loss of A Jewel - Dr. Natubhai Shah

With the deepest grief, we inform you of a peaceful passing away of Dr. Natubhai Shah on March 6th, 2022. Many of us know him from the Jain Network. The Jain community has truly lost a jewel with him. He had undergone putting a stent in his heart a few days ago and was recovering, but eventually had a heart attack. Let us all pray for his eternal peace. Aum Shanti!

JAINA expresses heartfelt condolences to his family.

Dr. Natubhai was the President of the Jain Academy, the recipient of the JAIN RATNA Award by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and had been involved in the Interfaith work for many years. He was a visionary who represented Jainism at the highest level and was the main person responsible for the creation of the beautiful Jain center at Leicester in the UK. A great doctor, philanthropist, Jain scholar, and Jain Sashan Prabhavak has left this world when his mission of Shikhabandhi 108 Parshvanath Derasar was near its completion. Let us all pray for his eternal peace and pray almighty that his mission gets completed by Jains from all over the world.

Dr. Natubhai was known to be a very humble and soft-spoken man, a pioneer of temple building in the UK and Belgium. He was the only Jain attendee at Prince Williams and Kate Middleton’s wedding some years ago.

He led his life with great energy, focus, determination, and dedication. He had stayed independent and active until his 90th year. We will cherish his memories for years to come.

Introducing Arihanta Academy

We are writing you today with exciting news of the official launch of Arihanta Academy - a world-class online institution for learning about the Jain tradition and how its application to daily life can benefit the well-being of individuals and society - https://www.arihanta-academy.com.

Arihanta Academy has created an advanced technology platform with logistical provisions to enable a rich learning experience conducive to modern living and learning styles. Most importantly, the academy's world-renowned faculty offers scholastic richness for any level of studying and research in Jain philosophy and related dharmic, Yogic, and linguistic subjects.

We invite you to:

• Explore the courses and studies offered by Arihanta Academy.
• Subscribe to receive their emails with future announcements.
• Enroll in an upcoming course(s) for the spring 2022 semester. A wide range of courses on applications of Jain philosophy, fundamentals of Jain philosophy, yoga history and theory, and yoga practice are available. Courses starts on April 16, 2022.

Subscribe Enroll

We sincerely hope that you will take advantage of this highly accessible and affordable educational platform that facilitates studying the venerated teachings of our Arihantas

Thank you. For inquiries, please contact learn@arihanta-academy or visit www.arihanta-academy.com.

Jain Center News

A moment of Pride for Jains of America

Strauss Brands operates a meat packing facility in the city of Frankly, Wisconsin. The company has been in operation for the last 50 years in the Milwaukee suburb. Two years ago, A private equity firm purchased Strauss to expand operations. This would have resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of additional animals per day, initially, with no stated upward limit as to how many animals could be killed daily going forward.

In late 2020, the Franklin Common Council initially denied Strauss Brands the permit to develop their new facility after hearing considerable opposition from residents. Just two weeks later, one council member altered her vote, and the city approved the permit.

There are about 50 Jain families who live in this community. On the critical issue of JIVADAYA, we came together and opposed the expansion of the slaughterhouse. In partnership with a local organization, Franklin Community Advocates (FCA), our Jain group worked tirelessly to oppose the expanded facility, put Ahimsa in action, and help defend the community. FCA filed a suit against the city for violation of due process. Through Jivadaya Committee of JAINA, we raised funds to support the litigation costs of the FCA.

Throughout the litigation, the Jain community stood with the local volunteers to ensure our voices were heard. The court ordered the council to hold another public hearing on the project, which took place on February 17th of this year. Several members of the Jain community spoke up during the meeting and the press has extensively covered the proceedings since the beginning.

To our surprise and relief, before the hearing began, we learned Strauss had decided to withdraw its application to build the new facility! The company announced it would sell the parcel of land and abandon its efforts in Franklin. We were overjoyed!

Unfortunately, our excitement was short-lived. The city continued the planning commission meeting and ultimately approved a permit for a slaughterhouse, even without a named applicant! This is a very unusual step and again, rules were changed by those in power to get their way. We believe the mayor is planning to attract another meat processing company to the city despite the overwhelming opposition from his own constituents.

We are continuing our efforts to stop any slaughterhouse from coming into this community by all possible means. We intend to proceed with the case in state court and seek other avenues to enjoin the city from its deceptive practices. We will have to raise more funds to continue the legal route. Over the last two years, we have overcome many challenges together, but through our unity and activism, we have already saved the lives of tens of thousands of animals from slaughter while the legal process played out. The recent developments reaffirm that our cause is just, and we will stay the course.

Please support our efforts to stop the expansion of the slaughterhouse by donating to the Jivadaya Committee If you need more information, write to Kamal Shah of Jain Religious Center of Wisconsin at kamalshah318@gmail.com.

Stop Slaugherhouse

Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago

Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago started JainX (a group of adults who were born or are predominantly raised outside of India), a couple of years back and the team made good progress in establishing the brand and staying engaged with the JainX community with various activities. JSMC invites JainX adults who belong to the above group to join us for our first JainX in-person Meet-n-Greet event on Sunday, March 13. This will be an opportunity for all of us to candidly exchange and discuss our thoughts and ideas. JainX’s goal is to bring the community closer to Jainism and JSMC and to create a platform for them to engage at social, professional, spiritual, and humanitarian levels. Signup for JainX Meet-n-Greet.

Serving Jain Meals

Joy of Sharing Foundation joined JAINA’s mission of serving Jain Meals as a Ahimsa day event. Over 9 weeks from Ahimsa Day, October 2nd to Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, Joy of Sharing Foundation prepared 25,000 hot meals in 2 locations in Southern California.

We have committed to preparing between 1500 - 2000 meals every Sunday for all 52 weeks in 2022. For which Joy of Sharing Foundation is raising funds. For every dollar raised, Joy of Sharing Foundation will match it. The goal is to raise $ 75,000 for 2022! So far, we have raised $ 34,000 (Sarva Mangal Family Trust - $ 24,000.) Please help us with your donation to achieve the target of $75,000.

Jain Meals

Visit to Hitvardhak Hospital

Dr Nitin Shah and Kinnaben Shah from LA visited Kandivali Hitvardhak Hospital in Mumbai on 3/10/2022, where JAINA has donated oxygen plant. Dr Bipin Doshi, Shree Pankajbhai and Dr Neetha Singhvi are felicitating them.

YJA Update

This year’s YJA convention, returning to in-person after four years, will continue to focus on faith, community, and culture, with the theme “Navigating New Horizons”. The Convention is taking place on the 4th of July weekend in Dallas, Texas. More information on the convention www.yja.org/2022.

YJA is excited to bring together over 750 youth from across the country between the ages of 14-29. Over the course of the convention, we plan to host over 150 Jain education sessions that focus on application, invite dignitaries and speakers from all over the world to provide diverse perspectives, and foster connections through social events such as Garba and Formal.

Stay tuned for Convention registration opening in mid-March! You can sign your kids up at www.convention.yja.org - they expect slots to sell out quickly!

While they maintain a high degree of rigor when it comes to spending, the Convention is really costly to put on. With COVID-19 and inflation, costs this year have gone up by 20% across the board. In the past, generous donations have made our Convention accessible for Jain youth, and this year we need support as well.

Please visit the YJA website www.convention.yja.org/donate for more information and to make your donation. More detail on sponsorship levels is available here. If you’d like to make a donation by check, please find the mailing address in the link mentioned above.

Inside February 2022 Jain Digest

Women’s Empowerment in India – Compiled by Reena Shah

In this article Reena Shah has highlighted several organizations in India that are providing opportunities for women to earn a living, increase their sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices; thus, empowering them to influence social change for themselves and others.

Reena says, “Empowering women is essential to the health and social development of families, communities, and countries. When women are living safe, fulfilled, and productive lives, they can reach their full potential. contributing their skills to the workforce and can raise happier and healthier children. They are also able to help fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.”

Read full Article JAIN DIGEST FEBRUARY 2022 Jain Digest

JAINA Tapotsav

Nothing is impossible if you decide to do it. The awe-inspiring story of 28-year old Param Pavitramuni Maharaj Saheb, a disciple of Rashtrasant Param Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb, is creating ripples across the world. He has completed 154 fasts in 187 days with a Tapasya called Laghu Sinhnishkreedit Mahatapp.

What is Laghu Sinhnishkreedit Mahatapp?
Like a lion walks few steps ahead and then carefully withdraws one step backward before moving ahead again, an individual observes a series of fasts in a similar manner.

1 fast – parna – 2 fasts – parna – 3 fasts – parna – 2 fasts – parna – 4 fasts – parna – 3 fasts … this forward-backward system of fasts continues in an ascending order till 9 fasts and then the same way in a descending order. Watch the video to know HOW this is done:

A former state level swimmer, skater, and squash player, Param Pavitramuni Maharaj Saheb has taken Jain Diksha in 2016 and completed just 6 years of diksha life. When asked why he chose to initiate such a tough penance, he replied, “The foundation of Jain philosophy is ahimsa (non-violence). Every meal that we eat harms and hurts other living beings. While we cannot live without food, Tapasya (fasting) is a process of inculcating compassion towards every living being. And fasting is not merely a process of spiritual detoxification; it is a process of developing our physical, mental, and emotional stamina."

Like a person with strong immunity can survive any virus or infection, a person with high tolerance power can survive any struggle or challenge in life. Fasting is a process of developing inner strength and extraordinary willpower to handle any situation. He further adds, “My experience with fasting has been that I have learnt how to command my mind. When I initially began the fasts, there was a confrontation between my mind and me. When our mind is stronger, the body functions how we make it function. But when our mind is weak, the body also starts becoming weak. And so, the solution to every problem in life lies in achieving self-command on our mind.”

Let us join in the TAPOTSAV celebrations LIVE.
12th March (USA) - 7:30 pm PST | 9:00 pm CST | 10:00 pm EST

Watch LIVE on Zoom, Youtube and Facebook.

JAINA & Various Scholar Lectures

DONATE TO