Dear Sadharmiks,
Jai Jinendra! Pranam!

An exciting play on the interaction between Acharya Shri Heer Vijay Suri and Samrat Akbar will be streamed live on April 30. Don’t miss the world premiere of the play on JAINA platform.

Preparations are under way for the 2nd International Jain Conference in Ahmedabad in January of 2023. Read details below.

Inside February 2022 Jain Digest, Reena Shah writes about Ruth Bader Ginsburg - the US Supreme Court’s Feminist who is known for her fearlessness, standing up for equality, determination, resilience, equanimity, etc. Read about her life, achievements, and legacy.

Recently, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago had a Karaoke evening. It gave a good opportunity to everyone to get rid of the quarantine blues of the past 2 years and connect back with the community and friends.

Jain Center of Greater Phoenix invites you to celebrate the 133rd Janma Jayanti of Gurudev Shri Kanjiswami from April 29 to May 1, 2022. Find more details below.

Applied Jainism invites you to join them in uniquely celebrating Mahavir Janma Kalyanak by participating in their National green-movement ‘I Pledge to Carry A Cloth Bag’ to eradicate single-use plastics. Let’s join this thoughtful campaign and make a conscious choice in everyday life to make this planet a better place to live.

JAINA World Community Service requests you to support the Ukraine Relief Fund drive to help the victims of the Ukraine and Russia war. Please note, every penny we collect will be sent to the needy who are in a desperate situation near the border cities in Poland. The committee is in talks with several representatives of NGOs that are active on the ground in Poland as to how best we can help. JAINA will select most Ahimsak manner to provide the relief as per Jain values. Please send your tax-deductible donation.

Sincerely,

Haresh Shah,
JAINA President

Surishvar and Samrat - Victory of Ahimsa over Cruelty

The Vaiyavach Committee of JAINA in cooperation with Shrut Ratnakar presents “Surishvar and Samrat” - Victory of Ahimsa over Cruelty.An original play in Gujarati on Saturday, April 30th evening on Zoom! A premiere performance for a fund-raising event in support of Shrut Ratnakar’s Adhyan Kendra. Be the first ones to witness the glorious history of Jainism!

Synopsis of the play
Champa shravika had done Upvas for 6 months. Samrat Akbar was surprised to see her parana Varghodo and asked her “How can you stay hungry for 6 months?”.

She replied: “From the blessings of my Dev & Guru Heer Vijay Surishvarji”. Hearing this, Samrat Akbar invites Acharya Heer Vijay Surishvarji, who brings surprising changes in his lifestyle.

His cruelty transforms into compassion. He stops killing innocent animals and gives up eating meat. He provides protection for many Tirths and makes Acharya Heer Vijay Surishvarji his Rajguru.

We bow down to such a powerful Guru and his compassion towards all living beings. Let us all watch this amazing transformation of Samrat Akbar.

Introduction to Shrut Ratnakar
The main objective of Shrut Ratnakar is to provide various Jainism courses, high-level research, and tools for knowledge to bring the diction "पढमं नाणं तओ दया" – “First Knowledge and then mercy” to life. In cities as well as villages, there are many pathshalas at Sangh level for primary knowledge. For further studies, numerous institutions like Shri Yashovijayji Sanskrit Pathshala are continuously working to disseminate knowledge of Jain Dharma.

Presently, there is a rise in the number of Sadhu-Sadhvijis each year. Demand for courses related to Jainism is increasing rapidly in universities. Enthusiasts in India as well as abroad have a niche curiosity for knowing about Jainism. Currently, there are about 18,000 Sadhu-Sadhvijis and many Jain Youth who possess a desire to learn various aspects of Jainism. Thus, there is a need for an organized Vidyapith. Shrut Ratnakar is committed to filling that need through its innovative “Adhyayan Kendra”.

The Adhyayan Kendra is a first-of-its-kind institution dedicated to imparting knowledge of Jain Dharma to Sadhus, Sadhvis, Shravaks, and Shravikas. It is being constructed on a 2.5 Acres of land at Panchasar – mere 5 km from Sankheswara Tirth. It will provide the study of Sanskrit, Prakrit, and English languages, teaching of Scriptures and Doctrines. It will have a library with more than 40,000 books, study rooms, a conference hall, Upashrayas for Sadhus and Sadhvis, a Temple and other amenities for those who come to learn. Seminars and Online Courses will be organized for participants from all over the world. The hope is, this Adhyayan Kendra will become a Jain University in some time.

Our Vision and Mission

1. To prepare and implement plans for the development and construction of a Study Centre that includes modern facilities under proper guidance from the highest level of Sadhu Bhagvants.
2. To promote the Jain Principles of Ahimsa, Aparigraha, and Anekantvad.
3. To train scholars in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Apabhramsa languages.
4. To prepare scholars who can represent Jainism at international and national seminars, symposiums, workshops, lectures, and conferences.
5. To Digitize 40,000 Shastras, Manuscripts etc., and develop the largest on-line library.
6. To make digitized material available to Sadhu Sadhvis and students.
7. Build short-term residential facilities for Sadhus, Sadhvis, Mumukshus & Scholars.
8. To establish & facilitate a research center for Jainism & to promote dialog amongst scholars. and publish research papers.
9. Have an onsite medical clinic for our Sadhu Sadhvis.

Sponsoring Organizations: JAINA; Shrut Ratnakar Foundation, USA; World Jain Confederation, Mumbai; JITO, Ahmedabad Veer Shrut Trust, Ahmedabad-Mumbai; B. L. Institute of Indology, Delhi

Leadership: Shri Jitendra B. Shah, Shri Virendra P. Shah; Dr. Jasvant Modi, and Shri Dilip V. Shah

Timeline of Development: Permits, Site development, and obtaining utilities like electricity and water have been completed. Architectural plans have been developed. Sadhu-Sadhviji’s Upashraya administration office will be completed by the end of this year. The rest of the construction including a Temple, is estimated to be completed by March of 2024. First Shibir and short courses will begin on Dusshera 2022.

We invite you to support this noble cause with your generous contributions. Please contact any of the following for available sponsorship and available donation opportunities.
Mr Hamendra Doshi +1 213 448 7722
Dr Jasvant Modi +1 213 999 7011

JAINA to convene 2nd International Jain Conference in Ahmadabad

After the break of two years due to corona virus, JAINA will once again convene an International Jain Conference in Ahmedabad in January 2023. The theme of the three-day conference will be Forgiveness – Kshamapna.

At the present time, many western scholars, philosophers, and educators, are presenting Forgiveness as a newfound virtue. They hold seminars, publish papers, and author books about Forgiveness as if they have discovered a novel tool for enriching lives or bringing peace. But Jains have always considered Forgiveness as a foundational value. Still, the western discussion on Forgiveness never even mentions Jainism. What may be the reason for such exclusion? What can we do to bring our concept of forgiveness into the mainstream of discussions? Do we as Jains have anything of value to contribute on the world stage?

We will invite national and international thinkers, scholars, religious leaders, and researchers to our conference on Forgiveness. The 2nd International Jain conference will be held, as we did the first international conference, in cooperation with many other Jain organizations in India. Stay tuned.

Inside February 2022 Jain Digest

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Life, Achievements, and Legacy By Reena Shah

In this article read about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the US Supreme Court’s Feminist and progressive icon, and America’s cultural icon whose career changed American society. There are many things we can learn from Ruth’s life such as - fearlessness, standing up for equality, determination, resilience, equanimity, etc.

While describing her life, Reena says, “One of the other great things with her was that she treated Kashays like anger, envy, and resentment as a waste of time and energy. She would stay away from those emotions in order to remain focused on her task and work. This kind of understanding requires a lot of self-introspection and contemplation to be able to have such a clear understanding of one’s goal in life.”

Read full Article JAIN DIGEST FEBRUARY 2022 Jain Digest

The Jain Digest team invites you to share a life lesson you have learned that had an impact on your life. Throughout our life we continue to learn important life lessons from our loved ones and from our own experiences. These lessons help us in making the right decisions, make progress in our education, career, family life, and our overall personal growth.

Often during a small event or a casual discussion, we learn something that has a positive impact on our life. Do you recall any such event or discussion? Do you have any learnings that you would like to pass on to others? If you do, we are inviting you to submit a story (up to 250 words) about it. Please limit your story to just one learning and tell us what impact it had on your life.

Please send us your story by Sunday, April 17, 2022.

Selected stories will be published in the “Community Corner” section of the June 2022 issue of Jain Digest.

Here is a simple example: One day, when I was 13 years old, my mother told me to go to a shop on the ground floor of our building and get a can of cooking oil she needed. I went down to get it, but the store was closed. I came back and told my mother that I could not get the oil as the store was closed. My uncle, who had witnessed this scene, said to me, “Did you try any other store nearby? You can’t just give up like that. When someone tells you to do something, you have to do your best to get it done. Now go and find that oil in another store.” I felt ashamed and followed his advice. I was able to get the can of oil from another store just a block away. The valuable lesson I learned was “Get the job done”; which has helped me in various situations in my professional and personal life.

Jain Center Latest News

Jain Center of Greater Phoenix invites you to celebrate the 133rd Janma Jayanti of Gurudev Shri Kanjiswami. The Program will commence with dinner on April 29, 2022 , and conclude after Lunch on May 1, 2022. Please RSVP for the Janma Jayanti of Gurudev Shri Kanjiswami.

For questions, please contact Dr. Kirit Gosalia at 602.316.5077, Dr. Dilip Bobra at 480.440.0778, Jayshree Parekh at 805.501.7066, or Kalpana Shah at 909.717.3618

Participate in a MJK Campaign - I Pledge to Carry A Cloth Bag

Applied Jainism invites us to celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak in a unique way by participating in their national green-movement ‘I Pledge to Carry A Cloth Bag’ to eradicate “single-use” plastics. By consciously changing our lifestyle and using greener alternatives such as cloth bags, we as a collective community can lead and become a model for society.

Applied Jainism, is an activity of JAINA India Foundation. It requests and welcomes everyone to join the campaign that aims to:

1. Spread the word about the harmful effects of plastics on our environment.
2. Reduction in use of plastic carry-bags by vegetable/fruit sellers and grocery stores.
3. Encourage people to shift to greener alternatives such as cloth bags. Read more about the Campaign and Pledge to Carry a Cloth Bag.

Ukraine Relief Fund

JAINA World Community Service (WCS) is launching a Ukraine Relief Fund drive to help the victims of this war. JAINA does not charge any administrative fee to the relief fund. 100% of the donations will go towards relief efforts. JAINA volunteers and partners will volunteer their time and experience to the cause.

We request you to send your tax-deductible (USA) contribution payable to JAINA, at World Community Services, 2960 Mother Well Court, Oak Hill, VA 20171 or at the link below.

Ukraine Relief Fund

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