2. Condolences on John Robert Lewis Passing Away

JAINA is very saddened by the news of civil rights hero John Lewis, who passed away last Friday. JAINA extends hearty condolences and keeping him our prayers for his soul rest in peace.

John Robert Lewis was an American politician and civil rights leader who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. JAINA was privileged to have him as one of the keynote speakers in the Atlanta JAINA Convention.

During the 2015 JAINA Atlanta Convention, Keynote speaker Congressman John Lewis noted that “Had it not been for Gandhi, I would not be standing here today. Thank you for preaching and teaching and living the way of peace, the way of love, and the way of nonviolence. Were it not for Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. there would be no Barack Obama as President of the USA. You remain an inspiration for non-violence, for generations to come. I have come here to say Thank you".

3. Share your COVID-19 Experience with the Jain Community

Jain Digest Committee is pleased to announce that the October 2020 Jain Digest magazine will be a special issue on COVID-19 in which all of you can participate!

People all over the world have been facing this challenge for more than four months and continuing to do so with no end in sight. We would like to know how you, as a member of the Jain community, are dealing with this crisis. We feel that all of us can learn a lot from each other by sharing our stories and experiences, hopes and fears, challenges, and triumphs. Anyone age 10 and above are welcome to participate.

To share your experience, fill out this COVID-19 Experience Sharing Form and answer a few questions. There are 5 questions for children age from 10 to 18, and 5 questions for the adults. You do not have to answer all the questions. You can choose to answer as many questions as you want as long as the total number of words does not exceed 200. Please fill out the form by Monday, August 10th. We look forward to your enthusiastic participation!

Click here to Fill the Form

If you have any questions, please email us at jaindigestpublication@gmail.com or call Dilip Parekh at
310-721-5947

4. Daily Lectures During Paryushan 2020

Paryushan is the most pious festival for Jains. During the 8 days of this religious festival, all Jains undertake Tap, Jaap, and Pratikraman per their ability for the purpose of destroying Paap Karma and collecting some Punya Karma. During the Paryushan, the subject of the first three days’ lectures are dedicated to “Amari Pravartana” consisting of:

1. Observance of Ahimsa - or practicing Non-Violence.
2. Sadharmik Vatsalya - Caring for all other Jains.
3. Kshamapana – or Forgiveness/Forbearance.
4. Attham Tap, or fasting for three consecutive days.
5. Chaitya Paripati – Visiting other nearby Temples and asserting that they run smoothly.

The remaining five days will be the reading from the ‘Kalpasutra’ describing in detail the last 27 Bhava/lives of Bhagwan Mahavira. The life stories of the Vitrag Bhagwan is a journey from Atma to Parmatma or the transformation from ordinary to perfection. Additionally, there will be a discussion of the lives of other Tirthankaras too.

Kalpasutra is an unlimited treasure of bliss – just hearing the words it burns our bad Karma. For this reason, during Paryushan days, it is beneficial to listen to and internalize the message for self-upliftment.

Dr. Jitendra Shah of Ahmedabad will deliver the daily Paryushan lectures in Hindi on Zoom every morning during Paryushan at 8:00 AM PST; 11:00 AM EST.

Dr. Shah has been coming regularly to the US for Paryushan swadhyas for the last 18 years, conducting 10-day Tattvarth Shibirs for 200+ attendees in Ahemdabad for the last 13 years and teaching Jain Shastras to many Sadhu Bhagavantas and Sadhvijis. Under his leadership, scores of students have obtained Ph.D. in Jainism. He is also the former Director of the L. D. Institute of Jainology.

Dr. Kumarpal Desai will deliver daily Lectures in Gujarati at 8:00 AM PST and 11:00 AM EST.

Kumarpalbhai has contributed a lot in the field of literature, education, reporting, and religious discourses. He has penned over 150 books in Gujarati, Hindi and English. For his national reporting, he received the Acharya Tulsi award. He has promoted Jain Dharma nationally and internationally by his more than 25 trips to foreign lands including the US, UK, Kenya, and Antwerp. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpai Awarded him “JAIN RATNA” and President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has Awarded him “PADMA SHRI” award. Collaborating with 100 scholars, he has edited and published 5 of the 20 volumes of Jain Viswa Kosh ( Encyclopedia).

Dr. Bipin Doshi of Mumbai will deliver daily Paryushan lectures at 9:00 PM EST; 6:00 PM PST in English on Zoom. His topics will be along with the relevance of Jain Dharma in the present age.

Dr. Doshi has been visiting Various Jain Centers in the US for the past 5 years. He is a practicing physician for 45 years, a strong belief in a holistic approach for any disease. A Jain Philosophy teacher, founder of the Jain Chair at the University of Mumbai and associated with various religious and social services such as JITO APEX, Vice President of Veerayatan and Director of Jain Academy Education Research center in Mumbai.

Further login details will be provided soon.

5. VIRTUAL SAMVATSARI PRATIKRAMAN ON
AUGUST 22 & 23, 2020

Due to COVID-19, we have to celebrate the auspicious festival of Paryushan and Das Lakshana at home unlike every year at the Jain centers. JAINA is organizing below virtual Pratikramans and Aloyana on Zoom for people to do Pratikraman at home. Kindly forward this message to everyone so they can join. Please note, joining details will be provided soon.

6. Shraddhanjali eBook of Panditji

Pandit Shri Dhirajlal D. Mehta, popularly known as ‘Panditji’ in America, passed away peacefully at the age of 87 at his home in Surat, India.

Panditji was an eminent scholar and an accomplished writer of Jain literature. His contribution to Jain education is unparalleled in recent times.

The first time Panditji came to the USA was in 1991 for about 4 months. His trip was sponsored by the Jain Study Center of North Carolina. Since then he visited North America every year until 2016 and stayed 5 to 6 months. He visited various Jain Centers and conducted Swadhyays to educate the Jain community of North America.

During his 25 years journey to the USA and Canada, the following people helped his overall traveling schedule.

1. Pravin K Shah of Raleigh – who managed 1st 10 years of his program, provided personal guarantee papers for the visa of the USA.
2. Dr. Manibhai Mehta of Los Angeles and Rajendrabhai Mehta of Orlando FL managed Panditji’s next 15 years program schedule.
3. Dilipbhai Shah of Dallas TX managed a traveling schedule within the USA and Canada of Panditji.
4. There are several families in each Jain Center who helped Panditji for his stay at their center.

During his visit to North America, in his spare time, he compiled about 45 books of ancient and important Jain scripture and literature which are being used to study Jainism by scholars, monks, and nuns. You can read PDF version of those books at the Jain eLibrary under the author name “Dhirajlal D Mehta”. In the future, we will create a special link to Panditji’s books on the homepage of the website.

To honor Panditji’s lifelong passion and to pay special tribute for his contribution, JAINA Education Committee is planning to compile a souvenir 'Shraddhanjali eBook of Panditji'.

We request you to share your special memories with Panditji, and special messages of the following types at below mentioned email IDs by August 15, 2020, to include in the souvenir:

1. Any incredibly special memory of Panditji
2. Short video or articles paying tribute to Panditji by Sadhu/Sadhviji, Jain Scholars (Panditji’s peers) or by his students
3. Weblinks or YouTube links of his lecture videos
4. Online link or Audio recordings of his lectures in MP3 files
5. Panditji’s articles, blogs, or any other artifacts
6. Articles, blogs, or any other announcements written for Panditji
7. Recognition Certificates or Awards received by Panditji from your centers or from other organizations.
8. Group pictures with Panditji

Please send your material to Shruti Doshi (Project coordinator of the Souvenir) at shrutidoshi79@gmail.com or Pravin K Shah (JAINA Education Committee) at jainaedu@gmail.com.

7. Jain Center News

JAIN SOCIETY OF HOUSTON

Pravachan by Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb followed by Girnar Darshan(On occasion of 22nd Tirthanakar Shri Neminath Swami’s Janma Kalyanak) & Bhakti Bhavna

Jain Society of Houston feels very blessed to inform you that for the first time in US history, many Jain Centers (Houston-TX, Dallas-TX, Austin-TX, Chicago-IL, Washington DC, Queens-NY, Tempa Bay-FL, Miami-FL, JCNC-SFO, Seattle-WA, Boston-MA, Detroit-MI, Atlanta-GA) across the country have come together to join the Live Pravachan Session of Rashtrasant Param Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb on this Saturday, July 25th at 10 AM CST (11 AM EST).

Param Gurudev Shree is a visionary whose words, work and thoughts always leave an everlasting effect. A messiah of humanity, Pujya Gurudev's heart exudes Compassion and Love for every living being, and his soul emanates the whispers of Serenity! His visionary thoughts, his insurmountable positivity, and his deep connection with the Self; help one experience the glory of Spirituality in his mere presence.

Click here for a brief introduction to Gurudev's humanitarian missions and spiritual initiatives across the country.

The program will be followed by Bhakti Bhavna from Manhar Udhas, Dilip Rawal, Chintan Bakiwala & Rishabh Doshi.

Please click on YouTube link to view live event: https://tinyurl.com/JSA25July

OR

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84096013839?pwd=ZUovSmhvcVlBZFZMWFBpYjFxeVNwUT09

Meeting ID: 840 9601 3839
Passcode: 1008

3905 Arc St.
Houston, Texas 77063
US

Jain Center News

Jain Center of Cincinnati Dayton

On May 31st, Jain Center of Cincinnati Dayton (JCCD) had a very special program to recognize and celebrate High School graduates.

For the first time, this kind of celebration happened. More than 24 cars drove to the homes of all these graduates honking and congratulating each one of them with family. JCCD presented a gift card with a greeting card and a balloon. This was a once in a lifetime experience for young graduates.

8. Jain Story: Vajrakumar

Once there was severe famine not for a year In the city of Tumbivan, there lived a rich Brahmin named Dhangiri. He had a beautiful wife named Sunanda. Their life was full of joy. When Sunanda was pregnant, she had a beautiful dream. She told her husband, who was a scholar, about the dream. He told her that she would give birth to a bright and charming child. She felt very happy.

One day a Jain acharya named Sinhgiri came to the city. Both Dhangiri and Sunanda went to listen to his sermons regularly. Dhangiri’s soul was awakened by these sermons, and he lost interest in his wealth, family, and worldly affairs. He decided to give up his worldly life and become a monk. He told his wife about his decision. She was shocked. She tried to convince him to stay and enjoy their life together. She also said that since they were going to have a child, so it would be better to stay together to raise the child. Dhangiri did not change his mind. Nonetheless, he made the necessary financial arrangement for his family. Sunanda, who was the daughter of a religious merchant, Dhanpal, had a deep understanding of religion. Therefore, she accepted his decision. Sunanda was consoled that at least she was the wife of a virtuous man.

9. quote

In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.

- Bhagwan Mahavir