Dear Sadharmik brothers and sisters,
Jai Jinendra!

I’m excited to announce that the Jain Digest Editorial team has just released the October 2020 issue of Jain Digest. The issue contains the community responses to the survey of COVID-19 Experience Sharing and the articles on the Pandemic from Jainism perspective. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as the team did while working on it. Read the October Jain Digest issue below.

Please donate to JAINA Sadharmik Bhakti Fund to help the needy and the poor Sadharmik Jain families in India. Many mid and low-income Jain families are going through severe hardships, but many are too proud to ask for help. Such circumstances have caused extenuating situations. There have even been reported cases of suicide. Hearing these heart-wrenching stories underscore the hardships these families are going through.

The donations we receive will be sent through reputable NGOs with proper FCRA documentation.

Please click on Sadharmik Bhakti Fund Button given below to donate.

The Government of India is organizing the third edition of 'Bharat Ko Janiye' Quiz 2020-21 completely online. The Registration for the Quiz has been opened on 30th September 2020. Share this message with your loved ones who you think would like to participate. Details are mentioned below.

Due to COVID-19, International School for Jain Studies is offering a virtual Winter Program this year from 28 December 2020 to 07 January 2021. The program gives a unique opportunity to learn and observe Jain principles of Non-violence and Self-restraint to adjust our lifestyle post-COVID-19 from the comforts of your home. Program Registration and other details are mentioned below.

Young members of JOY, from the Jain Society of Greater Detroit, taught classes as an appreciation act for their teachers. The event was quite successful. Read more about it below.

Please encourage children and youth to join a weekly virtual Workshop session on Jainism conducted by the JAINA Education Committee for children in North America to learn about Jain fundamentals and its practical application in day to day life. Details are given below.

Watch an interesting Jain Story of Baal Aaimukta in Hindi.

YJPs’ 4th Annual National conference will start this Sunday, October 4, 2020. Kindly register to attend this free virtual conference which will be held in a 4-day session. See details below.

On behalf of JAINA EC, I would like to congratulate 2019- 2020 YJA Executive Board for doing an outstanding job under the leadership of outgoing Co-Chairs Parshva Vakharia and Vatsal Gandhi. We are increadibly excited and warmly welcome the 2020-2021 YJA incoming Co-Chairs Mishi Jain and Pranav Patni. Both have been tremendousely involved in the organization over the past several years. Togather they have served on 4 Executive Boards and 4 Convention Committees in various different capacities. We are confident that under their leadership, the YJA organization will flourish.

Sincerely,

Mahesh Wadher
JAINA President

The Jain Digest Editorial team is pleased to announce that the October 2020 issue of Jain e-Digest is now available on the JAINA website. Please click on the below button to read.

Jain Digest October 2020

The team is thankful to more than 110 people who filled-out the COVID-19 Experience Sharing form. This Jain Digest issue contains their responses to the survey questions. We hope that reading these responses will give you a community feeling and some comfort in knowing that we are all in this together. The issue also has a few articles that discuss the Pandemic from the Jainism perspective.

Please provide us your feedback by filling out a short form at http://bit.ly/JainDigest-Oct-2020. The Jain Digest Editorial Team would love to hear from you.

You can also read all the past Jain Digest issues by clicking on the below button.

Jain Digest

As all of you are aware, COVID-19 has caused devastating effects all over the world. With this message, we are reaching out to you for desperately needed help for certain Sadharmik families in India, who are experiencing unfortunate financial conditions made worse by COVID-19. Many mid and low-income Jain families are going through severe hardships, but many are too proud to ask for help. Such circumstances have caused extenuating situations such as a 75-year-old shravika taking care of her 52-year-old mentally-disabled son while accepting cooking jobs at three different homes; Pathshala teachers going 5 months without salaries; a 68-year-old shravak working as a night watchman to support his household with two grandchildren and a daughter-in-law because his 30-year-old son passed away; a prestigious shop owner, who once was a Sanghpathi and viewed as well off, not being able to afford a bag of groceries. There have even been reported cases of suicide. Hearing these heart-wrenching stories underscore the hardships these families are going through.

JAINA is regularly receiving appeals for help and has formed a Sadharmik Bhakti Committee under the leadership of Dr. Jayesh Shah, President of Jain Center of Southern California. The need for funds is urgent. Initially, JAINA will work with Samkit Jain Charitable Trust in Mumbai and Samast Mahajan Trust, which are providing financial support to families every month. The Sadharmik Bhakti Committee is hoping to raise as much funds as it can this year to support many underprivileged families in India and is looking forward to your generous donation. Our goal is to raise $250,000 for this cause that will allow us to deliver Rs 5,000 to one thousand needy families for 4 months.

To raise funds for Sadharmiks in India, JAINA is planning to present a professionally produced play in Hindi based on the life of Daanveer Jagdusha Sheth on November 7 that will telecast on TVASIA. Watch this space for more details.

The message of Paryushan and Das Lakshana serves as a reminder of our five basic Kartavyas (duties). Sadharmik Bhakti is one of them. It is not just our duty but is our responsibility to help our Sadharmic Jain families during this unprecedented and difficult time. We urge every one of you to donate generously for this noble cause.

Your donation is Tax deductible.

JAINA (Federation of Jain Associations in North America) is a Non-Profit tax exempt organization, registered under IRS Section 501 (C) (3) EL# 54-1280028

In the memo put Sadharmik Bhakti Fund.

Mail to :
Ashok Savla 8843 1/2 Longden Avenue,Temple City, CA 91780

Please Listen to the message from Acharya Udayvallabh Suriji Maharaj Saheb (mp3)

The Government of India is organizing the third edition of 'Bharat Ko Janiye' (BKJ) Quiz 2020-21 completely online and the Quiz will have 4 rounds. The Quiz will be held for three categories of participants - PIOs, NRIs, and foreign nationals in the age group of 18-35 yrs.

The first round (Welcome round) will be open to everyone in the above-mentioned categories. Winners of the first round will be given Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals depending upon the number of participants. They will be eligible to participate in the second round. The top 10 contenders of the second round will participate in the third round (30-participants). The top 7- contenders of the third round will participate in the fourth round (21 participants). The top 5 contestants of the fourth round will be awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals with two Consolation prizes. These 15 participants (5 from each category) will be invited to India for Bharat Darshan after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

The Registration for the 'Bharat Ko Janiye’ Quiz 2020-21 has on 30th September 2020 and will remain open till the start of the first round of the Quiz. There will be a Mock Quiz for participants to practice. The dates for the Mock Quiz and the first round of Quiz will be announced soon. The interested participants are requested to visit www.bharatkojaniye.in for all the information regarding the BJK Quiz.

Kindly share this information with your family and friends.

International School for Jain Studies (ISJS) in India ( www.isjs.in), in addition to its very successful program each summer (since 2005), also has been offering a winter program too in Ahmedabad (India) for the last 2 years. Due to COVID -19, this year ISJS is offering a virtual winter program from 28 December 2020 to 07 January 2021.

This is a unique opportunity to learn and observe Jain principles of Non-violence and Self-restraint to adjust our lifestyle post-COVID-19 during our winter holidays.

The program is designed for undergrad, Grad students, faculty, and others and is completely free. You can attend all this on Zoom from the comforts of your home.

Please find the registration and other details here. Kindly register ASAP as seats are limited.

JAINA requests you to forward and share this opportunity with your friends and network.

For teacher’s day, JOY members of the Jain Society of Greater Detroit taught classes to show their appreciation for teachers. This successful event was organized to thank wonderful teachers for dedicating their precious time and working so hard to teach students virtually. This pandemic has been a difficult time for all of us, but the positive and wise words from teachers have made everything better. Words cannot express our gratitude towards all of them. JSGD is also thankful to young JOY members who participated to make this event a success.

The JAINA Education Committee announces a unique opportunity of weekly virtual Workshop Sessions for Children in North America to learn about Jain fundamentals and its practical application in day to day life. This workshop is designed for youth in response to the requests received by the JAINA Education Committee.

Group I - 5-8 Years - Maximum Students - 15
Group II - 9-12 Years - Maximum Students - 20

This 9-week program will be conducted from October 18th to December 19th, 2020 from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM EST.

Purpose of the workshop:

• To teach core Jain values and principles to our children in a way they can understand and relate to
• To empower our children to make good choices, to develop good characteristics, and in the process to become a resilient and compassionate human being
• A humble effort to establish a strong foundation and to cultivate the right mindset in children that will enable them to navigate life skillfully.

Workshop joining and other details are here.

In this article, we will understand a social issue like gender-based inequalities from the Jainism perspective.

Question: What is the Jain view on gender-based inequality? Is there inequality between men and women in a religious context? If yes, why, and should it continue?

This is a very practical question from today’s youth and non-traditional Jains. Gender discrimination is something that the human race has endured over time and across all cultures. Gender-based inequality is a term that implies differential treatment based on gender regardless of race, religion, caste, or creed. Gender equality has progressed over the past decade in various areas with awareness, education, and actions. However, many challenges with gender inequality are still pervasive.

First, let us talk about what is meant by gender-based inequality from a religious perspective.

Gender-based inequality in a religious realm implies that women and men are treated differently. And there is inequality or discrimination in the religious responsibilities, experiences, practices, rules, norms, or what you’re allowed to do based on gender.

Some of the gender-based inequalities that we have observed between men and women in practicing Jain religion are:

• Women cannot recite certain sutras and cannot perform certain rituals.
• If rituals are performed by men and women together, all sutras should be recited by men.
• Women cannot enter a temple during their monthly period.
• In some sects, women cannot attain liberation. They need to be born as a man for liberation.
• In some Jain stories, it is said that bad karma results in being born as a girl.

Read the whole article here.

Introducing the 2020-2021 YJA Executive Board! This talented and passionate group is beyond excited to make their mark on the organization. They look forward to their first virtual board meeting in a couple of weeks!

Co-Chairs: Mishi Jain and Pranay Patni
Education: Harshita Jain
Events: Umang Lathia
Finance: Chirayu Shah
Fundraising: Krish Kamdar
Project Development: Satej Shah
Public Relations: Ruchi Vora
Publications: Vishwa Shah
Technology: Romit Nagda
Mid-Atlantic RC: Sara Jain
Midwest RC: Somil Sanghvi
Northeast RC: Shail Shah
South RC: Riya Patel
Southeast RC: Paakhee Shah
West RC: Shilpi Shah

Thank you to the outgoing 2019-2020 Board for their hard work and for accomplishing so much! We look forward to building on your achievements and continuing to spread the #yjalove.