Dear Sadharmiks,
Jai Jinendra! Pranam!

Jains of North America lost a gem of the Community in the passing of Shri Manubhai Doshi of Chicago at the age of 102. Read a glowing tribute to this Noble man by Dilip V. Shah of Philadelphia.

The JAINA Calendar Committee is soon planning to mail Calendar 2023. Please help us update your mailing address to receive JAINA Calendar 2023 on time. You can now update your address and other information on JAINA mobile app and Jaina.org website.

We highly recommend you register for the JAINA Convention 2023 to experience a lifetime in Lakeland, Florida. JAINA Convention 2023 team is working around the clock to give us a fantastic experience, help us progress in our spiritual journey with various lectures and programs, bring us together with our loved ones, and guide us to reach our highest potential through the path of Jainism.

The 2023 JAINA Convention Committee is organizing two virtual Town Hall type meetings for JAINA Directors, Jain Center Presidents, leaders, and Board members on December 10 at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. This will be a very informative presentation. Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 812 4690 6994 Passcode: JAINA.

Inside the Jain Digest October 2022 issue, read an interesting article where Dr. Nahata tells us about his journey from developing doubts about Jainism to studying various Jain scriptures to get his doubts clear and finding profound and magnificent Jain philosophical ideas that convinced him of the validity of the fundamentals of Jain philosophy offering unique insights into the nature of reality. Read the complete article in the link mentioned below.

JAINA Telehealth committee is actively working to improve access to quality healthcare. The committee also invites Physicians and Dentists from North America to join the JAINA Telehealth team to provide better healthcare to the Community.

NRI Pramanik Pathshala brings a LIVE virtual show, "I Can't Believe It's Not Chocolate," about chocolate-based food varieties from an honorable nutritionist on December 17, 2023. The show will teach us how to keep the Earth green while enjoying an Eco-friendly, sustainable, and authentic Ahimsak lifestyle. Please find more details below.

Sincerely,

Haresh Shah,
JAINA President

JAINA Extends Condolences on the Arihant Sharan of Shri Manubhai Doshi

JAINA extends heartfelt condolences on the Arihant Sharan of Shri Manubhai Doshi, the gem of the Jain Society of Chicago, on November 30, 2022, at the age of 102.

On June 22, 2019, JCMC, the Jain center at Bartlet, Illinois, celebrated the Birth centennial of a citizen scholar – an educator and an author Manubhai Doshi. Even at the age of 100, he was full of vigor and presence of mind and delivered a rousing speech. This is a tribute to a life well-lived man who gave much to society quietly and with grace. His contributions to the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago (JSMC) and JAINA are immense, including sponsorship of breaking ground and laying the foundation stone for the construction of the Jain Center in Bartlett, Illinois, in 1991. Within the JSMC, he started education classes in 1984. Read more about Shri Manubhai in a tribute article by Dilip V. Shah.

Click Here to Read this Article

Jains Got Talent

Jains Got Talent (JGT) is one of the Flagship Programs at the JAINA Convention. It offers our member Jain Centers an excellent opportunity to present their Talent to the entire Jain Community of North America at the Convention.

When you see a Talent, do not miss an opportunity to recognize, appreciate, support, and share it with others! That is a small investment in this world to make it a wonderful place to live. Please be on the lookout for our announcement on how to participate in Jains Got Talent and share your extraordinary Talent; in the meantime, we highly recommend you register for the JAINA Convention 2023. Read more about the Jains Got Talent here.

JAINA Calendar 2023

December is here! The JAINA Calendar committee is soon planning to mail the JAINA Calendar 2023. For over 20 years, the JAINA Calendar Committee has provided JAINA members with a beautiful calendar each year. We ship over 15,000 calendars each year to the addresses we have in our records. As some of you are still waiting to receive the calendar, we highly recommend you update your mailing information at the JAINA Convention 2023 app so that we can make sure that you receive the calendar on time.

We'd like to ask community leaders to pass this message to their members and please help not-so-computer-savvy members update their mailing information.

You can sign up for the calendar by downloading JAINA mobile app or going to the JAINA.org website. To download the Mobile application, you can click below.

JAINA Convention 2023 Souvenir Committee

JAINA Convention 2023 Souvenir Committee invites your Pathshala Children to contribute to the Souvenir Book! They have two competitions based on age: An Essay Competition (11 years and above) and a Drawing/coloring Competition (10 years or younger).

1. Essay Competition: Children and adolescents 11 years or above should enter a competition to include their essay/Poem in the 2023 Souvenir Book. The essay/poem should be related to the Convention theme of how Jainism inspires us to: "Maximize Human Potential. The tracks under this theme are:

1. Human Values
2. Wellness
3. Relationships
4. Personal Growth/Enrichment
5. Outreach and Partnerships

Please use one of these tracks. Include images or pictures, but it should be one page long.

2. Art Competition: Children 10 years or younger should submit one or all 14 (or 16 for Digambar tradition) dreams of Trishala Mata at the birth of Mahavir Bhagwan. These can be hand-drawn or can use printed outlines and using colored pencils or crayons (but not paint). Each center is asked to send its three entries.

We recommend holding a local competition and having up to 3 best essays or colored Dreams sent to us, with names, ages of students, and terms of Sangh. We will display them all digitally and additionally include some of the best essays/poems, as well as art, with the name of the student(s) and Sangh's name in the printed version of the Souvenir Book! The committee will respect age and any allowances you make to select the best three.

Please send all submissions to Devendra Mehta at mehtade@yahoo.com and cc Viral Doshi at virdoshi@gmail.com, Darshana Desai at dfamilyflorida@gmail.com, and Shilpa Mehta shilpamx@comcast.net.

Our deadline is to have these sent to us by Monday, February 13th.

Inside October 2022 Jain Digest

Insights from Jain Philosophy by Dr. Shree Nahata

Shree Nahata grew up in India in a devout Jain household. As a child he was exposed to various Jain rituals and learned about Jain values. However, after going abroad for university education and learning about various other religious traditions, he developed doubts about Jainism. He started wondering, “Are the fundamental teachings of Jainism true or do I believe them merely because of the accidents of my birth?” To find an answer to such questions, he studied many ancient Jain scriptures in their original languages. This was a life-changing experience for him.

In this article, Dr. Nahata tells us about four most profound and magnificent Jain philosophical ideas that convinced him of validity of the fundamentals of Jain philosophy. He says, “The study of these profound and complex ideas has convinced me that Jain philosophy offers unique insights into the nature of reality. While I might not be able to follow every dietary restriction enjoined by the Jain tradition, I am proud to call myself a Jain precisely because I have caught a brief glimpse of a few gems in the treasury of Jain philosophy.”

To read the full article at:

Click Here to Read this Article

To read the full October 2022 Jain Digest, go to:

Jain Digest October 2022 Edition

Are you interested in authoring an article for the February 2023 Jain Digest?

Please write to us at jaindigestpublication@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp message to +1 (310) 721-5947 to discuss. The deadline to send us an article is December 1, 2022

2nd International Jain Conference

Click Here to Read

TELEHEALTH INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE

The JAINA Telehealth committee is actively working to improve our access to quality healthcare and looking out for Physicians and Dentists from the USA and Canada who are excited to join this Initiative.

Telehealth or telemedicine is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to extend care when you and the patient aren’t in the same place at the same time. Technologies for telehealth include video conferencing, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.

As one of the Telehealth pilot projects, the Primary Care Program will allow physicians and Dentists in JAINA providers listing to offer remote patient consults using a secure, low-cost digital connection. Dr. Girish J. Shah - DDS, MPH, Ph. D, is leading this initiative and inviting Physicians and Dentists from USA and Canada to join volunteer and join the team. If you are interested in joining our provider network, please read the details of this initiative and provide the basic information mentioned in the document.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Chocolate

With immense blessings of Muni Shri Praman Sagarji Maharaj, NRI Pramanik Pathshala isproducing the Live Show- “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Chocolate”. It is a great entertaining show to learn facts about chocolate-based food varieties from an honorable nutritionist.

• it’s substitute
• related products
• easy recipes to make it
• Satvik, enjoyable and delicious

Also, how we can keep the Earth green while enjoying an eco-friendly, sustainable, and true Ahimsak lifestyle.

This is a must watch show for all ages. Please circulate in all your groups and help change people’s lives.

Topic: I Can't Believe It's Not Chocolate
Date: Dec 17, 2022 | Time: 11:00 am EST/ 8:00 am PST/ 4 pm UK/ 9:30 pm IST.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://tinyurl.com/Carob-beans
Meeting ID: 867 0551 0592 | Passcode: 437276

Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/carob-chips

Shree Uttaradhyayana Sutra Aagaam Vaachana

Oorabhriya (The story of the Goat)

The chapter starts with a story of a young goat totally engrossed in enjoyment of the good foods and comforts of being raised in a rich man’s house, knowing nothing about the selfish intent of the man; therefore, eventually ends up getting butchered for dinner. Mahavir swami tries to awaken us, metaphorically comparing our worldly Bhogta (Engaged in Enjoyment) state to that of the young goat, similarly ending up wasting our precious human birth.

The goat is oblivious of ill intent of the rich man and therefore totally blissful in enjoyment. Same is the case with us, we do not see the consequences of Bhogta attitude and therefore we are totally engrossed in enjoyment of such activity. If we had the right understanding and the vision of the consequences we would not engage in such activity.

The engine that powers our Bhog vruti (attitude) is the raw desire and the relentless efforts for fulfillment. The more we try to satisfy our desires, the more they keep growing. Therefore, we only end up digging ourselves deeper into the never ending Bhog vruti of seeking satisfaction in enjoyment, always wanting more. Dying in such a condition leads to a rebirth in Durgati (dur=bad).

What is Gati, Durgati, Sudgati? How many Gatis exist? Can we determine our Gati on rebirth? Mahavir swami says if we use good Mati we can get good Gati and thus we are masters of our destiny. What is Mati? What has all this to do with Karmas, Punyas, Paapas, Mohaniya Karma, Tatva Chintan, Baal Maran, Pandit Maran, and at the center of it all Bhed Gnan?

Listen to the full lecture by Panyas Dr. Arunvijayji Maharajsaheb archived on the JAINA.org Youtube channel under the label Uttaradhyayna Sutra as he reveals the secret locked in each Sutras. Join us live every Saturday & Sunday at 10.15 EST USA virtually on Zoom, and avail the Labh (privilege) to interact with Maharajsaheb with questions, as we continue further with the Bhagwaan Mahavira’s last Deshana. Questions that you always wanted to ask, and did not know who to ask, you can now ask and get the right answers straight from Gurudev.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN SESSION

Click Here To View JAINA & Various Scholar Lectures

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