Dear Sadharmik brothers and sisters,
Jai Jinendra!

On behalf of JAINA Executive Committe, I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a very Happy, Healthy, and Peaceful Year 2021.

The 21st Biennial JAINA Convention Registration opens on January 8, 2021. Make your early registration at just $5. The first-ever virtual Convention will be held from
July 1-6, 2021. For sponsorship opportunities contact at conventionfundraising@jaina.org.

Let us do Sewa of our Sadhu Bhagwants who do difficult penance. JAINA EC has created a new Vaiyavach Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Jasvant Modi from California. The committee aims to raise $500,000 this year to build new Vihardhams, provide Vihardham Sewa, and Medical help in India. We have been blessed to have received pledges totaling almost $400,000 so far. Our humble request to the entire Jain community is to come together and support this noble cause by making generous donations, taking this year's tax advantages. A separate flyer with updates on various projects under consideration is emailed separately herewith.

To attain Moksh, it is essential to accept monkhood and if one is not able to renounce the material world, he/she must at least accept monkhood in his/her heart and develop the highest regard for mendicants and be of service to Monks. Vaiyavach Sewa is considered a solemn duty of Shravaks. Do not miss this opportunity.

Today, on an auspicious day of Maun Agyaras, let us reflect upon our thoughts and actions for the day and keep in mind its significance. The day is particularly special because of a total of 150 Kalyanaks from Tirthankaras of the past, present, and future, all fall on this day of Maun Ekadashi. This results in the day being so auspicious that any thought, word, or action is multiplied by 150 times. Read the significance and a short story of Suvrat Sheth told by Shri Neminath to Krishnavasudev.

JAINA Presents 3rd Educational Talk on COVID-19 with DR. NIRAV SHAH (Infectious Disease Physicion Of NorthShore Uni. Health System, Chicago) on Sunday, December 27, 2020 @ 1 pm EST / 12 pm CST / 10 am PST. Click here to Join Webex meeting.

JAINA is immensely proud to let you know the wonderful progress of the JAINA Academic Liaison Committee from July 2019 till date. The committee is working diligently to establish centers for study, teaching, and research in Jain Dharma at the Universities and Colleges not only in USA or Canada but other parts of the world as well.

Due to the Pandemic, the JAINA Calendar shipment was delayed. The good news is that the shipment has arrived at Los Angeles port and the calendars will be mailed out soon. Our sincere apologies for the delay in this respect.

Pritiben Khara from Southern California conducts virtual Yoga, Meditation & Pranayam classes for ladies of any age. This free classes are conducted thrice a week from 5:30 pm PST to 6:45 pm PST. Ladies from all the Jain Centers are invited to please take advantage of these sessions.

Learn about Atmasiddhi Shastra through Rajgita Jnan Yajna, a 9-month online course offered by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission. The course begins on January 1, 2020, and will be expounded by Gurudevshri Rakheshbhai.

Jain Vishwa Bharati, Orlando invites you all to celebrate their 25th Anniversary and attend the 25th Annual Spiritual Camp, Appana Saccha Messeja - Seek The Truth Within, from January 15th to 17th, 2021.

Last chance to tell us about your favorite Jain Temple! In the February 2021 issue of Jain Digest, we will showcase the favorite Jain temples of our community members along with their sentiments about the temple. Send us your description by December 31st.

Read a Jain Story of the monk Kurgadu part 2 where it talks about how the purpose of observing austerities or any other religious practice was to gain modesty that leads to right perception, which in turn helps to attain equanimity.

YJA publishes Young Minds - December issue with the theme Gusto. It is inspired in large part by the events of 2020 and people’s reactions to them.

JAINA, JCGB & JITO Present Survey of Jains, Please complete this survey and share it with your Jain friends and family!

As Param Pujya 108 Munishri Pramansagar Ji Maharaj is in rigorous Vihar and holiday season is going on of our esteemed Attendees, We are moving Special Shanka Samadhan for NRIs Webinar #13 to January 07, 2021. Thereby, please note there are no Webinars on Dec.24, 2020 and Dec.31, 2020.

A group of five causes are associated with every situation or event that takes place. Watch this 180 sec video to understand the connection between causes, action and their impact on your life by Rahul Kapoor.

Please see below for details or links if any on all the above items.

Sincerely,

Mahesh Wadher
JAINA President

@jainaconvention

Is it any wonder that Jain Sadhus are considered 8th wonder of the world? Look at the faces of these two sadhus. To remain unperturbed in any conditions is to practice “Samta Bhaava”. Jain Sadhus can manage whatever difficulty come their way but as a society, we must persevere and see that our Sadhus do not need to seek refuge under such adverse environment.

JAINA has been requested to support construction of two new Upashrayas (one for Sadhus and the other a little larger one for Sadhvis) in a small town Piyara – about 20 km from Savarkundala (near Bhavnagar). When our Sadhu Sadhvis undertake vihar from Palitana to Junagadh (Girnar) they take one of two routes. This route via Savarkundala, is losing Jain population due to migration to the big cities causing many Jain homes emptied. Consequently, our S/ S have fewer and fewer facilities available to them.

The Savarkundala Sangh has purchased the land on the main highway for a complex with a Temple, 10 Rooms Dharmasala and 2 Upashrayas. They already have a pledge of 41,00,000 Rs (41 Lakh) for the Temple from Kenning Street Sangh of Kolkata. The cost of Dharmasala is about Rs 35,00,000 Rs (35 Lakh). They have a donation scheme of 350,000 Rs per room and they are confident of getting 10 donors for it. They are in need of about 50 lakh Rs for 2 Upashraya with kitchen/dining area. We have been promised by the Sangh President Rajnibhai that site plan and Upashray plans/drawings will be ready by Mid-January.

One more thing. The towns people have raised sufficient funds to be invested as fix deposit to generate income for the maintenance of the facility. When one considers presence of a Dharmasala, and a Temple in the complex, the Upashrayas will be secure and will have proper support system for our Sadhu Bhagvants.

The above is just one of the six proposals JAINA is studying for construction of new Vihardhams ( attached document has all the details ). Of the six, the proposal for a New Vihardham in Una has been embraced and many pledges have been collected by a private effort. If you wish to contribute to this project, please contact Sunilbhai at sunilvakhariacpa@yahoo.com

The festival of Maun Ekadashi is an auspicious Jain festival that falls on the 11th day of the month Magshar (Magshar Sud 11). According to the English calendar, this year it falls on December 25, 2020.

A person who worships this day of Ekadashi with all the rites and rituals every year for 11 years and 11 months is said to achieve salvation. Here is a short story depicting this. Read the conversation between Shri Neminath and Krishnavasudeva, where Shri Neminath tells a story of Suvrat Sheth to Krishnavasudev.

JAINA is immensely proud to let you know that JAINA Academic Liaison Committee, one of the most active committees of JAINA, is working diligently to establish centers for study, teaching, and research in Jain Dharma at the Universities and Colleges in the USA and Canada.

Since the JAINA Convention in 2019 in Los Angeles, phenomenal progress has been made in that direction. Read the amazing progress made by the committee in areas like ALC Membership, Gyam Mandirs/Academic Sessions, new Initiatives, Conference, Lectures, Symposiums, and other developments in detail here.

Due to the Pandemic, our JAINA Calendar shipment was delayed. Instead of an average of 8 weeks, shipment took over 12 weeks, but the good news is that the shipment has arrived at Los Angeles port and the calendars will be mailed out soon. JAINA Calendar Committee and its Chair Jayna Shah sincerely apologizes for any inconvinience caused in this respect.

Pritiben Khara, one of the prominent members of Southern California has been conducting virtual Yoga, Meditation & Pranayam classes for ladies of any age. She conducts this classes thrice a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) from 5:30 pm PST to 6:45 pm PST.

Currently, these virtual classes are attended by 70 to 80 ladies from different parts of the world. She welcomes female members from all other Jain Centers to join and avail of her video sessions at absolutely no cost

Zoom Link to join Yoga-Meditation-Pranayam Sessions
Password: 555400

Here is Pritiben Khara’s YouTube channel link where you can watch many videos on Yoga and Meditation.

Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur presents Rajgita Jnan Yajna, a 9-month online course that begins on January 1, 2020, at 12:30 pm IST. The course will be broadcast on YouTube, Jio TV as well as SRMD channel.

Rajgita Jnan Yajna is a beginners' course that will get you up close and personal with Atmasiddhi Shashtra by Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai. Jnan Yagna refers to the symbolic sacrifice of one's ignorance in the fire of the Guru's spiritual knowledge, to evolve and realize the true self. More details Here

To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, Jain Vishwa Bharati (JVB) Orlando invites you to attend the 25th Annual Spiritual Camp, Appańa Saccha Messejja – “Seek The Truth Within”, from January 15th to 17th, 2021. More information is in the Camp Flyer.

Please find the registration link - https://forms.gle/2Lg94DsCRNgpU4eV6. Zoom Meeting links will be provided 1 week before the camp.

JVB is an organization set up based on the philosophy laid out by Late Acharyashri Tulsi, Late Acharyashri Mahapragya, and currently His Holiness Acharya Shri Mahashraman. The event will witness the presence of 14 Samanijis.

Last chance to tell us about your favorite Jain Temple! In the February 2021 issue of Jain Digest, we will showcase the favorite Jain temples of our community members along with their sentiments about the temple. Don’t miss out on a chance to tell us about the temple that you adore. The deadline is Thursday, December 31st.

The temple does not have to be any of our famous Tirths. It can be any Jain temple that has touched your heart. Provide a brief description of the temple and tell us why you chose it. Please fill out a short form at https://bit.ly/JainDigest-TempleSurvey by Thursday, December 31 st.

Kurgadu went for alms and accepted the food that was offered to him. Returning, he presented the alms to his guru as part of the monk’s code of conduct and modestly begged his permission to eat. Although the guru gave his permission willingly, the other monks made negative remarks. They unsympathetically said that he did not deserve to be a monk for eating on an auspicious day. Kurgadu listened to the remarks quietly. He went to a corner and reluctantly started to eat.

While eating, Kurgadu dwelt deeply on the inability of his body to remain without food even for a day. Learned as he was, he could see that it must be the result of his previous karma. He understood that all karmas are shed after extending the appropriate consequence and this karma too would be shed. He made up his mind to passively accept what had been ordained by his karma. Because of his study of the scriptures, he had gained insight into the true nature of his soul. Earlier, despising himself for not observing a fast had prevented him from full realization of that true nature. Now his willingness to accept what was a physical limitation endowed him with the insight of distinguishing the nature of the soul from the varying states of the body and mind. His new-found insight gave rise to the manifestation of the true nature of the soul, and his realization was strong enough to destroy all the defiling karmas on the spot and he gained omniscience immediately while he was eating.

When one attains omniscience, the heavenly beings arrive to offer their obeisance. When other monks saw the heavenly beings coming towards them, they thought that the heavenly beings were coming to praise them for their severe austerities. Instead, the heavenly beings turned to Kurgadu and offered their obeisance to him. No one could understand why those observing severe austerities were left out while the one who could not observe it at all had gained full enlightenment.

In amazement, the monks went to Dharmaghoshsuri and asked him the reason for what had happened. The Acharya said that they were all feeling very proud of their austerities and were unnecessarily disapproving of Kurgadu for not observing a fast. Therefore, they were smeared by perception obscuring karma. He urged them to bear in mind that the primary purpose of observing austerities or any other religious practice was to gain modesty that leads to right perception, which in turn helps to attain equanimity.

The monks had misjudged Kurgadu, who had realized the essence of religion. Earlier, he had acquired obstructing karma that did not allow him to observe the austerity. He sincerely repented for that karma that had become operative in his current life, and by properly comprehending the role of karma, he acquired the right perception. By bearing the consequence of those karmas with equanimity, he was able to wipe them out without acquiring new ones. Thereupon, the monks realized that they were indulging in unnecessary vanity that obstructed right perception.

The Acharya also explained that the soul had nothing to do with the state and activities of the body. The body is obtained as a consequence of the operative karma and should be used simply as an instrument for realizing the true nature of the soul. It can be an effective instrument only if it is used purposefully.

Source: Jain Story Book, JAINA Education Series

The December release of Young Minds, YJA’s flagship publication, is here! This issue’s theme is Gusto, inspired in large part by the events of 2020 and people’s reactions to them. YJA hopes this publication serves to inspire conversation, reflection, and future articles - visit https://bit.ly/ymq42020 to read it today!

Youth ages 14-29 to reach out at publications@yja.org if they are interested in having their thoughts published in a future issue.

JAINA*, JCGB & JITO Present Survey of Jains   Help shape our future   Please complete this survey and share it with your Jain friends and family!   To Take The Survey   Visit Website:www.jwol.org/survey   OR

If you’re using your phone, please point its camera at the QR code located on the left and you will be directed to the survey.