Pratishtha Mahotsav Ceremony

Jain Center of Central Ohio; Pratishtha Mahotsav Ceremony

Columbus, Ohio:  The opening program on Thursday, July 19, 2012 was marked with blessings from religious leaders, welcome address from JCOCO leadership and lighting of Deepak to officially kick off the celebration. It marked the beginning of opening of first Jain temple in Central Ohio.   The celebration started from July 19^th and ended on July23rd.  These four days of activities were filled with traditional Pujas, catered meals, and cultural events on two nights. This auspicious event elicited excitement from members of Jain and non Jain community alike.   Over 700 people came from near and far. This historical event was attended by people from New York, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Washington, DC, Virginia, and also from Canada, and India. Whole Jain Sangh was dancing and rejoicing when Vidhikar Narendrabhai Nandu announced that total collection of funds exceeded over eight hundred thousand dollars.

   It was a very auspicious day for the Jain center to have its own temple now ready for regular traditional Pujas and prayers. JCOCO is a very small and vibrant Jain community which was founded in 1991. Since its beginning it has focused on building its own temple, and now that dream has come true. The structure itself is a traditional Shikhar bandhi (Steeple and Dome) temple with an area of over 7600 square feet. The Ghabharo (inner Sanctum) has the presence of Shvetambar pratimajis of Adinath Bhagwan (our Mulnayak) and Parshwanath Bhagwan, and a Digambar pratimaji of Mahavira Bhagwan.  In the Rangmandap we have Guru Pundarik Swami and Guru Gautam Swami and also marble patts of Sammetshikhar Maha Tirth and Shratunjay Maha Tirth along with Navkar Mahamantra and Siddha Chakra patts.  We also have Chakreshvari Devi, Saraswati Devi, Shri Manibhadravira, and Shri Ghantakaranveer in the rangmandap.  There is an upasra where people can perform samayika, meditation, etc., library, and class rooms for adult and children religious classes; and a large multipurpose room. "We are very thankful that with the blessings of Dev and Guru and participation and support of all JCOCO members and well-wishers from all parts of US and outside, we were able to complete this magnificent temple in the heart of Ohio in a record 10 months period after the ground-breaking", commented Dr. Mukesh Shah, Chairman of the Board and Temple Pratishtha Committee.

 During the Pratishtha Mahotsav, JCOCO was honored by the presence of dignitaries such as Shri H.H. Charukeerthiji Bhattarakji, Amrender Muniji, Dr.Taralaben Doshi, Shri Girishbhai Shah, Nareshbhai Shah, Narendrabhai Nandu, Narendrabhai Shah, Ashutosh Vyas, and JAINA president Dr. Sushil Jain. Our Sanghpati (honorable host) for the event were Dr. Shri Nikhil and Rupa Doshi of Mansfield, Ohio and Shri Talakchand and Taraben Shah of Mumbai, India parents of Hiten Shah who oversees the temple construction project. The four day program was full of activities such as colorful varghoda (Procession) various pooja vidhis to  purify all moorties, live and auspicious Panch Kalyanak celebration drama  was performed  which was choreographed by Sona Mehta, Shivani Patel, Bhavna Prasanna and Vattsa Mehta and their team of 24 youths. A  Bollywood-style movie entitled "MMCS: Ek Parmatma, Ek Dharm”, directed and written by Rakesh and Neha Jain. The movie is inspired by the 9th century Jain classic Sanskrit work, "Upmiti Bhav Prapanch Katha” (A Metaphorical Story of the Worldly Journeys and gives a contemporary touch to inquire into our current lifestyles. This spiritual yet entertaining movie starred over 80 local Jain community members and the 2 DVD sets were given out for a nominal donation. Over all the Pratishtha ceremony was a remarkable once in a life time event enjoyed by Jain Sangh which is very united and committed to work together for the betterment of Jain community as a whole. With moist eyes, Dr Tansukh Salgia, Trustee and one of the senior most members, added, "This is truly a memorable day for the Jain Community here as our dreams of past 15 years of having our own temple has finally been realized." On Sunday July 22nd Jain Center Jain Center BoT Chair Dr. Mukesh Shah, Temple Committee Chair Dr. Nikhil Doshi, Trustee Dr. Dalsukh Madia and  president Sona Mehta offer vote of thanks to  Hiten T. Shah, the pivotal force behind the entire temple project  and all volunteers and Pratishtha participants and all dignitaries . During the vote of thanks ceremony, the members of Jain Center played out a very special historical and ancient Jain drama named, "King Kumarpal” to conclude the celebration of the day. On Monday, July 23rd, the doors of the temple were official opened  and on Tuesday, July 24th, the Jain Center held its very first "Bhakti Sandhya” performed by Shri Asutosh Vyas in the newly inaugurated temple