Dear Sadharmik brothers and sisters,
Jai Jinendra!

Paryushan Parva is starting from tomorrow. On behalf of JAINA EC, I wish each one of you sukh-sata during this Paryushan and Das Lakshana Maha Parva.

Join the virtual Global Bhakti, on August 15, 2020, which aims to unite Jains around the world for Bhakti with singers from 10 different countries. More details are mentioned below.

Thank you for taking out time to take a survey on COVID-19 in the Global Jain Population. Please check the survey report below.

Also, after your amazing response, JAINA has come up with another survey, COVID-19 Jain Mental Health, to analyze the mental health of the Jain community in America. Please take a moment to fill out the survey below.

The College of Liberal Arts at CSULB invites you to join the virtual celebration of the signing of the commitment to establish the Bhagwan Suvidhinath Endowed Chair in Jain Studies on August 27, 2020.

This Paryushan, for the youth of America there is a spiritual retreat session by young and highly educated Param Pujya Samyaktaji Mahasatiji on August 15. Please encourage the youth to attend.

JAINA will Present virtual lectures daily on Zoom, from August 15-22, by Scholars, Dr. Jitendra Shah (in Hindi), Dr. Kumarpal Desai (in Gujarati), and Dr. Bipin Doshi (in English). To take laabh of these virtual lectures you just have to join in the links mentioned-below during the lecture time.

JAINA presents an online mini-course on the Fundamentals of Jain Philosophy during the Paryushan 2020. The course will be conducted by Dr. Bipin Doshi in English from August 15th to 22nd.

Join the virtual Aloyana on August 22nd and all Pratikramans on August 22nd and 23rd.

Read about the Jain Center of South Florida and the Jain Society of Alberta who are organizing virtual Mahavir Jayanti, lectures, pathshala, and fundraising events.

Read part 2 of the Climate Crisis Series by the JAINA Education Committee. The article examines why we, as Jains, should care about climate change.

JAINA is proud to know how the Jain youths of North America are coming up to help the community. During Corona pandemic, a 16-year-old high school student, Manan Shah, from Edison, NJ, started a free virtual tutoring service to support communities with children in Grades K-8. He has inspired hundreds of volunteers to provide this service.

Please take a short survey developed by Jain Center of Greater Boston, with support from JAINA LRP, and JITO that accurately captures the current state of Jainism and the Jain Way of Life among the Jains around the world. Also, share this survey, which is linked below, with your Jain network.

Details of all the above items are given below.

Sincerely,
Mahesh Wadher
JAINA President

Jain Study Group and India presents Global Bhakti, which is co-powered by JAINA, JITO Ladies Wing, and Jain Jagruti Centers. The virtual event aims to unite Jains around the world for Bhakti with singers from 10 countries. Know more about the singers here.

Join Global Bhakti:

Date: August 15, 2020
Time: 9:00 PM (IST)
Where: Live on India Has Talent YouTube Channel & India Has Talent Facebook



Watch the message on Global Bhakti from

JAINA President, Mahesh Wadher.

JAINA conducted a survey of COVID-19 in the Jain population. Thank you for taking this survey and helping in our study. Please find the survey report of COVID-19 in the Global Jain Population.

We have come up with another survey, the Patient Health questionnaire and General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, which will help to understand the state of mental health in a population. We are distributing these surveys to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the Jain community in America. We hope you will help us taking the COVID-19 Jain Mental Health survey.

Click Here For the COVID-19 Jain Mental Health survey

Inspired by Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb, this Paryushan brings an exclusive session for the Youth of America by Young and Highly educated Param Pujya Samyaktaji Mahasatiji with live Zoom from India.

Topic: Life Without Ctrl + Z, Choice, or Chance?
Date: 15th August | Saturday
Time: 9 - 10 pm EST
Zoom ID: 7595655477
Password: 1008
Link: https://bit.ly/33VHUI5

Let's Learn the Art of Rejoicing over Regretting with a practical approach and satisfy our curiosity with a live Q&A session.

Param Pujya Samyaktaji Mahasatiji has pursued her MBA degree from a reputed university in Pune and simultaneously analyzed it with the life management science of Prabhu Mahavir. After exploring the best of both worlds and discerning where true happiness really lies, she decided to advance on the path of spirituality with strong conviction. She has been blessed with the vows of Jain Diksha by Gurudev Shree Namramuni Maharaj Saheb in 2018. Her deep thoughts and unconventional perspectives in every situation are the foundation of her spiritual growth. Her talks compel one to contemplate on the subtler aspect of life and strive to attain clarity of the ultimate truth.

The auspicious Jain Parv, Paryushan, and Das Lakshana are starting from tomorrow the 15th of August. During this 8/10-day of 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 swadhyays 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 the “PADMA SHRI” award. Collaborating with 100 scholars, he has edited and published 5 of the 20 volumes of Jain Viswa Kosh ( Encyclopedia).

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 the below-mentioned virtual Pratikramans and Aloyana on Zoom for people to take laabh from home. Kindly forward this message to everyone so they can join.

There is no need to register for Deravasi , Aloyana or Sthanakvasi Pratikramans. To join just click on the below link which will take you to the JAINA website where you need to select the event you want to join.

If you have any questions please call Mahesh Wadher at 909 376 4027 or email to Mahesh.Wadher@gmail.com

Click Here to Attend Samvatsari Pratikamans

During COVID-19, the Jain Center of South Florida (JCSF) celebrated three major virtual events Mahavir Jayanti, Pathshala Graduation, and Dhwaja change ceremony.

Besides that, JCSF is conducting every Sunday virtual lecture series with Samanijis and community scholars, monthly ‘Jainism and Science’ lecture series with respected science scholars from India under the guidance of Samani Dr. Chaitanya Prajna, weekly online Pathshala for kids and daily community prayers.

JCSF also raised COVID-19 funds and sent it to JAINA Corona Relief Fund.

Jain Society of Alberta (JSOA) is conducting online monthly Pathsala and weekly Prayers, which is joined by Calgary, Edmonton & Ft. McMurray.

The center is planning to celebrate Paryushan, including Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, daily Pratikraman, and Savansari Pratikram online.

JSOA members are free from any problems of COVID-19 as the committee continuously reminds members to maintain the required guidelines.

Question: Why should we, especially as Jains, care about the climate / environmental issues? Why does climate matter? Why should anyone care?

From a purely anthropomorphic (human-centric) point of view, taking action on climate change is necessary for our own survival and well-being. To date, climate change has affected poorer parts of the world and animal and plant life more than people in the developing world. The wealthier countries and communities have been mostly spared from the most serious effects, so far. However, climate change does not favor or discriminate. Left unaddressed, it will affect every living being, if not in our lifetimes, then in the coming generations. In the history of mankind, people have generally escaped from disasters by migrating to new lands. However, the unprecedented nature of climate change is that it engulfs the entire planet, leaving no feasible place for people to escape to. Therefore, even from a purely selfish standpoint, one should care for the sake of his or her own comfort and survival.

From a broader moral standpoint, we share the Earth with billions of other humans as well as other life, all of whom desire to live, seek happiness, and avoid pain. A naturally functioning planet is a basic requirement for every living being to survive. The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere in the future. The basic moral argument is that humans have inherited the resources and boons of a good life from generations before, and we owe it to the younger and coming generations, and for all other life, to leave them a livable planet.

Click Here to Read More

The College of Liberal Arts at California State University Long Beach invites to join President Conoley to celebrate the signing of the commitment to establish the Bhagwan Suvidhinath Endowed Chair in Jain Studies on August 27, 2020, from 4:00 to 5:00 PM PST.

Here’s the invitation flyer with more details and the Zoom link to join the virtual celebration.

Manan Shah, a 16-year-old high school student, from Edison, NJ, started a free virtual tutoring service, LimitlessMinds Inc, during the pandemic to support communities with children in Grades K-8. His father, Pritesh Shah, shares his story saying, Manan has so far inspired an army of over 300 high school volunteers across 14 chapters (including 2 international chapters) to provide this service completely free to younger students who are impacted the most by a shift to online education due to lockdowns. This service provides 1:1 tutoring in a cybercafe manner.

This has already been featured in NJ's flagship newspaper The Star-Ledger, Home News Tribune, and News12 NJ TV channel over the last couple of months per the links below. He is also featured by Boy Scouts of America on the organization's National Facebook page as it is a positive story and also contributes to image building of the organization. Students and families from our Jain communities can also benefit from this service as it provides high school volunteers an opportunity to give back and earn volunteer hours while younger students and their families receive this support at no cost to them within the comfort of their home.

Please check out these articles for more details.

1. LimitlessMinds Inc Website
2. Boy Scout of America Social Media Campaign (Aug 10th)
3. Scouting Magazine Blog article (Aug 7th)
4. Home News Tribune Article (July 30th)
5. The Star-Ledger article (June 6th) in NJ.Com

Around us, the world is changing. A pandemic has swept through the world, matters of social justice are combing through North America, and many Americans are out of jobs. However, our religion has stayed fairly constant throughout all of this -- though it may be susceptible to change, too.

Noting this, the Jain Center of Greater Boston, with support from JAINA LRP, and JITO, has developed a short, anonymous survey that accurately captures the current state of Jainism and the Jain Way of Life. Targeting the approximately 150,000 Jains in the US and nearly 6,000,000 worldwide, the survey poses both demographic and lifestyle questions to provide a comprehensive, current picture of the Jain religion. Once enough data is gathered, the results will be analyzed, and recommendations will be provided to temple leaders, allowing them to better connect with their constituents and improve our religion for all practitioners.

We now invite you to help the Jain community by filling out Survey of Jains Worldwide - 2020 and sharing with your more extensive Jain network.