JAIN FALL 2006 - HereNow4U.net

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
From the President.....
Jai Jinendra:
On behalf of JAINA I want to take this opportunity and
ask for your forgiveness for any deed, action or words
that may have caused ill feeling. “MICCHAMI
DUKHADAM”. I want to congratulate thousands of
you who performed tapasya during recent Paryushan and
Das Lakshan parva. As I travel across this nation and
globe, I hear of outstanding work being done by Jains.
We rely on our communications to keep each other
informed so we may learn from and help each other in
our quest to make this world better and more peaceful.
Following is a synopsis of what you as volunteers are
doing across this nation:
Prime Minister of India and JAINA President Kirit C Daftary at the function
to unveil the Cataloguing of JAINA Scriptures
Jain Digest: You will notice this issue of Jain Digest is different compared to what you have seen in past. We have introduced
a new concept where we plan to invite various Guest Editors and/or Editorial teams, hoping that each of them will bring new
talent and ideas. Over time we would have established a group of committed and talented individuals who could produce our
future issues. For the next two issues we have invited Mr. Chetan Sanghvi and his colleagues to jointly form the Guest Editorial
Team. I hope you will send us your views and comments in this regard. Based on this concept, if you have editorial/journalistic
back ground and would like to volunteer to be Guest Editors for Jain Digest, please write to JAINA HQ with your ideas and
vision.
Recently I attended Murti Pratishtha in London. There were over 1,500 attendees from India and other countries. Many of
them wanted to become a member of JAINA and receive a copy of the Jain Digest and JAINA Calendar. They were quite
disappointed when told them that only institutions can become members. We are looking into starting international subscription
for Jain Digest.
World Jain Confederation(WJC): JAINA is working with the WJC to help them win the bid for hosting 2009 Parliament of
the World Religion Conference in Delhi. Delhi is competing against Melbourne and Singapore. This Parliament is expected to
draw over 15,000 attendees from 150 countries. It is a matter of pride for Jains to be a catalyst in creating this meaningful inter
and intra-faith dialogue. Virchand Raghavji Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda had a significant impact in the 1893 Parliament.
India can again lead in the 2009 Parliament. See the story “Delhi: Host city for 2009 Parliament” in this issue.
Young Jains of India(YJI): Last December, YJA inspired YJI to hold their first convention. They are holding their second
convention in Delhi in November 2006 with attendance expected to cross 2000 from all over India. This is an example of
JAINA’s impact world around.
NAACP: For the First time in the history, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) convention
in Washington, DC was launched with invocation and benediction by a Jain - Dr. Sushil K. Jain. Dr. Jain delivered the
Namokar Mantra as the Universal Prayer to the audience of over 12,000 registrants.
Professional Volunteerism: JAINA is where it is today because of services from volunteers across the nation. One such example
is that of Mr. Vinod Doshi from Jain Center of Detroit who provided JAINA with complementary Audit service. Not only did
he save us money but his report was very timely and accurate.
Tapasya: During last Paryushan we had many hundreds of Tapasvis from many centers. Nayanaben Shah’s 45 days of fast clearly
stands out. All the Tapasvis are a source of inspiration for this relatively young North American Jain community.
World Religion – Montreal: Under the leadership of Mr. Arvind Vora and Mr. Naresh Jain, JAINA participated in World’s
Religions after September 11 Global Congress at Montreal. JAINA had displayed Jain Way of Life exhibits and gave away over
1,200 copies of ‘Jainism and Essence of World Religion’ book. JAINA had sponsored a plenary speaker Prof. Padmanabh Jaini
and an evening entertainment program of Musical Dharma. Both these programs were very well attended.
1

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
JAIN DIGEST
A publication of the
Federation of Jain Associations
in North America (JAINA)
Federation of Jain
Associations in
North America (JAINA)
JAINA HEADQUARTERS
PO Box 700, Getzville, NY 14068-0700
Phone/Fax: 716/636-5342
jainahq @ jaina.org
www.jaina.org
GUEST EDITORIAL TEAM
Chetan V Sanghvi
Heena Nandu
Harendra Shah
Pravin Turakhia
Chandu Desai,
Sharmila Ranka
Viren Shah
email: jaindigest.info@gmsil.com
Phone: 510-770-2277
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Lata Champsee
Phone: 416/441-2200
email: latachampsee@usa.net
COVER DESIGN
Dhrumil Purohit
email: dhrumil@dharmaboost.com
REGIONAL EDITORS
Canada
Dr. Mahendra Mehta
email: mhmehta@sympatico.ca
Midwest, US
Manubhai Doshi
email: mansukhdoshi@yahoo.com
Phone: 847/735-0120
Northeast, US
Dineshbhai Chheda
email: dchheda@pica.army.mil
Phone: 973/394-1701
Southeast, US
Pravin K. Shah
Phone:919-859-4994
Southwest, US
Jadavji Kenia
email: jkenia@netzero.com
Phone: 972/690-3593
West, US
Chandrakant Parekh
email:cparekh1@yahoo.com
Phone: 562-926-5663
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Young Minds
Hanul Bhandari
210-842-4825,
hanul.bhandari@yja.org
Chirag K. Shah
262-880-6918, chirag.shah@yja.org
Matrimonials
Hasmukh Shah
304 Tall Oak Trail
Tarpon Springs, FL 34688-7711
Phone: 727-934-6141 / 3255
hasmukh33@yahoo.com
MANAGING BOARD
Lata Champsee, Managing Director
Dilip V Shah, Marketing Director
Keerti Shah, Circulation Director
The Guest Editorial Team working with
the Managing Board will endeavor to
publish all material submitted but reserves
the right to edit and/or reformat for clarity
and space restrictions. The views expressed
in the articles are those of the authors and
do not necessarily represent the views of
the Managing Editorial Board of JAIN
DIGEST.
JAINA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Kirit C. Daftary
Phone: 254/776-4209, Fax: 254/753-1411
First Vice President
Dilip V. Shah
Phone: 215-561-0581Fax: 215-567-3146
Regional Vice Presidents
Jashvant Mehta, Canada
Phone: 780-435-9070
Ila G. Shah, Midwest US
Phone: 419-865-2727 Fax: 419-868-7476
Gunvant Shah. Northeast, US
Phone: 732-246-4030
Deepika Dalal, Southeast US
Phone: 954-431-5957 Fax: 305-585-3798
Bipin Shah, West US
Phone: 408-973-1004 Fax: 408-262-0180
Udai Jain, Southwest US
Phone: 281-980-0741, Fax: 281/980-2924
Secretary
Lata Champsee
Phone: 416/441-2200, Fax: 416/441-2211
Treasurer
Pravin Mehta
Phone: 931-648-9535, Fax:931-648-9539
Immediate Past President
Anop R. Vora
Phone: 585/473-9290, Fax: 585/473-9450
SPECIAL OFFICE BEARER
Executive Director of JAINA
Kamalesh Amin Ph: 716-636-5342
http:// www.jaina.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Names of all Board of Directors are listed on
http:// www.jaina.org
JAINA CHARITABLE TRUST
Names of all Trustees are listed on
http:// www.jaina.org
AFFILIATES
Brahmi Jain Society, US and Canada
I. A. A. of Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya, Rochester, NY
International Mahavir Jain Mission, US and Canada
Jain Adhytmic Academy of N. America,Plano TX
Jain Meditation International Center, US & Canada
Jain Social Group, LA and Toronto
Kutchhi Gurjar Jain Society, Grand Island, NY
Kutchhi Oswal Jain Association of North
America(KOJAIN)
Shri Mahavir Jain Foundation, Santa Ana, CA
Jain Academic Foundation of N.America,,TX
NORTHEAST
Regular
Atlantic
Boston
Buffalo
Cherry Hill
Essex Fells
Hudson alley
New York
Ocen
Orange
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Rochester
Washington
Associate
Albany
Allentown
Binghamton
Delaware
Elmira
Harrisburgh
Hartford
Syracuse
JAINA COMMITTEES
Academic Liaison Committee
Girish P. Shah 408-378-8765
Adhyatmic Committee
Hasmukh Shah 727-934-6141
Calendar Committee
Rajeev Pandya 718-816-0083
Constitution Review Committee
Manibhai Mehta 714-898-3156
Govt.&Int’l\ Organizations Relations
Dhiraj H. Shah 716-773-1314
Interfaith Activies/World Council of Jains
Arvind Vora 631-269-1167
Jain Center Resource
Nitin Shah 562-902-0277
Jain Digest Membership
Keerti Shah 630-837-8716
Jain Network Forum (JNF)
Sunil Jain 630-705-1884
Jain Rituals
Naresh Shah 516-741-9269
Jaina Book Stores
Rohit H. Doshi 607-754-6010
Jaina Charitable Trust
Mahendra K. Pandya 718-816-0083
Jaina Convention Board
Dilip V. Shah 215-561-0581
Jaina Education
Pravin K. Shah 919-859-4994
Jaina Exhibition
Sudhir Shah 203-397-5086
Jaina Library
Ramesh Doshi 714-995-8914
Jaina Public Affairs Committee
Sushil Jain 301-670-0519
Jaina Publication
Prem Gada 806-794-4777
Jivdaya
Pramodaben Chitrabhanu 212-534-6090
Legal Advisory
Prakash Parekh 914-478-1075
Neel Shah 908-769-7000
SOUTHEAST
Regular
Atlanta
Miami
Associate
Augusta
Charlotte
Ft. Meyers
Jacksonville
Memphis
Middle Tennessee
Morgantown
New Orleans
Orlando
Panama City Beach
Palm Beach
Raleigh
Tampa
MIDWEST
Regular
Chicago
Cinncinati/
Dayton
Cleveland
Columbus
Detroit
Lansing
St. Louis
Associate
Kansas City
Minneapolis
Milwaukee
Toledo
Long Term Planning
Yogendra Jain 781-856-0769
Media Production
Mamata Shaha 516-487-1852
Media and Public Relations Committee:
Mr. Nitin Talasania 908-306-1406
Membership
Kamlesh Shah 301-838-9778
Marriage Information Service
Hasmukh M. Shah 727-934-6141
N. American Jain Families Assist Program
Ila G. Mehta 419-865-2727
North American Jains History
Jasvant Mehta 780-435-9070
Patron Program
Udai Jain 281-980-0741
Pilgrimage Committee
Dilip V. Shah 215-561-0581
Planned Giving Committee
Yogesh Kamdar 203-288-2350
Scholar Visitation
Nirmal Dosi 732-390-0296
Senior’s Housing
Gunvant Shah 732-246-4030
Technology Committee
Girish P. Shah 408-378-8765
Tirthodhdhar Committee
Kirit Daftary 254-776-4209
V. R. Gandhi Scholarship Fund
Pravin C. Shah 516-248-8265
Website Committee
Dilip V. Shah 215-561-0581
World Community Service
Bachubhai S. Ajmera 301-924-8070
YJA and YJP Coordinator
Girish P. Shah 408-378-8765
Young Jains of America (YJA)
Dhrumil Purohit 302-832-0361
Rajiv Jain 703-207-2323
Young Jain Professionals (YJP)
Nirav Shah 313-598-6754
Nehal Shah 562-822-3048
SOUTHWEST
Regular
Dallas
Houston
Phoenix
Associate
Tulsa
Lubbock
Colorado
CANADA
Regular
Toronto
Associate
Edmonton
Montreal
Ottawa
Vancouver
2

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
JAIN DIGEST
Fall 2006 Vol.25 No.2
circulation: 11000
In this Issue:
From the President............................1
Guest Editorial Team’s Notes ............4
Jains & JAINA World .......................6
Paryushan Begins When
Paryushan Ends ............................. 11
Cartoonist’s View ..................... 11
Scholar’s Message ..................... 14
JAINA Convention 2007 ........ 20
Celebration in JAINA centers .. 21
Youth Perspective ..................... 22
Discussion with Tapasvies ........ 23
Diwali ..................................... 26
JAINA News.................................. 27
Jain & JAINA North America ....... 28
Matrimonials ................................. 35
Auditor’s Statement ........................ 39
2007 JAINA Convention: Dilipbhai Shah, the convener of 2007 JAINA Convention
is busy preparing for the next convention to be held in Edison, NJ. Please do mark
your calendars.
Cataloguing of Jain Scriptures: JAINA is a proud sponsor of “Cataloguing of Jain
Scriptures”. These volumes were unveiled by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster
of India. These volumes are going to be displayed at the London Royal Arts Museum.
Our JAINA library has a copy of the set and you will find the catalogue on-line.
While in Los Angles area visit the Jain Center and JAINA library. For more information
please contact Mr. Ramesh Doshi, Chairman of the JAINA Library Committee at
rcdoshi@yahoo.com
Leadership Training: JAINA’s Long Range Planning Committee has started scheduling
“Leadership Training” around several parts of the country based on our last leadership
conference held at Kellogg Business School of Management led by Dr. Dipak Jain.
Please contact Mr. Yogendra Jain at yokjain@yahoo.com for more information.
YJA: JAINA is bringing its youth to the forefront. JAINA and YJA co-sponsored Mr.
Chintan Shah, the YJA co-chair to represent JAINA at the “Religion for Peace”,
conference at Kyoto, Japan. You will find his report elsewhere in this issue.
JAINA Milan 2006: This event was arranged to support and facilitate matrimonial activities
in the Jain community. It was organized in New Jersey under the leadership of Gunvantbhai
Shah, regional vice president of JAINA. Over 160 individuals participated in this event.
Similar events like this are being planned around the country. Next one is planned in
Metropolitan Chicago area. Look for more information on this at your local Jain Center.
Unity Pledge: Last but not the least those who attended 13th biennial JAINA
convention at Santa Clara, California know about the Unity Pledge recited by Gurudev
Chitrabhanuji and signed by many. Dr. Narayan Kacharra, one of the attendees from
India having witnessed this unity of Jains in North America was further moved by this
unity pledge taken up by over 3,000 attendees. He was inspired to start a similar unity
project. Last month I inaugurated Unity and World Peace function at Sagwara in
Rajasthan.
I would be delighted to hear from you on how JAINA can do a better job of
communicating with you and improving its role in serving the community. Please
write to us at jainahq@jaina.org. JAINA’s road of improvement and charting new
frontiers is under construction.
With best wishes and regards,
Kirit C Daftary
President JAINA
Moving
Receiving duplicate copies
Send your address corrections to:
JAIN DIGEST CIRCULATION
Federation of JAINA
P. O. Box 700
Getzville, NY 14068-0700
3

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Jai Jinendra
From The Guest Editorial Team
I am sure most of you have heard the analogy of a dog’s curly
tail, probably just like me, from your mother. After her
umpteenth attempt to correct some behavior of mine, she
would finally get annoyed and compare me to the dog’s curly
tail - the tail that stays straight as long as one holds it, but as
soon as you let go, it curls right back up. What I remember
with fondness today is that in Mother’s annoyance was a hope
that I, her child would actually improve. Today in many respects
we are like that child - when some external surroundings or
events dictate us to behave in a particular manner, we put up
our best external-face that matches the requirements of our
surroundings. But as soon as the surrounding changes we return
right back to our so called natural behavior.
Let us ponder for a minute to wonder why we behave in the
way we do. Are we in essence driven by our emotions, which
in turn are controlled by some external events Living in the
Silicon Valley, a computer analogy seems appropriate. Both a
computer executing an Artificial Intelligence program and a
human learn and make logical decisions based on their learning
and new inputs, both have some amount of randomness – via
external events, and both demonstrate a probabilistic behavior.
One may argue that a human “program” or reasoning ability is
far more sophisticated than any currently developed computer
program. Still this does not make us fundamentally different
from a computer. So what make us different It is our
consciousness. Like the mother, this inner force is asking us to
change, but we find it difficult because this very consciousness
is enslaved by our emotions. So until we free ourselves from
this emotional slavery, we will not be much different from the
machine.
The theme of this issue of Jain Digest focuses on that true
freedom that is enlightenment. “Enlightenment occurs in the
pure soul”. So how do we go about achieving this ambitious
goal The celebration of Purity that is Paryushan is already
gone and now we are in the midst of Diwali, festival that
symbolizes enlightenment. Let us continue with this endeavor.
In our main story titled “Paryushan starts when Paryushan
ends”, we explore various aspects of the path(s) to achieving
that goal – both in theory and practice.
From the theoretical perspective and as part of composing the
cover story, we have talked with scholars and monks from
various different Jain traditions, bringing forth their message
with the same central theme, yet with their unique view points.
Coming to the practice aspect - one of the editorial goals of
this issue was to get the community more involved. We have
tried to bring forth some of their voices to you. As a step in
that direction, we have interviewed a randomly selected group
Artist’s narration:
Forgiveness is the most important amongst
the ten virtues practiced during Paryushan
(Pajjo- savanna). In the center, two souls are
hugging each other indicating a mutual sense
of forgiveness. The golden figure in the back
is the presence of divinity. The blue colors are
for Raga (attachment), reds are for Dwesha
(aversion). The lighter shades of red and blue
depict diminished intensity and duration of
Raga and Dwesha. The green colors are to
remind us to not stop but go…go beyond the
festival period and celebrate a virtuous lifestyle
daily. The eternal divine flame conveys that
one should not forget the significance of
Paryushan but rather carry its spirit for the
rest of one’s life and beyond.
Media: Acrylic and Pastel Size: 24” x 30”
of tapasvis and brought their views and experiences on how
they practice the religion and undertake spiritual endeavor.
Keeping up with the news and current events is always difficult
for a publication like Jain Digest that is published once every
three months and that too gets delayed sometimes due to
unforeseen circumstances. By the time the news reaches the
reader, it is already stale. Hence we did not see much harm in
eliminating the whole section of Jain Center News. Instead,
we have compiled some relevant details of all Jain Centers in a
tabular format. We would have liked for this to be fairly
comprehensive in including ALL Jain Centers, as well as provide
more forward looking news items, but for that to happen, we
need a more timely response from all the Jain Centers. So if
you do not see your Center’s information here, please help us
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JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Shrimad Rajchandra’s Growing
Global Influence
Gujarati language’s highest circulated magazine
Chitralekha, carried a nine page cover story - article
with 20-pictures - in their issue of September 11, 2006
about Paramkrupaludev Shrimad Rajchandra’s
philosophy. The article describes in detail the activities
of five different Ashrams - Agas, Dharampur, Parli,
Koba and Sayla. It talks about the increasing influence
of Shrimad’s teachings and the positive impact it is
having across the globe. It has interviewed various
individuals and presented their perspective. Amongst
NRIs interviewed include Jignasa Mehta - Londan,
Hetal Shah - London, Prakash Mody – Canada and
Prafulla Mody – Canada, and former US residents
Praful Lakhani and Ekta Shah (the latter two now
permanently reside at one of the Ashrams).
If you are interested in reading the full Gujarati article
please contact us jaindigest.info@gmail.com
gather that information for the next issue by sending it to us at
the earliest. We have included a section on Global Jains &
JAINA covering global news both relating to JAINA and other
global news that we feel is important and directly relevant to
our community. We have kept the JAINA news section
unchanged. Overall, this is an area where we really need your
feedback as to how we can make this information more useful
and informative to you, our readers.
Before we end this letter we would like to tell you a little about
our plans for the next issue. The focus of the next issue is
Education, Jain Education in particular. If you have anything
to share on this topic please do send it to us. Apart from covering
various aspects of Jain Education including Pathshala, we want
to motivate our youth and community members to let our
larger USA community know about the Message of Bhagwan
Mahavir (with emphasis on the message). We would like to
interview about fifteen Jain youths attending Universities across
USA and Canada. Please send us names of youths who are
attending an undergraduate program at any of the major
accredited colleges in USA and Canada by sending an email to
Jaindigest.info@gmail.com.
Finally we, the Guest Editorial Team of Jain Digest would like
to express our sincerest thanks to JAINA president, JAINA
Executive Committee and the current JAINA Editors for giving
us the opportunity to edit this issue of Jain Digest. Lastly, we
are very keen on getting your feedback; especially comments
that point out areas where we need to improve. Your honest
feedback will not only help us and the future Guest Editors/
teams improve this magazine, but also help bring the
community closer. Does Jainism not say that unity only comes
when we appreciate its diversity!
“MICCHAMI DUKHADAM”
With Warm Regards,
Chetan V Sanghvi, Heena Nandu, Harendra Shah, Pravin
Turakhia, Chandu Desai, Sharmila Ranka & Viren Shah
Notes: Please send your inputs to jainahq@jaina.org and a
copy to jaindigest.info@gmail.com
Please note that the next issues of Jain Digest will
be Published in February 2007.
“One who conquers one (mind) conquers five (senses), One who conquers five (senses), conquers ten (mind, five senses, and four
passions), One who conquers ten (mind, five senses, and four passions), conquers all.”
God does not play dice with the universe - Albert Einstein
We are very very small. But we are profoundly capable of very very big things. - Stephen Hawking
5

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Global Jains & JAINA
Indian Prime Minister Launches Three
Volume Catalogues Of Jain Manuscripts
Manuscripts were great sources of original information for
westerners who had developed great curiosity about Indian
Culture. It was through these manuscripts that European
scholars realized that Jains have their own scriptures and a trend
of thought distinct from both Hinduism and Buddhism.
Jain libraries (bhandars) of Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jaipur,
Ahmedabad, Patan, Baroda, Surat and Moodbidri are famous
for repositories of Jain manuscripts. Over 1100 Jain
manuscripts are also available in the in the British Library, the
Victoria Albert Museum, and the British Museum.
Jain Manuscripts have four alternative definitions: (1) Whatever
is written in the form of a manuscript by a Jain, (2) whatever is
written in Jain Nagari characters, (3) any Jain work sacred or
secular written in the form of a manuscript by a Jain or a nonjain,
and, (4) any manuscript that is in the possession of a Jain
individual, or body. The third definition of manuscripts is used
for cataloguing purposes.
Pujya Shri Jambuvijayji Maharaj explains the significance of
cataloguing by pointing out that even with the availability of
printed publications the importance of the original material
never diminishes. Important scriptures have been published
with many inaccuracies, and such defects can only be verified
by comparison with the original palm-leaf or paper manuscript.
Institute of Jainology took up the project of cataloguing the
Jain Manuscripts located at the British Library in 1991. The
work started by Professor Tripathi and was subsequently
completed by others in 2005.
The prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh launched
the three volume catalogues of Jain Manuscripts on 27th May
2006; on the day of the 42nd death anniversary of Jawaharlal
Nehru. Dr. Singh quoted Nehru’s observation from the
Discovery of India, “..it was Jainism that helped us better
appreciate the rights of all living beings.” He also talked of
Jainism’s lasting influence on Indian civilization. Dr. Singh said
“Jainism’s enduring legacy of non-violence has shaped our
approach to life and nature. Its principled stand against a
hierarchical caste system inspires us to fight for equality of all,
even today”. Further, he said the rational basis of Jainism had
contributed to scientific temper and the fight against
superstition and blind belief. Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s
remarks, the Prime Minister said Jainism represents “the highest
flight of logic, taking nothing for granted and endeavoring to
prove metaphysical truth by challenging the intellect.”
The High Commissioner of UK to India, Union Minister of
Tourism and Culture, and many Jain dignitaries attended this
event. JAINA was represented by Mr. Kirit Daftary, Mr. Dilip
Shah, Dr. Kirit Gosalia, Mr. Devendra Peer, Dr. Vinod Shah,
Dr. Dilip Bobra, Dr. Pramila Daftary and the JAINA past
President, Dr. Sulekh Jain.
It is worth noting that the Patron-in-Chief Mr. Atal Behari
Vajpayee granted Rs. two Crores towards this project in the
form of matching donation. JAINA also has supported this
project.
The Catalogue consists of three volumes, illustrating how
manuscripts work and what they tell us about societies of the
past. It also includes color plates and a CD which has 150
images from manuscripts, doing justice to the painters, and
emphasizing the role of images as visual aids for the
understanding of texts. The catalogue can be viewed at JAINA
library, managed by Mr. Ramesh Doshi at Jain Center of
Southern California in Los Angeles. For more information,
please call him at 714-995-8914
Bidding To Get The 2004 Parliament Of
World’s Religions Conference In Delhi
Report prepared by Kirit C. Daftary, one of the delegates.
Jainism’s presence was felt in the 2004 Parliament of World’s
Religions Conference in Barcelona, by the concerted effort of
JAINA, WJC (World Jain Confederation) and other prominent
Jains from around the world. JAINA’s delegation was led by
Anop Vora with support from Naresh Jain and Hema
Pokharna. JAINA distributed copies of its publications
“Essence of World Religions”, and “Jainism”. The opening
prayers were recited by Jain monks and samanijis. (See report
in Jain Digest, Fall 2004)
Members of WJC expressed their interest to the Executive
Director of the Parliament to host the next 2009 Parliament
in India. Subsequently, JAINA joined with members from
WJC to participate in a Pre-bid conference in Chicago. Mr.
Mahendra Mehta led the delegation that also included exambassador
Dr. N. P. Jain, Dr. Bipin Doshi and Mrs. Aruna
Oswal. They made the presentation about Delhi, its facilities,
infrastructure, etc. An interfaith group from Melbourne along
with the city’s tourism department made a competitive bid.
Five representatives including Naresh Jain of JAINA from the
6

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Council for the Parliament of World’s Religions (CPWR) visited
Delhi for the initial site evaluation. Naresh Jain is a member
of the CPWR site selection task force committee. Mr. Kirit
Daftary also accompanied the delegates as part of JAINA.
During the trip the delegates met with the following Indian
government officials:
Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister
Mr. Shivraj Patil, the Home Minister
Mr. L. K. Advani, Opposition Party Leader
Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely, the Education Minister
The delegates also met the following religious leaders:
Dr. A.K. Merchant, Secretary-General-National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha’is of India; Swami Atmaswarupdas of
Swaminarayan Akshardham, Archbishop of Delhi; Harvinder
Singh Sarna, President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara, Shahi Imam
of Fatehpuri Masjid; Tempa Tsering , Representative of H.H.
The Dalai Lama; Representative from Art of Living; Mr. Pratap
Vaid of Arya Samaj; Mr. Rajat from Center for Peace and
Service; Leader from Parasi Community; Mrs. Indu Jain; Mr.
Nirmal Sethi and many other Delhi Jain Samaj leaders.
All of the government and religious leaders were very pleased
to know that Parliament was considering India as one of the
site for 2009. They were very impressed to find that a relatively
small Jain community was taking a leading role in bringing
together the interfaith groups. They assured their full support
and co-operation for the success of the Parliament.
The delegation also got good support from the industries. In a
meeting with Jindal Tube and Oswal group of Industries, it
was felt that the Parliament would facilitate dynamic interaction
and dialogue between inter and intra-faiths on a regular basis,
ultimately helping to reduce tensions.
To preview the logistics, the delegates visited several sites
including the Pragati Maidan, and the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium. The possibility of erecting air-conditioned tents to
create a Parliament Village was explored. Based on the
experience of the past three Parliaments, about 9,000
participants from about 150 countries and an additional 6,000+
attendees from India are expected.
CPWR team was encouraged by the tour and they felt that
India stood a good chance of playing host for the next
Parliament. The final touches to the conference hosting
proposal are being worked on by a group of professionals under
the leadership of WJC.
CPWR team would weigh proposals from three cities, namely
Singapore, Melbourne and Delhi based on the following main
criteria:
1. Compatibility between WJC’s and CPWR’s vision, values
and mission
2. Capacity of the host city to realize its vision for the local
inter-religious efforts
3. Ability to use the partnership with CPWR to enhance their
vision and aspirations for continued inter-religious
dialogue.
4. Financial capability to support the 2009 Parliament
5. Commitment by local religious and spiritual communities
to dialogue and co-operate in order to achieve the stated
vision.
Looking at the experience of the past three Parliaments the
anticipated budget for the 2009 event is 6.7 million USD.
WJC’s initial financial figures shows that this budgetary target
of over $6.7 million can be raised through registration fees,
corporate and individual sponsorship of events, advertising
and donations.
By October 30th, the Parliament is scheduled to announce
the award for the 2009 host city along with the site for the
pre-Parliament event.
No matter which ultimate host city is selected, Jains in India
and world over, through the efforts of WJC and JAINA, are
demonstrating their leadership to bring together different faiths
in an interfaith interaction and dialogue leading to a more
peaceful world.
Teachings of Jain Scriptures on Holistic Human
Health proven by recent Health Study
With an emphasis on vegetarian diet, yogic exercises and
meditation, Jainism has viewed an individual in a holistic sense
and taught one to not only take care of the soul but also the
mind and the body. Science has finally caught up with this
centuries old prescription.
A nine-year study, Abu Healthy Heart Trial (AHHT), the largest
ever to see how lifestyle interventions can cause coronary artery
regression, commissioned by President A P J Abdul Kalam in
1998, has concluded that a low-fat, high-fiber vegetarian diet
and an hour-long daily walk, accompanied by stress
management through Rajyoga meditation not only leads to
regression of coronary artery disease (CAD) but also reduces
angina (chest pain when the heart does not get enough blood).
The study followed 516 patients divided into two groups: one
that was given the conventional treatment for CAD like bypass
surgery and angioplasty, and the other that made lifestyle
changes. Based on the study results, the lifestyle changes have
shown significant clinical, biochemical, electro cardiographic
and angiographic regression of CAD. Bad cholesterol or low
density lipoprotein was reduced by 31% and triglycerides by
32%. Good cholesterol increased by 16%. Unlike other CAD
patients who tire very easily, the sample group with CAD that
made lifestyle changes, recorded an increase in duration of their
physical work. There was also an increase in alpha waves in the
brain indicating mental tranquility. Para sympathetic activity
also increased indicating relaxation of the whole body.
For more details on the study and its findings, visit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-
2038245,curpg-1.cms
Global Jains & JAINA
7

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Global Jains & JAINA
Condensed version of
A Turkish bath in its Religions and Culture
It all started with an invitation in 2005 from Dr. Levent Koc,
Director of the Interfaith Dialog Center (IDC), Carlstadt, NJ.
IDC in its short existence has made significant contribution
in the surrounding communities in fostering dialogue and
understanding between faiths and cultures. I liked the title ‘A
trip to Turkey- the Land of Rumi and Religious Tolerance’.
With so much religiously motivated violence around, tolerance
is the need of the hour. My knowledge about Turkey was
quite limited. All I knew was that it was a moderate Islamic
nation, a democratic government, gave women right to vote
before several other nations in Europe, gave birth to the Sufi
poet Rumi, a large diamond in its Topkapi Palace, Turkish bath,
coffee and hospitality; and Istanbul located in two continents.
Now we were on to another historical experience seven years
after our prior visits to Italy and Greece.
At dinner reception in the Fatih University on Friday (June
16, 2006), the day of our arrival, Alparslan Acikgenc, the Dean
of Arts and sciences, said that the institution believes in the
process of bringing peace by supporting dialogue between
cultures. He explained that violence and terrorism can not be
controlled by violence. What is needed is inclusiveness in
dialogue between cultures, religions and faiths. I presented a
book ‘Essence of World’s religions’ published by JAINA to the
Dean that supports their approach to the process of dialogue.
Early next afternoon we went to the Journalists and Authors
Foundation that invites academicians and intellectuals for
dialogues on peace, inspired by Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic
scholar and a very influential individual that runs a foundation
to promote dialogue among cultures. Fethullah’s global thinking
is influenced by Rumi on Sufi lines. During the question
session, we learnt that Turkey was never colonized and the
Ottoman Empire had a modernization process. Its population
of 70 million is 99% Muslim and the rest are mostly Christians
and Jews. It is a secular state and recognizes freedom of worship.
Mosques, churches and synagogues have co-existed peacefully
for centuries. The hosts also reviewed the ‘Essence of World’s
Religions’ book and commended JAINA for its effort.
Our next visit was a memorable meeting with the Patriarch
Bartholomeos, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox
Community. His extended conversation in support of interfaith
dialogues, appreciation for publishing books like the Essence
of World’s Religions, and warmth in greetings won our hearts.
The next visit was to Georges Marovitch, the representative of
the Vatican in Istanbul.
Early Sunday morning we attended a prayer at the holy Eyup
Sultan Mosque that lays out side the city walls. In Turkey,
mullahs are state employees and all mosques follow similar
instructions. Eyup, the standard bearer of the Prophet
- Naresh Jain, Interfaith CoChair
Mohammad died at this site and the mosque is a highly
venerated shrine and a place of pilgrimage. We also visited Izmir,
one of the largest cities of Turkey, south of which are the
extraordinary ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. It was once
the commercial center during Roman Empire and the site of
the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world.
On Tuesday we took a flight to Antalya, Turkey’s principal
holiday resort, and continuously inhabited for over 2,000 years.
A modern interfaith complex houses a mosque, church as well
as a synagogue in the contemporary architecture. At the end
of the Perge tour, we proceeded to Konya, the birth place of
Rumi. Mevlana Rumi’s writings teach unlimited tolerance,
charity and love. He reminds me of Kabir, probably the most
quoted mystic poet from India 600 years ago.
A ten day journey had truly enriched each of us. We
experienced a moderate and peaceful Islamic culture, and we
all had something to contribute toward the well being of each
other.
The original seven page article by Mr. Naresh Jain, explains in
detail the historical, geographical and religious perspective of
Turkey’s religiously tolerant Islamic society. If any of you are
interested in the full copy you may contact us at
jaindigest.info@gmail.com
Practice of Santhara in News for wrong Reasons.
Since September 28, 2006 a lot of press reports on Santhara
have appeared on BBC, in newsmedia like India today, Indian
Express, Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, etc.
The events that triggered this press coverage were the action of
Santhara taken by Vimla Devi from Jaipur and a corresponding
petition in the state’s high court by critics who say the practice
is similar to suicide; and an earlier Santhara by Jhumku Bai
Modota of Rajasthan. Here are some of quotes from different
news organization:
BBC: (Full report can be read at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
south_asia/5390162.stm)
Her (Vimla Devi’s) family says that her decision to observe Santhara
was sanctioned by a Jain cleric and her family members. “She had
expressed her wish to adopt Santhara and give up her life and for
14 days she did not eat or drink,” her husband, Sohan Lal Bhansali,
said. Vimla Devi’s family did not mourn or cry at her funeral.
Instead a large number of people from the community took out a
procession and chanted prayers along the way.
Nikhil Soni, who filed the court petition, says he tried to break her
fast and had even informed the local police asking them to take
action.
8

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
A Jain lawyer, Rajiv Surana says Santhara should not be perceived
as a religious aberration like Sati. “It is an old tradition and has
religious sanction, it is similar to a Sikh carrying a kirpan
(dagger).”
India Today (Full report can be read at http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/20010402/offtrack.shtml)
It was almost as if death had no sting, no victory over life. The
thousands who followed the hearse of Jhumku Bai Modotar in
Jassole, a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan, weren’t sad at
her passing away. Her death was a time for celebration. Jhumku
Bai had lived on little other than water for 58 days before dying.
Widowed at the age of 16, she had vowed not to live beyond 80.
Sure enough, the day she turned octogenarian in October last year,
she got Jain sages to give her permission to undergo santhara, a
ritual in which a person starves to death. In death, Jhumku Bai
defeated mortality and won a new name for herself as a universal
mother: Meethi Maa.
Preventing santhara invites social ostracism. As happened with
Ishwar Chand Vohra, a cloth merchant in Jodhpur who tried to
prevent his mother Jatan Kanwar, 85, from undergoing the process.
The fast was into its fourth day when Vohra brought in the police.
His stand led to social condemnation. “A voluntary santhara is
correct,’’ he argues, “but forcing it on someone, as was done in my
mother’s case, is wrong. It implies an attempt to get rid of an old
person.’’
The Jain concept of Santhara has been explained in two recent
issues of Jain Digest, so we have not discussed the issue in full.
Instead we have included a small portion of an Interview taken
by an Indian TV Channel of Acharya Shri Mahaprajna related
to Santhara. (The full interview can be read at: http://
www.terapanthinfo.com/understanding_santhara.php)
Q. Acharyaji! This pratha (custom) has been challenged through
a writ in High Court .............. it is a very important tradition of
Jainism. Can the Court intervene in this (religious) affairs
{Included only a portion of the answer}
A. First of all the fact is that Santhara is not a pratha (custom).
‘Custom’ is that which is compulsory. Santhara is not compulsory
at all; the fact, on the contrary, is that out of millions upon millions,
hardly four to five persons take to Santhara. Hence, it is clear that
it is not a pratha.
Santhara can neither be considered a custom, nor can it be
compared to Satipratha, nor can it deemed to be suicide. For, it is
undertaken not with the objective of ‘dying’. A person who is a
spiritual practitioner undertakes anashana with a definite
objective. Its objective is to live in the state of detachment, as I
have already mentioned. There are two main causes of
attachment— food and body. It is indeed a great spiritual practice
to become detached to both these.
The matter that is currently in the courts may not be easily
resolved. We would definitely hope that it would get resolved
in Jains’ favor by the legal systems analyzing the aspects of
religious freedom, and the fundamental differences between
social ills like sati versus an expression of spiritual freedom
that is Santhara. However, this may not be that easy, as there
is no clear provision in the Indian Law that could identify
Santhara and the ways of dealing with it. For the most part, as
far as the Judiciary is concerned, Jains are treated under the
Hindu religious laws. To resolve this and certain other Jain
controversies that have popped up, we may need a new
legislation that would protect our religious and spiritual rights.
To achieve this we may need a significant educational, political,
and spiritual campaign.
Attacks on Jains and Jainism are not new. There is significant
amount of history of both support and oppression from the
ruling majority over the last 2600 years. We Jain have
succeeded most in getting support from the parties in power
when we have used our basic Jain methods of persuasion based
on the principles of Ahimsa and Anekantvad. Our Jain methods
have not only worked in convincing others, they have also
brought about a positive change in the society. Recent events
indicate that leadership in this area is called for.
A garden of trees associated with Jain Tirthankars
Ahmedabad will soon have a garden of trees associated with Jain
Tirthankars. On the World Environment Day Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation laid foundation of a unique garden. The
garden has saplings of trees associated with the twenty-four
Tirthankars. All the Tirthankars gained Kevalajnana while
meditating under a tree. The garden has been set up in the
Shahibaug area near Rajasthan hospital. These trees are sacred to
Jains. Future plans also include the installation of statues of each
Tirthankar. Here is a list of the trees associated with Tirthankars.
Rishabh Dev Banyan tree
Ajitnath Devil’s tree
Sambhavnath Sal tree
Abhinandannath Charoli tree
Sumatinath Callicarpa macrophylla
Padamaprabha Banyan tree
Suparshvanath Albizzia lebbeck
Chandraprabha Alexundriun laurel
Suvidhinath Wood apple
Shitalnath Ficus lacor
Shreyanshnath Saraca indica
Vasupujya Symplocos racemosa Roxb
Vimalnath Blackberry
Anantnath Saraca indica
Dharmnath Bulca monosperma
Shantinath Celdrus deodara
Kunthunath Symplocos raccmosa
Aranath Mangifera indica
Mallinath Saraca indica
Munisuvrata Michelia Champea
Naminath Minusops elengii
Neminath Goat willow
Parsvanath Fire Flame Bush
Mahavir Sal tree
Global Jains & JAINA
9

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Global Jains & JAINA
Eighth World Conference For Religions For Peace
- Chintan Shah
Occasionally, unique opportunities avail themselves in the most
surprising ways. In late 2005, I participated in a regional
meeting for the Religions for Peace in New York City. As a
result of that meeting and my participation in subsequent
months, I was selected as a delegate to the 8th World
Conference for Religions for Peace in both Hiroshima and
Kyoto, Japan from August 20th to 30th, 2006. My decision
to attend the conference provided me with a unique opportunity
to represent Jainism on an international level and be a voice
for JAINA and YJA.
The conference consisted of two parts: a 4 day youth assembly
and a 5 day world assembly. The organization’s primary goal
is to bring together religious traditions and recognize that
despite religious differences, each faith is a unique path to a
common goal: peace.
At the youth assembly, I joined the North American
delegation of about 25 young people from a variety of
Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faiths. We participated
in listening to case studies of firsthand experiences in war
torn nations such as Rwanda, Lebanon and Indonesia as
well as offering organizational best practices for the
development of successful youth organizations. The most
engaging opportunities were the personal discussions during
breaks and free time with representatives from all over the
world. To engage in a dialogue with a young Muslim lady
from Rwanda and a young Christian man from Poland about
youth activities and conferences was truly unparalleled!
From my experiences with YJA and JAINA, I was able to
better understand the great successes they achieved with
many fewer resources.
In another fortunate twist, I was asked to provide a prayer to
open the session on the second day of the conference. I used
the 5 minutes I had been allotted to briefly provide an Elevator
Pitch about Jainism to the 500 person youth assembly. As I
explained ahimsa, anekantvad and aparigraha, 4 language
translators interpreted the dialogue into French, Spanish, Arabic
and Japanese for delegates. I concluded by explaining and
singing the Navkar Mantra for the audience. This was a truly
memorable and unforgettable opportunity I will always cherish.
There were a variety of plenary sessions and break out group
discussions organized at the world assembly in Kyoto. The
breakout discussion consisted of three topics: shared security,
nuclear proliferation, and sustainable development. During
this portion of the conference I was joined by 4 other Jain
delegates from India and Nepal. While these representatives
were much older than I am, (3 were older than 75 and one was
90!), they offered very insightful thoughts about Jainism and
our unique challenges in the international community. We
agreed that the Jain Way of Life and our collective goals should
become a mainstay in the international community through
an improved unifying effort internally and a marketing and
awareness campaign externally.
By being an active voice during discussion and breaks as well as
conducting interviews, I had the privilege of positioning
Jainism’s philosophy as one that potentially can have a major
role towards the path to peace in the international community.
Jainism, JAINA and YJA are now recognized more than ever as
key players promoting shared values of peace, multiple
viewpoints and non-violence. In the Kyoto declaration, Jainism
has been identified specifically as a key faith promoting peace
and unity. We as a Jain community should look to make
ourselves more known and create awareness on an international
level of our Way of Life in order to assist in the global goal of
nonviolence
Jain Network Forum – JNF
Jain Meets Jain Online
JNF, a JAINA undertaking provides perfect opportunity to Jain young adults to network online.
v
v
v
v
v
Private Online Database - accessed by registered candidates only.
Over 500 profiles from US and other countries.
Search JNF online database by various criteria.
View candidates profile and picture.
New Marketing initiatives and website enhancement in progress to better serve Jain
community.
For more information, please visit www.jaina.org/committees/jnf.asp or contact Sunil Jain at
jnf_mis@hotmail.com
10

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
Wonder, awe, curiosity – the senses that move us humans and
out of which are born our art, our science and our religion.
And then there is faith – an ability to believe what we do not
see, what we can not perceive. Our progress in all fields is in
one way or another related to the sense of wonder, or the
unwavering faith in one’s own self or a higher power, which
then stirs our inner consciousness, driving us to reach new
heights of achievement. And then, we fall back in to the rut of
daily life and its challenges.
A disciplined approach and practice is necessary in pursuing
any goal, be it art, science or even religion. Religion plays a
fundamental role in bestowing meaning and significance to
human existence. It brings us closer to our inner self, it is a
journey borne sometimes out of faith, and other times out of
curiosity or wonder. It brings realization to that which is special
within us and provides us with order and structure. As part of
that order and structure, we participate in annual observances
like Paryushan and Diwali (or Rosh Hashana for the followers
of Judaism, or Ramadan for the followers of Islam, or Christmas
or Lent for Christians), exercises that remind us to reconnect
with ourselves and undertake or continue the spiritual journey.
And when these observances are over, once again, we fall back
in to the rut of daily life and its challenges.
In this issue of Jain Digest we have articles that reiterate the
significance of Paryushan Parva, as well as the practice of
forgiveness. Not surprisingly, forgiveness is given significance
in other religions as well, and we have brought to you some of
the inter-faith aspects of it. We have interviewed scholars –
both local residents of North America, as well as visiting scholars
from India for their message. In the spirit of Unity amongst all
the traditions of Jainism, we have made a conscious effort to
get the message of scholars from different traditions. We have
covered the celebration of Paryushan by different traditions,
and how the various centers have approached bringing unity
in the celebrations.
When we contacted various Jain Centers across the country,
we came to know that there are hundreds of tapasvis in North
America. Unfortunately we do not have an exact count. We
have randomly selected tapasvis from the names we received
from various centers to interview, both young and old
expressing their views and experiences of the tap and vrats they
have carried out this Paryushan, and the gains they have made
from the exercise. You will see how their experiences differ.
Now that Paryushan is over, we all turn to the festival of Diwali.
This is the appropriate time to cover Diwali and its deeper
spiritual significance in Jainism as well as the celebratory aspects
in Hinduism.
At the end of Paryushan, when we asked for forgiveness from
one and all – not with a view to clear the slate and start building
the grudges and the karmas until next Paryushan, but hopefully
to carry forward the gains we have made, in to Diwali and
through the rest of the year, we hope we will continue our
march without falling back in to the rut of daily life and its
challenges
You will notice that the messages and techniques suggested by
scholars are quite different, yet there is a thread of similarity
that runs through it. Similarly, the experiences of the tapasvis
– although different, are still similar. Now that we have a
cornucopia of tools, techniques and inspirations, it is our
strongest desire that we take our pick from the wide variety as
we continue our spiritual journey through the rest of the year,
and remember to not fall back in to the rut of daily life and its
challenges.
May we make progress towards purification of our soul and
thus towards enlightenment.
Q|mm||e s|u2ss| ic|!

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
Paryushan and Das Lakshan Mahä Parva
The word “Parva” means auspicious day. There are three types of
auspicious days - 1. Ordinary (Sämänya) like every third day -
beej (2nd), päncham (5th), etc., 2. Incidental (Naimitik) like
Mahävir Jayanti (Birthday) and 3. Natural (Naisargik) like
Paryushan. The word “Paryushan” has several different meanings:
1. Pari + ushan = all kinds + to burn = to burn (shed) our all types
of karmäs 1 . To shed our karmäs, we do twelve different types of
austerities including fasting. 2. Another meaning of “ushan” is to
stay closer. To stay closer to our own soul from all directions and
to stay absorbed in our own-self (soul), we do Svädhyäya 2 (selfstudy),
meditation, austerities, etc., and 3. Pari + upshamanä =
upshamanä means to suppress, to suppress our passions (kashäyas
- anger, ego, deceit and greed) from all directions.
Therefore, the real purpose of the Paryushan and Das Lakshan
Mahä Parvas is to purify our soul by staying closer to our own
soul, to look at our own faults, to ask for forgiveness for the
mistakes we have committed, and take vows to minimize our faults.
We try to forget about the needs of our body (like food) and our
business so that we can concentrate on our-self.
During Paryushan Mahä Parva, aspirants practice five activities,
1) Jiv-dayä (Amäri pravartan), 2) Humanitarian Activity
(Sadhärmik Vätslya), 3) Forgiveness (Kshamäpanä), 4) Penance -
Fasting for three days (Aththama tap) and 5) Spreading of Religious
principles (Chaityapati).
During Dash-Lakshan Mahä Parva, aspirants celebrate and
contemplate ten best characteristics of the soul, Kshamä
(forgiveness), Märdav (Humility), Ärjav (straightforwardness),
Shauch (content - absence of greed), Satya (truth), Samyam
(restraint of all senses), Tapa (austerities), Tyäga (charity), Äkinchan
(non-possessiveness) and Brahmachärya (celibacy).
To ask for forgiveness is a very difficult thing to do. Therefore,
our great Ächäryas have said: “Kshamä Viram Bhushanam,
Kshamäväni Michchhä Mi Dukkadam” - To ask for forgiveness is
a great quality of the brave ones and if I have committed any
mistake, knowingly or unknowingly, I ask for your forgiveness.
One time Chief Ganadhar Shri Gautam Swämi asked Lord Shri
Mahävir Swämi, “O Lord! What good does aloyanä 3 i.e.
confession or reflection do to the soul”
Lord Shri Mahävir Swämi replied to the Chief Ganadhar Shri
Gautam Swämi, “O Gautama! The threefold internal darts
(shalya), viz. Deceit, desire for worldly gains as the fruits of spiritual
activities, and perversity, which create obstacles in the path of
Moksha 4 , and lengthen the span of worldly existence 5 , are removed
by such a confession or aloyanä. Sanity manifests soon after the
removal of these internal darts. This sane soul becomes free from
deceit, hatred, or attachments, and would not attract karma
particles, which are responsible for the worldly existence. For the
purification of the soul, it is essential that all liberation-seeking
souls resort to reflection and confession, which roots out the
internal darts and brings sanity.”
There are several great aphorisms (Sutras) to ask for forgiveness
with the unity of the body, speech and mind, and one of them is
as follows:
Khämemi Savve Jivä, Savve Jivä Khamantu Mi
Mitti Me Savva bhuesu, Veram majjham na Kenai.
Meaning: I forgive all the living beings of the universe, and may
all the living-beings forgive me for my faults. I do not have any
animosity towards anybody, and I have friendship for all living
beings.
The process of shedding our karmäs really begins by asking for
forgiveness with true feelings, and to take some vows not to repeat
the mistakes. The quality of forgiveness requires humility (vinay -
absence of ego) and suppression of anger.
Shwetämbars 6 (one of the two major Jain traditions) celebrate
eight days of Paryushan and the last day is called Samvatsari.
Digambars 7 celebrate Das Lakshan Mahä Parva for ten days starting
on the last day of Shwetämbar Paryushan.
1
Karman particles (non-living, very subtle substance) are attracted
to the soul because of false belief (Mithyättva), vowlessness (nonabstinence)
(Avirati), negligence (Pramäda), passions (Kashäya)
and Activities (Yogäs). These Karman particles that are attached
to the soul are called karma. Karma is the hindrance (obstacle)
that does not allow us to realize the true qualities of the soul (ätmä)
2
Svädhyäya is one of the six internal taps and one of the six daily
activities of the householder. Svädhyäya is consisted of five
elements. (i) vächanä- reading of the Jain canonical books; (ii)
pruchhanä- asking the guru questions about them; (iii) parivartanärepetition
of what was learned previously so one does not forget;
(iv) anuprekshä- deep contemplation of what was learned (with
the meaning); (v) dharma-kathä- inspiring others about Jainism
and listening to the exposition of religious parables. Great Ächärya
Amitgati says, one cannot get rid off the darkness of his/her
ignorance without the brightness of svädhyäya. Another great
Ächärya Vamadeva says, svädhyäya is one of the four anuyogas
propounded by the Jina. Ächärya Asadhara recommends the
construction of svädhyäya-shäläs (schools) where there is no
frequent visits by Jain monks and scholars.
3
Also known as älochanä, one type of Präyaschhit (repentance for
the breach of vows).
4
Moksha = moha + kshaya; moha means delusion and kshaya means
eradication - this makes Moksha as the state where there is no
delusion and all karma are eradicated. There are three jewels,
samyak-darsana or right perception (inclination or belief),
samyak-jnäna or right knowledge (cognition), samyak-chäritra or
right conduct - these three combined are the means of Moksha.
5
Material world (the cycle of transmigration – samsära) involves
cycles of birth, aging and death, and misery and no permanent
happiness.
7
Shwetämbar means white [cotton]-clad; name of Jain tradition
whose mendicants wear white garments
8
Digambar means sky-clad; name of the Jain tradition whose
mendicants practice ascetic nudity
12

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a practice that has emerged from the teachings of
all the major religious traditions of the world. Following our
tradition of anekantvad and respect for other religions and different
points of view, we want to recognize the message of forgiveness as
an important aspect of spiritual upbringing in other religions as
well - see the box titled ‘World Scriptures’. 1
Among all religions, Jainism has taken Forgiveness to a much
higher dimension. In the opinion of Dr. Alan Hunter of the Center
for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation at the University
of Coventry, it is perhaps the only religion that celebrates the
festival of Paryushan with forgiveness as its core theme.
The importance of practicing forgiveness has been extolled for
centuries, but only recently has research substantiated that
forgiveness can indeed reduce anger and depression as well as
enhance hopefulness and self-efficacy.
For Jains, the need to ask for forgiveness is equally, if not more
important than forgiving others. When asking for true forgiveness
one does introspection and reflection, realizing the Karmas that
one has accumulated over the period of time. Aham (ego) is the
source of many of our ills. Overcoming this Aham when asking
for forgiveness with complete honesty, one opens the door towards
a path to getting rid of the past Karmas and proceed towards
purification of the soul. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, whose
movement of Non-violence was inspired by the principle of
Ahimsa from Jainism, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness
is the attribute of the strong.” Let us all strive for that strength to
forgive all living beings, ask for forgiveness of all living beings,
and live in peace and harmony, with ourselves and the universe.
1
From World Scriptures – A Comparative Anthology of Sacred
Texts, Edited by Dr. Andrew Wilson. http://
www.unification.net/ws/
World Scripture: Forgiveness And Reconciliation (Few Quotes)
Text of Scripture Reference
Subvert anger by forgiveness. Jainism. Samanasuttam 136
The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.
Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha,
Saying 201
Where there is forgiveness, there is God Himself.
Sikhism. Adi Granth, Shalok,
Kabir, p. 1372
If you efface and overlook and forgive, then lo! God is forgiving, merciful. Islam. Qur’an 64.14
The superior man tends to forgive wrongs and deals leniently with crimes. Confucianism. I Ching 40:
Release
If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and offer your gift Christianity. Matthew 5.23-24
The Day of Atonement atones for sins against God, not for sins against man, unless the
injured person has been appeased. Judaism. Mishnah, Yoma 8.9
Show endurance in humiliation and bear no grudge.
and Retribution
Taoism. Treatise on Response
You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, Judaism and Christianity.
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord Leviticus 19.18
Who takes vengeance or bears a grudge acts like one who, having cut one hand while Judaism. Jerusalem Talmud,
handling a knife, avenges himself by stabbing the other hand. Nedarim 9.4
Moses son of Imran said, “My Lord, who is the greatest of Thy servants in Thy estimation”
and received the reply, “The one who forgives when he is in a position of power.”
Islam. Hadith of Baihaqi
Better and more rewarding is God’s reward to those who believe and put their trust in
Him: who avoid gross sins and indecencies and, when angered, are willing to forgive...
Let evil be rewarded by like evil, but he who forgives and seeks reconciliation shall be
rewarded by God. He does not love the wrongdoers.... True constancy lies in forgiveness
and patient forbearance. Islam. Qur’an 42.36-43
In reconciling a great injury,
Some injury is sure to remain.
How can this be good
Therefore the sage holds the left-hand tally [obligation] of a contract;
He does not blame others.
The person of virtue attends to the obligation;
The person without virtue attends to the exactions. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 79
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
13

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
The Festival of Forgiveness - Paryushan
Parva A Renewal for The Coming Year
With his annual visits Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanuji brings
an ancient tradition of wisdom and knowledge from his almost
30 years as a Jain monk and his almost 20 years as an itinerant
traveler and world citizen. His talks zoom into the core of
contemporary challenges and frustrations in order to help us
unfold and develop our own Inner Self. He does this by casting
light on misunderstood concepts, old habits, and deep-seated
insecurities and doubts. His uniquely appropriate metaphors,
myths, anecdotes and visualizations guide us in freeing ourselves
from limitations and self-defeating conflicts and weaknesses.
Annually Jains throughout the world celebrate the “Festival of
Forgiveness,” known as Paryushan Parva, which means “to
come close to the real Self - the Atma - so the mind can
experience the presence of Divinity within. That is our true
and eternal life.” It is a happy holiday and is celebrated with
various events, elective fasting, and introspective meditation.
This year Gurudevji celebrated this Festival in New Jersey.
Among his encouraging words of inspiration, his message about
forgiveness rings true and serves as a guide for renewal for the
coming year: “Many people find it difficult to forgive certain
past hurts. During these special eight days, it helps to replace
vices with positive virtues.”
When a large group of sincere participants gathers each day to
celebrate this eight-day Forgiveness Festival, a strong wave of
positive feelings is generated. This inspiring energy gives
support to individual efforts to forgive, forget and start the
year afresh. The past year is reviewed and in introspection we
see what wounds and bitterness there are to heal and to prevent
their re-occurrence. With affirmation and help of meditation,
we are able to shed painful memories, grudges and other mental
burdens which have been stifling the natural happiness, the
bliss, the peace of the Soul.
Gurudev further reminds us: “Only when we come out of the
negative mind that we can forgive. And we forgive not for
outside show or for others but for our own Self, for cleansing
our own consciousness. The resentful mind will always be
vindictive and will keep score. That is its nature. But the
thorn of resentment lodges in one’s own foot. Only the loving
mind can pull the negative thorn out with the instrument of
Michhami Dukadam. In this clean consciousness, we
experience Peace of Mind, Wisdom of Spirit, Energy of Bliss.
Message from Jain Scholars
a;Qy;;itm;k 5i{!n;I a;v;xy;kt;;
- p;]i#t; XI Q;Irjl;;l; #;Y;l;;l; m;het;;, s;urt;.
an;;id k;L;q;I s;v;*e }v;;e s;uK;n;; aq;I* an;e duAK;n;; od;ipt;n;u] s;uK;, p;>;pt; q;y;el;;
g;u[;;en;;e a;n;]d t;e y;;eg;jny; s;uK; %e. t;e s;uK;n;; aq;I*n;e y;;eg;I, m;um;uZ;u, m;;eZ;;iB;l;;{;I khev;;y; %e.
x;;sF;;en;I B;;{;;m;;] win5y;jny; s;uK;n;e k;m;s;uK; an;e y;;eg;jny; s;uK;n;e m;;eZ;s;uK; khev;;y; %e. aek
p;r;Q;In; %e, b;Iju sv;;Q;In; %e. k;m;s;uK’;n;;e a;Q;;r aq;* (Q;n;) op;r %e an;e m;;eZ;s;uK;n;;e a;;Q;;r Q;m;*
%e. t;eq;I j k;m;s;uK;n;; aq;I* }v;;e in;r]t;r aq;* (Q;n;) m;;!e p;>y;tn; kre %e an;e y;;eg;s;uK;n;;] aq;I* }v;;e
in;r]t;r Q;m;*m;;!e p;>y;tn; kre %e. a; rIt;e k;m;s;uK; an;e m;;eZ;s;uK; a; b;nn;e s;;Qy; (l;Zy;) %e. an;e t;e
b;nn;e s;uK;;en;;] an;uk>m;e aq;* (Q;n;) an;e Q;m;* a; b;nn;e s;;Q;n;;e %e. k;m;s;uK;’n;; aq;I*n;e m;;eZ;s;uK; Üc;t;u]
n;q;I an;e m;;eZ;s;uK;n;; aq;I*n;e k;m;s;uK; Üc;t;u] n;q;I.
p;r]t;u zI[;v;!q;I t;p;;s;Iae t;;e k;m;s;uK; t;q;; t;en;; m;;!en;; s;;Q;n;B;Ut; aq;*n;I (Q;n;n;I) s;;Q;n;; Z;[;B;]g;ur
%e. v;;dL; iv;K;erv;;n;I jem;, p;T;;n;;] m;hel;n;I jem; an;e iv;jL;In;; c;m;k;r;n;I jem; n;;x;v;]t; %e, n;;x;v;]t;
ht;I an;e s;d; k;l; t;e n;;x;v;]t; rhex;e. jy;;re m;;eZ;s;uK; aiv;n;;x;I %e, p;ud;pt;vy; %e, s;d; k;L; rhen;;r %e, sv;t;]F; %e an;e p;uÇ{;;q;* krIae t;;e
m;eL;v;I x;k;y; %e. an;]t; a;tm;;a;eae a; s;uK; m;eL;vy;u] %e an;e m;eL;v;e %e. hu] p;[; B;;eg;s;uK;n;I 5i{!n;e
ty;}n;e a;tm;;n;; g;u[;;en;; s;uK;;em;; a;n;]d a;p;n;;rI a;tm;; t;rfn;I 5i{!n;e aq;;*t;< aQy;;tm; 5i{!
p;>;pt; kÜ].
B;;eg;s;uK;;e a; }v;e an;]t;v;;r m;eL;vy;;], B;;eg;vy;;]. ae s|uK;|en|e ty;;]n;e ty;;] j m;ukIn;e a;vy;;e, an;e
s;d;k;l; at;&pt; j rH;;e. t;eq;I t;en;e ty;}n;e a;tm;;n;; s;uK;n;; s;;c;; s;;Q;n;B;Ut; N;n; a;id g;u[;;en;I
a;r;Q;n;; kÜ]. a;m; ùy;u !n;*ÿ v;;L;v;; m;;!e an;e a;v;I a;Qy;;itm;k 5i{! l;;v;v;; m;;!e ùp;j;us;[;
p;v;*ÿ %e. aekv;;r j;e a; ùy;u !n;*ÿ l;ev;;w j;y; an;e 5i{! b;dl;;w j;y; t;;e g;;#I je!l;I d;e#e t;e!l;I
s;v;L;; m;;g;*e d;e#e. a;m; m;;eZ;s;uK; alp;k;L;m;;] m;eL;v;I x;k;y;.
5i{! b;dl;y;; p;%I B;;eg;s;uK;;e aekj;t;n;;] b;]Q;n; l;;g;e. t;en;; m;;!e G;[;;e s;m;y; vy;t;It; krv;;e vy;q;*
l;;g;e. t;e s;]b;]Q;I v;;t;c;It;;e krv;I in;rs; l;;g;e. ky;;]y; jl;s;;m;;] jv;u] p;#e t;e F;;s;jn;k l;;g;e. Hdy;n;u]j
p;irv;t;*n; q;w j;y;. m;;ejjn;k p;>s;]g;;em;;]q;I a; }v;n;;e a;n;]d o#I j;y;. s;]s;;rn;;] k;y;;*e krv;;] p;#e
an;e kre, t;en;I ris;kt;; n; rhe. l;ei!Mn; an;e b;;q;Üm; l;;gy;;] h;ey; ty;;re t;en;;e n;Ik;l; krv;;] b;;q;Üm;m;;]
jv;u] p;#e an;e j;y;. p;[; ty;;] s;uw jv;;n;;e ke a;n;]d m;;[;v;;n;;e ke v;Q;;re v;K;t; b;es;v;;n;;e rs; a; }v;n;e
h;et;;e n;q;I. t;em; 5i{! b;dl;t;;] a;Qy;;itm;k 5i{! iv;ks;t;;] B;;eg;s;uK;;e b;;q;Üm;n;; s;ev;n; jev;;] rs;-ks;
iv;n;;n;;] a; }v;n;e l;;g;e.
g;ujr;t;Im;;] aek khev;t; %e ke ùky;;*] p;j;us;[;n;;] p;;r[;;] an;e %;e#y;;] op;;Xy;n;;] b;r[;;]ÿ. a; khev;t;
B;;eg;I }v;;e m;;!e %e, p;[; y;;eg;I}v;;e m;;!e n;q;I. y;;eg;Ia;en;I 5i{! j k;ew ny;;rI h;ey; %e. x;[;g;;r
14

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
s;jel;I, m;;ehkv;sF; p;irQ;;n; krel;I sF;I, B;;eg;I p;uÇ{;n;e k;m;v;;s;n;; oT;ejk b;n;e %e, jy;;re y;;eg;In;e t;e
j sF;I m;L;-m;UF;-ÇiQ;r-c;rb;I a;id dug;*nQy; p;dq;;*en;;e okr#;e j l;;g;e %e. op;r-op;r j m;K;m;l;
m;$el;u] deK;;y; %e a]dr t;;e iv;{!; a;id ap;iv;F; p;d;q;;*en;;e B;]#;r j deK;;y; %e. a; %e a;Qy;;itm;k
5i{!.
p;j;us’;[;p;v;*n;; è idv;s;;e p;urt;;e Q;m;* krv;;n;;e n;q;I p;[; a; p;v;;*em;;] dev;-g;uÇ-Q;m;* an;e x;;sF;;en;u]
s;t;t; a;l;]b;n; l;ev;; 6;r; in;r]t;r t;en;u]j s’;ev;n; krv;; 6;r; op;r;kik>y;; j b;dl;;w j;y; %e. t;e }v;n;e khev;u] n;q;I p;#t;u] ke Q;m;* krv;; jev;;e %e.
a; }v; s;d;k;L; Q;m;* krt;;ej q;w j;y; %e. t;en;u] }v;n; B;;eg;m;y;n;e b;dl;e Q;m;*m;y; b;n;I j;y; %e.
aekv;;r 5i{! j;e b;dl;;y; t;;e iv;c;;r-v;;[;I an;e v;t;*n; av;xy; b;dl;;y; j %e. k;ew aek im;F; p;>ty;e
jy;;re p;>em; h;ey; %e ty;;re t;en;; s;uK;n;; j iv;c;;r a;v;e %e. t;en;; p;>ty;e m;I@;s;B;rI v;;[;I n;IkL;e %e.
t;en;; k;m;;em;;] s;h;y;k q;v;;Üp; v;t;*n; h;ey; %e. p;r]t;u iv;Sv;;s;G;;t; q;v;; a;id k;ew k;r[;e t;e im;F; p;>ty;e
jy;;re ap;>Iit; (6e{;) jnm;e %e, ty;;re t;en;; iv;c;;r;e b;dl;;w j;y; %e. v;;[;I k#v;;x;B;rI j n;IkL;e %e
an;e v;t;*n; p;[; iv;p;rIt; b;n;e %e. a; s;ty; hikkt; %e. t;ev;Ij rIt;e B;;eg;s;uK;;e p;>ty;e je p;>Iit;B;rI 5i{!
%e t;e b;dl;In;e jy;;re a;tm;;n;; g;u[;;en;; s;uK;n;; a;n;]dn;e a;p;n;;rI a;Qy;;itm;k 5i{! a; }v;m;;]
iv;ks;e %e ty;;re iv;c;;r;e Q;m;*Qy;;n;v;;L;;, v;;[;I iht;-im;t;-p;qy; an;e t;qy; b;n;e %e. t;q;; v;t;*n;
p;]c;;c;;rm;y; q;;y; %e. a;v;u] ix;K;v;; m;;!e, j;g;&t; q;v;; m;;!e, s;d;k;L; Q;m;*p;r;y;[; q;v;; m;;!e, p;j;us;[;p;v;*
a; }v;n;e jg;;#n;;r %e. a;p;[;e a;v;u] s;ty; s;m;}ae an;e B;;eg;s;uK; g;;E[; krIn;e a;Qy;;itm;k5i{!
l;;v;In;e a;itm;ks;uK; m;eL;v;Iae an;e àêî idv;s;e p;j;us;[;p;v;* jev;;ej Q;m;* krt;; q;wae aej a; p;v;*n;;e
m;m;* %e.
p;y;u*{;[; a;r;Q;n;;n;; B;;v;;e h]m;ex;;] kem; !kI rhe
- XI p;;rs;B;;w jEn;. ag;;s; a;Xm;
p;y;u*{;[; p;v;*m;;] a;r;Q;n;; krIn;e b;Q;; }v;;en;e s;;c;; a]t;Akr[;e K;m;;v;Iae %Iae t;;e hv;e B;iv;{y;m;;]
k;ew s;;q;e k>;eQ;, m;;n;, m;;y;;, l;;eB;n;;] B;;v;;e n; q;;y; t;en;; m;;!e drr;ej s;v;;r s;;]j dx;*n;, B;ikt;,
sv;;Qy;;y;n;;e k>m; r;K;I a;tm;j;g;&it; b;n;;v;I r;K;v;;n;;e B;g;v;;n;n;;e op;dex; %e.
jem; B;;ejn;q;I x;rIr !ke %e, t;em; a;tm;B;;v;n;; r;eje B;;v;v;;q;I a;tm;;n;e p;;e{;[; m;L;e %e. n;hI]t;;e
a;tm;B;;v; s;uk;w j;y; an;e dehB;;v; v;Q;;re G;r krI j;y;.
aN;n;n;; k;r[;e B;Ul;;et;;e p;>it;idn; q;x;e. t;eq;I r;ej r;F;e s;ut;I v;K;t;e jEn;;em;;] s;v;* }v;;e p;>ty;e
Z;m;;p;n;; krIn;e s;uv;;n;I p;>q;; %e. s;v;;rm;;] o@e ty;;re p;[; B;g;v;;n; p;;s;e r;F;I s;]b;]Q;I d;e{;;e q;y;;
h;ey; t;en;I Z;m;;p;n;; m;;]g;v;;n;I h;ey; %e. t;en;; m;;!e r;ej s;v;;re B;ikm; krv;;m;;] a;v;e %e. p;%I c;;r m;ihn;e p;4;n;]dI
a;l;;ec;n;;e b;;el;v;;n;;e k>m; krI p;æ;t;;p;n;;e B;;v; krv;;m;;] a;v;e %e. an;e %ell;e âä m;hIn;e p;y;u*{;[;
p;v;*n;; a]t;e s;;]v;ts;irk p;>it;k>m;[; krI s;v;* }v;;en;e K;m;;v;I a;tm;;n;e km;*B;;rq;I hl;k;e krv;;m;;]
a;v;e %e.
jem; G;rn;I Üm; r;ej s;;f krv;;m;;] n; a;v;e t;;e kc;r;e b;hu B;r;w j;y;, p;%I t;en;e s;;f krv;;m;;]
G;[;;e s;m;y; l;;g;e+ t;em; a;tm;; op;r km;;*en;;e m;el; j;e G;[;;e v;Q;I j;y; t;;e t;en;e x;u2 krv;;e m;uxkel;
q;w p;#e. aq;v;; km;;*en;;e B;;r G;[;;e v;Q;I j;y; t;;e k;ewn;I s;;q;e m;;fI m;;g;v;I p;[; }v;n;e g;m;e n;hI
an;e B;v;;eB;v; v;ErB;;v; c;;ly;; kre.
t;eq;I h]m;ex;; jem; B;;ejn; l;w x;rIrn;e sv;sq; r;K;Iae %Iae t;em; p;>it;idn; B;g;v;;n;n;; x;u2
sv;Üp;n;I B;ik

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
within you that manifested that reaction. It is very important
to only study your reaction and not the action of other party
or surrounding situation that possibly forced you to react in
that manner. Soon you will be able to see the emotion that
drove your particular reaction; was it anger, greed, deceit, ego,
fear, attachment, hatred or dislike, or simply the inability to
withstand certain pain. When this introspection is performed
regularly, one would start seeing oneself from inside instead of
from outside - the way people usually do.
Finally, one would be able to gain awareness and start
controlling the negative emotions. Awareness of one’s own
limitations itself is a good start to control emotions. True
freedom from our own emotional slavery comes with the
development of a high state of awareness. Equanimity will
follow with awareness. There are various techniques Jainism
has prescribed to rid oneself of emotional slavery. These include
meditation, various forms of tap, restrain, discipline,
understanding our karmas and Jain scriptures, etc.”
For beginners Samaniji recommends that they at least start
developing the simple discipline of being aware during their
routine religious practices. If one is chanting a mantra, be
fully aware of every aspect of it. If you are singing a bhajan,
don’t just sing, sing it with awareness, grasp its meaning, learn
from it, and grow. If you are praising the qualities of the revered
souls or enlightened individuals, understand the qualities that
you are revering, the very same qualities are also hidden within
you and with effort you too can bring them out.
Samaniji also recommends regular swadhaya. Knowledge has
been given great importance in Jain Philosophy. Swadhaya is
self-study, a means for one to read and understand different
aspects and approaches to purity suggested in our scriptures.
Once again the emphasis here is on being aware, try to discipline
your mind to focus on the topic being discussed, let it not
wander.
So in this busy materialistic life devote some time for your real
spiritual self, do it regularly, look within you not outside you,
and develop your awareness. Jainism has prescribed so many
ways to gain purity. You have to first begin, and then more
importantly, continue, or make it a habit.
In the words of Jim Rohn, Motivation is what gets you started,
habit is what keeps you going. So let us continue the journey
of inner wisdom and spiritual awareness that began during
this Paryushan.
Samani Mangal Pragyaji is currently visiting USA. She is the
Pro-Vice Chancellor of Jain Vishwa Bharati University at
Ladanun. The university is undertaking various Jain research and
educational projects. One very important project undertaken by
the university includes converting all ancient Jain text, seals,
pictures, etc in digital format. The government of India has granted
Rs. Two crores in the form of matching funds for this project.
sm`I m.glp//)ajI se p/Xn
seee¢MoN3o sMaaj ko [s v8R pyuR8` mhapvR kI Aara2na hetu
sm`I m.glp//)ajI 0v. sm`I 1jup//)ajI ke saiNn@y ka
sOwaGy p/aPt huAa| sm`IjI ne [s A*3 idvsIy pyuR8`
mhapvR ke dOran Apne ivµ%apU`R p/vcno. ke ma@ym se smaj
ko jEn2mR, [ithas, pr.pra, s.Sk

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Discussion With
Girishbhai Shah
The Southern California Jain community is blessed to have a
spiritual person and scholar like Girishbhai Shah living among
them. Girishbhai had his original religious training in Mehsana,
India. After migrating to USA, he has spent most of his time
studying, teaching, inspiring and practicing Jain Dharma. His
influence is clearly noticed in Southern California, where many
shravaks have committed themselves towards the path of
spirituality. During this Paryushan Girishbhai was invited as a
guest scholar by the Jain Center of Greater Boston.
We contacted Girishbhai to get his views on how our
community can continue on the path of purification even after
the Paryushan has ended.
“Paryushan starts the day it ends”, said Girishbhai. These
simple words had such a great depth, they made me stop to
think. When I asked him to elaborate on the idea, he explained:
why do scriptures ask us to do samayik every day The idea
behind doing a samayik regularly is that when we practice and
practice, getting in to the state of equanimity becomes a natural
part of our life. So in reality, when we end our Samayik, we
need to continue on the path of equanimity by actually starting
the next Samayik. The same should hold true for Paryushan.
With such simple but profound words, Girishbhai succintly
highlighted the importance of spiritual continuance after
Paryushan.
His is a very wholistic message. Every religious practice (Kriya)
should be Chetanvati, implying that the religious practice must
be done with consciousness and for the sole purpose of uplifting
our spirituality. Practice of any tap that is not Chetanvad, done
without awareness and not aimed at our internal purification
will serve little purpose in terms of our spiritual growth. While
practicing tap, every effort must be made to remain in samata;
that is to remain in equanimity. If such tap is performed, you
will be naturally drawn to continue your spiritual practice
towards personal empowerment and purification.
Girishbhai also suggests a simple practice where one can focus
on controlling and understanding one’s internal negative
emotions (kasaya). He suggests to focus on a different emotion
on each day of the week as indicated below:
Monday work on Anger (Krodha)
Tuesday work on Ego (Mana)
Wednesday work on Deceit (Maya)
Thursday work on Greed (Lobha)
Friday work on Attachment (Raga)
Saturday work on Hatred or Aversion (Dvesh)
Sunday spend time on Prayer and Bhakti
It is our hope that we all find inspiration from his words and
continue on our path towards spirituality through the rest of
the year, all the way in to next Paryushan.
Q;m;* B;;v;n;; x;;xv;t; kEs;e kre]
a;c;;y;* a;ids;;g;r (a]kil;kr) m;h;r;j; j;I ke t;&t;Iy; p;7;Q;Ix;
ìg;uÇdev;Ä a;c;;y;* t;p;sv;I s;m;>;! s;nm;it;s;;g;r j;I m;h;r;j;kI ix;{y;; Z;uill;k; x;uB;m;it;
m;;t;;j;I
Q;m;* k; j;;g;r[; j;Iv;n; kI aek m;hTv;p;U[‘;* G;!n;; hE j;b; a’t;r]g;m;e] Q;m;* p;>g;! h;et;; hE t;;e
vy;v;h;r m;e] p;iv;F;t;;, iv;c;;r;e] m;e] iv;n;m;>t;; a;Er Hdy; m;e] od;rt;; j;Es;e s;dit;ib;imb;t; h;en;e
l;g;t;e hE. at;A Q;m;* k; a;c;r[; j;Iv;n; k; p;>m;uK; h;en;; c;;ihae.b;nQ;ua;e ` Q;m;* k;e
s;v;*p;>q;m; s;un;n;; c;;ihae, p;r iks;I b;;Y g;It; kI t;rh n;hI] ik]t;u m;]F; kI t;rh, j;;e Hdy; m;e]
s;m;;y;e a;Er a;c;r[; m;e] p;>it;ib;imb;t; h;e.
Q;m;* m;e] t;In; p;>k;r ke l;;eg; idK;;w* det;e hE - ku% h;et;e hE B;dEyy;;, ku% h;et;e hE K;dEyy;; a;Er
ku% h;et;e hE s;dEyy;;. m;t;l;b; ku% l;;eg; K;;l;I p;v;;*e m;e] hI a;t;e hE, ku% l;;eg; K;;n;e ke s;m;y;
m;e] hI a;y;e]g;e a;Er ku% l;;eg; h]m;ex;; s;m;y; p;r m;]idr m;e] a;t;e hE. s;b; L;;eg;;e] k;e p;v;;*e ke
al;;v;; B;I r;ej; m;]idr a;n;e ke il;ae kit; Çic; h;e j;;y; ws; p;>k;r ke k;y;*k>m; a;y;;eij;t; krn;e
c;;ihae.
ä) s;b;k;e ap;n;e s;;m;;ij;k s;]b;]Q; j;Ein;y;;e] s;e b;$;n;; c;;ihae.
à) dev;dx;*n; a;id in;y;m; r;ej; y;; ku% in;xc;t; idn; k|e av;xy; krn;; c;;ihae.
å) b;cc;e a;Er b;#;e] k;e s;cc;e dev;-x;;sF;-g;uÇ ke p;>it; a;dr-iv;n;y;-n;m;sk;r Çp; ix;{!;c;;r
is;K;n;; c;;ihae (vy;v;h;irk ix;{!;c;;r B;I j;ÜrI hE)
ç) in;sv;;q;* iv;6;n;;e] a;Er s;]t;;e]k; s;;in;Qy; ain;v;;y;* hE.
ê) s;b;ke x;]k;-s;m;;Q;;n; y;q;;y;;egy; krn;ev;;l;e, Q;m;*m;;g;* m;e] l;g;;n;e v;;l;e ix;Z;k c;;ihae.
ë) a;j; kI p;I$I k;e “b;eis;k’’” j;En; Q;m;* k;e ix;Z;k p;$;y;e]g;e.
è) m;;t;;-ip;t;; sv;y;] b;c;p;n; ke Q;m;* s;]sk;r n; B;Ul;e.
ï) in;ixc;t; aek idn; m;]idr a;n;ev;;l;;e] ke il;ae B;;ej;n; kI vy;v;sq;; c;;ihae.
âî) m;]idr m;e] s;;m;uihk sv;;Qy;;y; krn;; a;Er b;;kI s;m;y; G;rm;e] B;I y;q;;x;ikuly;t;; k; av;l;;ekn; kre].
âå) âä B;;v;n;; p;;@ a;Er ic;]t;n; in;ty; in;y;m; s;e krn;; c;;ihae.
âç) p;Uj;;, iv;Q;;n;, s;]y;m;, t;p;, ty;;g;, s;;Q;Ua;e] k; s;;in;Qy;, s;]sk&t;, p;>;k&t; st;;eF;, g;>nq;
a;id s;;ihty;kI j;;n;k;rI p;rm; a;v;xy;k hE .a;id.
p;]5h p;>m;;d n;{! krn;e ke il;ae x;;y;d< y;e p;>]5h v;;kh[; krn;; c;;ihae. Q;m;* on; %;e!e l;eikn;
b;hut; hI m;I@e a;]g;Ur;e] ke s;m;;n; hE ij;s;m;e] fe’]kn;e j;Es;; ku% B;I n;hI h;et;;, s;b; ku% K;;n;e
k; hI h;et;; hE. Q;m;* hrh;l;t; m;e] s;]g;>h[;Iy; hE.
Q;m;* kI aek ikr[; hI s;m;g;> j;Iv;n; k;e p;>k;x;m;y; kr det;I hE j;Iv;n; ke k;en;e k;e a;l;;eikt;
kr det;I hE, j;Iv;n; m;e] oll;;s; a;Er om;]g; k; s;]c;;r kr det;I hE.dx;l;Z;[; m;h;p;v;* ke
drmy;;n; j;;e s;IK;; os;k;e s;;l; B;r n; B;Ul;e ws;ke il;ae y;h dx;l;Z;[; m;h;p;v;* s;;l; m;e] t;In;
b;;r a;t;; hE, a{!;in;k; p;v;* B;I t;In; b;;r a;t;; hE, {;;e#x;k;r[; p;v;* B;I t;In; b;;r a;t;e hE
wnhI k;e x;;xv;t; p;v;* kht;e hE. ky;;e]ik y;e an;;id ain;Q;n; hE a;Er wn;k;e h]m;ex;; hI Q;;r[;
krn;; hE.
b;nQ;ua;e] ‘ Qy;;n; j;En; p;2it;s;e kiry;e, y;e j;En; kI m;uKy; s;]sk&it; hE on;k; op;y;;eg; v;It;r;g;
B;g;v;;n; ke av;l;]b;n; p;Uv;*k hI h;en;; c;;ihae.s;]Z;ep; m;e] m;uKy; Çp; s;e â) Q;m;* ke p;>it; a;sq;;
(s;cc;e dev;-x;;sF;-g;uÇ), ä) sv;;Qy;;y;, à) a;c;r[;, å) s;d

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
Parvas Are Over: What Next
- Manubhai Doshi
Uttamah Kshamämärdavärjavshauchsatyasanyamtapastyägäkinchanyabrahmacharyäni
Dharmah
Forgiveness, mildness, straightforwardness, purity, truth, self-restraint,
austerity, renouncing, absence of possession and celibacy constitute
the topmost religion.
- Tattvärtha Sutra
Paryushan and Daslakshanä Parvas are meant for internal
purification. We routinely clean our body to remove the dirt
etc. and look in a mirror to make sure that there are no stains
on the face. What about the internal impurities Do we have a
mirror to look at the same Yes, Parvas provide us with an
opportunity to pay attention to the impurities prevailing at
the internal level so as to enable us to remove the same.
There are many stages a worldly soul progresses through,
starting from the stage of abject impurity to that of perfect
purity. All of them can be covered in three stages of Bahirätman
(external state), Antarätman (internal state) and Paramätman
(supreme state). The nature of pursuit during the Parvas would
depend upon the external or the internal state to which one
belongs, with the last stage being the ultimate goal.
Most of us belong to the external state. We remain concerned
about the body, its requirements of food, shelter, etc. and get
engrossed with the activities that lead to its comforts. We hardly
remember that there is a soul within the body that makes it
lively and active. We forsake that the body is merely a
composition, which we are going to leave one day. It can as
well be said that we remain blissfully ignorant of that.
Given that most of the souls belong to the Bahirätman stage,
our immediate pursuit should be to proceed towards
Antarätman stage by purifying the internal state. The
celebration of Parvas would be successful to the extent we move
in that direction. Now that the Parvas are now over, it is time
to consider how much we have progressed, how much selfpurification
has taken place during these Parvas and how we
continue this journey.
Such pursuit generally consists of going to temple and
performing Poojä, listening to religious discourses, observing
fast or other austerities, avoiding root vegetables in food and
performing Pratikraman. Those, who are more religious, might
also perform Sämäyik and avoid taking green vegetables. That
much pursuit is hardly adequate to achieve the internal
purification. Surprisingly, however, after performing Samvatsari
Pratikraman and conveying ‘Micchchhä Mi Dukkadam we
happen to forsake even that much; our pursuit normally goes
to the cold storage.
Moreover, there are people, who perceive even that much
pursuit as causing hardships. Under social or family pressure
they may fast, abstain from the food that they relish, perform
Samvatsari Pratikraman, and avoid the entertaining activities.
Internally, however, they are not inclined to do anything of
that sort. As such, they may feel a sense of relief that the Parvas
are gone. They may now feel free to eat the relishing foods
that they had abstained from and to undertake the activities
of their choice. Of course, they may still go to the temple on
some occasions and may attend celebration of Diwäli, New
Year, Lord Mahavir’s birthday etc
There are others, who hold spiritual aspirations even after the
days of Parva, but do not make out what type of pursuit they
need to undertake. It would therefore be worth to point out
that Jainism stipulates six essential activities that a layman
should undertake every day. The Sanskrit term for essential is
Ävashyak. These activities are therefore termed as six Ävashyaks,
described as follows:
1. Sämäyik: Sämäyik is meant for gaining equanimity. A
ritual for the purpose has been laid in order to enable us
to perform it systematically. It is, however, observed that
people observe the ritual part carefully, but overlook the
purpose. What is required is to quietly contemplate about
the nature of soul. That can be done irrespective of the
ritual. This would be evident from the fact that monks
and nuns do not performing the ritual, because they are
supposed to stay continually in Sämäyik.
2. Chauvisattho: This literally means worshipping 24 Lords.
That can be done by going to temple and praying to the
Lords. There is a format for the purpose, but resorting to
it is not a ‘must’. Those, who do not believe in idol worship,
can do it at any appropriate place by offering prayer to
the concept of Lords.
3. Guru Vandan: Those, who have renounced the worldly
life and are undergoing intensive spiritual pursuit, are
obviously our Gurus, and we should reverently bow to
them. In absence of such Gurus we need to seek someone,
who is knowledgeable, is realized, observes equanimity and
can guide us to the right path. In the absence of a qualified
Guru, one can bow to the portrait of such a realized person,
analogous to praying to the Lords’ images in absence of
their physical presence.
4. Pratikraman: During our life we undertake different
activities, some of which are helpful to the soul and some
are not. It is in our interest that we refrain from the wrong
and unbecoming approaches like ill will or animosity. For
that purpose we need to adopt restraints that are conducive
to spiritual health. Transgression of such restraints is
known as Atikraman. Whenever we happen to indulge in
such Atikraman, we need to turn back. Such turning back
is Pratikraman. It is a mode to atone for the wrong
activities. That necessitates repentance and turning back
from the faults. The former is called Älochanä and the
latter Pratikraman.
18

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
5. Käusagga or Käyotsarga: This literally means to give up
the physique and to observe physical as well as mental
silence. In other words Käusagga denotes staying in
contemplation of soul. It is the ultimate type of austerity
(Tap) and implicitly covers all other types. A normal type
of Kausagga consists of 25 breaths. It is a mini-Pratikraman
to atone for the violence that we might have caused by
our movement.
6. Pachchakhän: This means taking vow. After repenting for
the faults and turning back from the same we want to
make sure that we do not indulge in such faults again. For
that purpose we need to take appropriate vow or vows.
That is also known as Pratyäkhyän.
These six activities need to be undertaken everyday. The
question may arise, ‘How to get the time for that’ It would
certainly be hard for most of the people to undertake the rituals
laid for the purpose. A sincere prayer to the Lord and reverently
bowing to Guru can, however, be done within a few minutes.
Moreover, ritual is not a ‘must’ even for Sämäyik. This is evident
from Ächärya Hemchandrasuri’s statement that Karma, which
cannot be destroyed even by observing acute austerities for
millions of lifetime, can be destroyed within a moment by
resorting to equanimity. One can practice staying in equanimity
for a short while, whenever he/she gets the time. Similarly while
going to bed one can ponder over his activities during the day
and atone for the wrong ones. Taking vow does not obviously
take time. Thus one can undertake all the six essential activities
daily and do the same intensively during the Parva days.
Another way of regular spiritual pursuit consists of observing
ten attributes of forgiveness, mildness, straightforwardness,
purity, truth, self-restraint, austerity, renouncing, absence of
possession and celibacy. These very attributes are popularly
known as Daslakshanä. It is, of course, not easy to observe all
of them. Every aspirant can, however, observe the first three,
viz. forgiveness, mildness and straightforwardness. Moreover,
he/she can try to observe purity, truth, self-restraint, and
austerities to the extent possible.
Unity in Jain Centers – Based on Our Survey
Birds of a feather flock together. The word “feather” here can
be stretched to fit your imagination. A group of minority will
come together (i.e. unite) under most circumstances to draw
strength from the unity. Accommodations would be made
willingly within that group for inclusiveness. When that
minority group starts growing in size, people will start
gravitating towards smaller sized sub-groups formed along the
lines of similar interests or geographic regions or traditions.
And then more effort is needed to keep the larger group doing
common things together, in order to maintain the larger group’s
unity. This phenomenon is very visible amongst the Jain Centers
in North America.
Based on the information we have received from various centers
on how Paryushan was celebrated amongst all the traditions, it
is quite obvious that we Jains too follow this same group
behavior. The smaller centers have fewer members in the Jain
community, and thus they naturally include everyone, and come
up with ways of following Jainism that is acceptable to all
members, and in so doing, they may not necessarily follow any
specific tradition. For example, a small center may perform
Samvatsari Pratikraman in English only. The medium sized
centers have a little more challenge, and do the job of
accommodation by alternating the celebrations of different
traditions, thereby maintaining different traditions, yet not
conduct celebrations of all the traditions in parallel. For
example, several centers invited Digambar scholars during
Paryushan and Swetambar scholars during Das Laxana, and/
or alternated conducting Pujas and Pratikramans too. The larger
centers on the other hand have a lot of members belonging to
each one of the traditions, and thus have the luxury of offering
something for each of the multiple traditions, and have done a
phenomenal job doing just that. The challenge these larger
organizations (and medium ones too, to a certain extent) have
is of making the extra effort to unite the whole community
under the Jainism umbrella, and not along the lines of its various
traditions. In some cases, partly due to geographic distances,
and perhaps partly on traditional lines, new centers are formed
when there was previously only one. This should not be
construed as sign of disunity, because these centers continue
to work together and still share the basics of Jainism.
In the words of Nirmal Dosi, of JAINA scholars Program: “Our
centers are incorporating varied unique approaches to integrate
and promote inclusiveness for all Jains in major programs. Such
a program is breaking all barriers of Languages (Hindi,
Gujarati..) and traditions (Digamber, Swetamber, Sthanakvaasi,
TeraPanthi and Mumukshu). This will promote many role
models to follow in North America.”
You will see this uniqueness in the charts of consolidated
information on Jain Centers, on the following pages - that the
practice of unity varied greatly, all the way from the larger
centers inviting scholars from multiple traditions, and
conducting multiple Pratikramans to the smallest centers that
celebrated one Paryushan, all together; to somewhere inbetween
– for example the two Centers in Connecticut
celebrated both Paryushan and Das Laxana together. The Jain
unity in North America, in its many varied forms of diversity,
is a beautiful thing.
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
19

20
JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006

100,000 Celebrate
Paryushan in N. America
JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
21

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
From Chintan Shah
During this year’s Paryushan, I had the
unique situation of traveling to Japan for
the World Conference on the Religions for
Peace as a representative of Jainism,
JAINA, and YJA. This opportunity was
truly unique and spectacular; nonetheless,
it also posed a few challenges in terms of
dietary restrictions and observance of
Paryushan. Prior to leaving I made the
decision that I would strictly follow all of
the stringent guidelines of Paryushan and
refrain from eating onions and garlic as
well as vegetables. Little did I know the
challenges that I would face in Japan, a
country not known for their vegetarian
cuisine.
Throughout my 10 day visit (Paryushan
began the day I landed in Japan and ended
a day before I left), the challenge of finding
a meal that fit within the nutritional
parameters of Paryushan proved nearly
impossible. As any good traveler does, I
of course brought some snack food with
me (sev mamra, chukri, khakra) and that
was quite helpful. However, dry Indian
snacks can only take you so far. Having
done an aathai a few years earlier, I believed
no situation could be any more exigent
with regard to eating. This experience
definitely came close. When doing an
aathai, one trains the mind to remove all
thoughts of food. In this case, the mere
chance that a conference meal could satisfy
our strict Paryushan diet existed and
seemed to play with my emotions slightly.
But I remained strong and actually did
choviyar each night at sunset as well.
This phenomenal experience provided me
an uplifting feeling upon returning home.
I felt stronger as an individual for having
maintained the strict diet that I normally
observe at home, despite being so far away
in a strange land. While this cannot be
considered a monumental achievement of
any kind, it does serve to remind me that
through Jain dharma, no matter the
situation, no matter the circumstance,
holding true to our beliefs and goals can
only make us stronger and more steadfast
in our resolve.
Chintan currently lives and works in New Your
and is the Co-Chair of YJA Executive Board.
Youth Perspective
From Priya Ghelani
Growing up, every year during the time of
Paryushan, I always wondered what
tapasvis would experience during their fast.
I remember wondering if I could possibly
perform an atthai, and what I would
discover about myself if I was able to fast
for eight days. It was curiosity that
entreated me to try to do atthai, along with
desire and determination.
Not eating completely transformed my life
for eight days. It’s amazing how much of
our lives are wasted away by eating or
driving to a place to eat or cooking or
wondering what to eat for dinner, and
what is even more astonishing in that
respect is the effect food has on our body
and mind. Restricting my diet to water for
eight days allowed me to concentrate my
time and effort on introspection and
improving myself as a person. I realized
how much of my day is spent planning or
thinking about the future or the past
instead of exploring the countless facets
of the present. I was able to delve into my
own consciousness because I learned to
disassociate my mind from my body and
concentrate my mind on the soul within
me instead of my body’s wants and craves.
It is desire in its most general state that
awakens our minds, that compels us to
ponder what we treat as the minutest
details of our lives. And it is desire to
perform tap that makes us step back and
see the true purpose of our lives clearly and
consider life in a universal sense, in a way
we never seem to have time in our lives to
do.
Priya is currently a Neurobiology student at
University of Texas at Austin. She recently
finished her term as President of the JSNT
Youth Group, Texas; and is now serving as
the South Regional Coordinator on the YJA
Executive Board.
From Shrenik Shah
This year’s atthai was a life changing
experience for me as well as my family. It
has always been a goal of mine, especially
after seeing my mom complete atthai 3
years ago. Luckily, Paryushan came during
a break from school. The eight days were
tough, but luckily I kept myself busy; from
puja in the morning to pratikraman at
night, the days went by reasonably fast.
Some nights were long and felt neverending,
but no one said it was easy. It was
made to be tough, and most of it was
psychological. Self-confidence, mental
strength, along with family and sangh
support helped me to accomplish one of
my largest and most meaningful goals in
life.
- Shrenik is a Junior at
University of Texas, Austin.
From Vikas Anand
Day 2 of Paryushana brings the mindawareness
to a point of separation from
the body-mind complex. Having fasted
for 36 hours, attention gravitates to
thought-observations and the sequential
episodic relationship of past to the present,
the here-now experience.
Various humors from organic cellular
storage are observed and deleted as thought
bubbles of expectation, anticipation of
dread, and of the dark unknown of future
events to pass.
Then, gaps in thought give way to the
innate presence of the vastness within and
thereafter calm and a sense of well-being
permeate throughout and the inherent true
nature of soul-bliss expands from the
center – the heart of conscious awareness
to the mind-body circumference and
beyond, generating vibratory pulsations of
amity, increasingly building to whitecropped
waves of blissful compassion and
rolling across the infinite ocean of
consciousness.
Love dawns and its rays envelop all!
— Vikas Anand of Jain Meditation
International Center
22

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Tapasvi Nayan Shah
Interviews with Tapasvies
The disease was stubborn. They had
tried everything. She remembered the
story of Shripal and Mayanasundari
that she had read as a young girl, and
the power Navpad aaradhana had in
curing Shripal of his leukoderma
(kodh). Were similar faith, shraddha
still valid in the 20th Century,
wondered Nayana. Her husband was
fighting for his life, modern day medicines were not working. So
she decided to try the path Mayanasundari had adopted, she did
pujas, Navpad aaradhana and she decided to do tapasya.
As a young girl, she had done chhath (two consecutive fasts) and
attham (3 consecutive fasts), but nothing more than that. This
time she was determined, and did an Athai. Nayana Shah, the
real estate agent and mortgage specialist from Long Island, who
had come to US not too long ago, took off from there and has
never looked back. She has under her belt 10 Aymbil olis, 8 fasts
twice, 11 fasts twice, 16 fasts twice, 30 fasts once, varsitap with
consecutive one fast and one ekasanu for a year, all mostly with
tham chovihar (drinking water only once a day). And she has
topped all this with 45 upwas with tham chovihar this Paryushan.
If you think all this fasting would make a person physically weak,
think again. Nayanaben has done all her tapasya while carrying
on her normal life, not slowing down a bit. And a busy life she
leads! So much so that the 25 college students who came to visit
her on her 37th day of fast were so inspired by her tapasya while
carrying on the normal day-to-day activity, that they decided to
try some tapasya themselves. These were youngsters who had never
fasted before. They all successfully completed an attham each.
Five of the students got encouraged by their own capability and
have started a varsitap and are continuing.
What does Nayanaben attribute her spectacular success to She
lists strong will power, control over mind, and an unflinching
faith in God. And she lists one more item – sun gazing. Sister of
the famous sun gazer Sri Hira Ratan Manek (who himself has
achieved 211, 411, and 130 days of fasts), Nayanaben, admits
that during her initial Athais, she went through the normal
symptoms of tapasvis, feeling weak after 3 to 4 days, unable to
concentrate, needing some physical support. But her brother
introduced her to sun gazing. With her faith in the religion, and
a strong belief that the centuries old traditions and techniques
could still work in today’s world, and on today’s human body, she
decided to give sun gazing a try, and it helped. Now during tapasya,
she normally sun-gazes about 5 – 7 minutes regularly, and when
not doing tapasya, at least 3-4 times a week. She finds herself able
to control her emotions much better, concentrate her mind as
well as has a lot of energy.
For a woman trying to fill the large shoes of her religious family –
nani (maternal grandmother) and masi (maternal aunt) having
taken diksha, and a total of 35 dikshas within her family, religion
was something she was born in to – she got it in galthuthi. With
the amount of tapasya she has done in her relatively short life
(she is still several years from her golden birthday), she needs to
do nothing more to find herself a respectable place amongst the
rows of high achieving family members. But she does not stop
with her personal achievement. She goes on to build a temple –
22,000 sq ft Jain Center of Long Island, and volunteers her time
at the temple. (She is the Current President of JCLI.). Her current
goals are to take the center further, especially for children and
senior citizens; and to take her tapasya further. She draws her
inspiration from Mahavir Swami, and strongly believes that His
type of tapasya can be done in today’s world as well, the mind is
the maker.
Why 45 upwas, you wonder Well, the temple, JCLI received the
45 agams as donation, along with a copy of Kalpasutra, and her
bhaav was to match and celebrate that donation.
Tapasvi
Harsukh Harkisandas Doshi
The year was 1980, the place
Calcutta. He was traveling in a bus,
and the next thing he remembers is a
bus to his right, a bus to his left and
him hearing Khamemi Savve Jiva. For
a long long while, it seemed to him
that he will not see his loved ones
again. And then a miracle happened.
Not only did Sri Harshukh Doshi survive that fateful accident,
but it changed his whole outlook to life.
He at that time decided that he wanted to do tapasya, but his
health did not cooperate. But the broken ribs and fractured bones
did not deter Harsukhbhai. It took him two full years before he
was in a state to be able to do the tapasya he wanted to, and in
1982, Harsukhbahi did his first atthai. Since then he has done 2
atthais, ten upwas once, 16 upwas once, and this year, at the age
of 70+ years, he went on to do 30 upwas. And if that was not a
feat in itself, 25 of those were maun upwas, where he did not
speak.
Harsukhbahi admits to having a short temper. He recalls attending
a lecture of Sri Jinchandrasuri where he got the inspiration of
learning to control his anger, by keeping maun. During most of
his tapasya, he does maun upwas. He finds that tapasya not only
gives him mental peace, but helps his physical health as well.
Where he normally gets leg cramps during climbing down stairs,
while doing tapasya, his cramps are gone, he can easily climb the
stairs, do 3-4 samayiks a day, and meditate.
A lawyer by profession, Harsukhbhai also does Aymbil oli. His 5
year old grand-daughter Sanjana got so inspired by her dadaji,
that last year she had done one upwas, and this year, to keep
dadaji company, she did 7 beasanas and a final upwas.
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
23

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
Tapasavi Niruben Kothari:
Niruben lives in Sourthern California. Brought up in a highly
religious Jain family in Mumbai, she migrated to USA after her
marriage. Her husband Sudhirbhai was brought up in a Hindu
Vaishnav family. After coming to this country Niruben aggressively
pursued her education and completed MBA with specializing in
finance. She has held various responsible financial positions in
the Banking industry.
Having grown up in a religious family she always had a desire to
do tap during Paryushan, but found even one Ekasana difficult.
Still very keen to see tap being done in the family, she convinced
her husband Sudhirbhai to undertake an Athai. Sudhirbhai
recollects that the will power developed as a part of his rigorous
Vaishnav upbringing came in handy during his first Athai. Inspired
by scholars Girishbhai Shah and Dhirubhai Pandit and motivated
by her husband’s endurance, Niruben undertook her first tap of
continuous Ekasana for one month.
Since that beginning of tap Niruben has undertaken eight long
continuous fasting sequences that include; 3 Athais, 10 fasts, 11
fasts, 13 fasts, 16 fast and the most recent 12 fast sequence. She
has completed 4 varshitaps and over 700 Ekasanas. At Palitana
she has finished a Navaanu (climbing Palitana shikhar 109 times
in 36 days) and last year she did chomosu (chaturmaas) in Palitana.
Since her very first tap, Niruben started to see a change in her
outlook to life. During her very first Athai she started to feel a
form of Anand, a feeling of bliss and pleasure that she finds difficult
to describe. However, this feeling was not permanent and Niruben
would become her normal party loving person once the tap was
over. As she undertook more and more tap she soon started to
dwell deeper in spirituality. She spends lot of time doing
introspection while reading religious scriptures. Today she feels
that the Anand that used to come in spurts has become something
more permanent. While she is fully committed to fulfill her
responsibilities towards her family members and community, she
does not feel any attachment to them. When she sees her
grandchildren, she feels a level of compassion but not attachment.
As her husband Sudhirbhai puts it, “Over the years, I have noticed
my wife change form a pure fun-loving person to a person with
increased awareness, highly considerate towards others, reduced
desires, and increased control and restrain”. He adds, “She is a
go-getter, she always got what she wanted, now she wants to be in
the realm of spirituality and she is getting that”.
Tapasvi Shweta Daftary
On one hand you have your conscious mind guiding you based
on your medical training on the other hand is your subconscious
(bhav) inspiring you to do something different. Shweta Daftary,
who is a dentist by profession, faced this conflict when she was
about to embark on her 2nd Athai few year ago.
Shweta did her first Athai while attending college in Mumbai.
The motivation here was simply a challenge that her friend had
jokingly thrown. After migrating to USA, she found herself in
the midst of family members who were all doing Athai during
Paryushan. The atmosphere inspired her to go ahead with the
Athai, but her logic did not agree with it. Eventually her bhav
won. During this Paryushan Shweta has completed her 6th Athai.
In the last few Athais she has realized a different kind of energy
driving her. This energy during the Athai makes her feel calm,
composed, her desires are diminished, and thoughts are pure
and positive. She believes this practice has increased her awareness
and she is using this awareness to purify herself one step at a
time.
Tapasvis all in the Family
Ketkiji, Megal, Barkha and Bahar Shah
When an NYU student does an Athai, one knows her parents
have done a good job of nurturing the Jain sanskars in their
children. Ketki Shah went to a Jain School in Mumbai. She is
indebted to her parents for having ingrained the Jain sanskars in
her. Ketkiji has successfully passed these same sanskars to her
daughters. We got a chance to talk to Ketki Shah and her three
tapasvi daughters.
Ketkiji’s regular praying finally gave her the resolve to undertake
the Athai tap. Completely focused on purifying the soul, she was
determined to be polite and calm during the period of Athai
(something not very easy when you have two teenage daughters
in 11th grade). During the first two days controlling the irritation
was not easy, however as the days progressed, calmness prevailed
and she found herself fully engrossed in the daily prayers. Ketkiji
feels that she has realized some innate strength within her during
this Paryushan. Utilizing this new energy she wants to continue
the process of soul purification, with a new commitment of
practicing rigorous mental ahimsa.
Barkha and Bahar are the twin daughters of Ketkiji. Barkha did
an Athai and Bahar did two Athams (two, three-fast-sequence)
during this Paryushan. Both these 11th graders took up the tap
as a challenge that they could endeavor. The process that started
as a challenge ended up as an exercise of introspection. After the
Athai, Barkha is a lot more confident and positive about herself;
she feels that she can accomplish whatever she decides to do.
Bahar on the other hand is committed to an Athai next year and
she has decided to be more aware of her actions and be more
thoughtful and considerate of others
Megal Shah a senior at NYU, and eldest of the 3 sisters, always
wanted to do an Athai. She wanted to convince herself about her
own willpower and self-restraint. After the first couple of days
she found it quite hard, with her mind constantly wandering to
the food. However, with her family’s support she was able to
overcome that rough period and soon calmness followed. It was
now time for introspection and repentance. After the Athai she
finds herself being calm, at peace with herself, not take things
for granted, and above all she is thinking a lot more positively.
The immediate impact is seen in her job interview where she is
lot more confident and optimistic.
24

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Tapasvi Mukund Dalia
For a successful Civil Engineer, owning his own consulting
business, living in Cleveland Ohio with a loving wife, life is
comfortable for Sri Mukund Dalia. But complacent, absolutely
not! Growing up in a religious family, he used to visit the temple
and do Puja every day. His family members still continue the
tradition back in India. Add to that the fact that his father did 1-
2-3 tap every Paryushan (1 upwas, none, 2 upwas, none, 3 upwas)
and even his wife had done an Athai in her teen-age years. So
how does Mukundji find his challenge He does 6 Athais in 7
years!
Mukundji is motivated by the fact that tapasya makes him feel
good, brings him mental peace, and increases his appreciation of
things in life. And it is part of religious activity that has been
central to his life while he was growing up. Athai also brings
physical relief in the body. His approach to tapasya is to keep
flexibility in mind. Having his own business, he has a lot of
flexibility. But he continues his Paryushan tapasya through the
rest of the year with Aymbil Oli (this year is his 11th), attham
and chaudas, as time and circumstances permit. He also spends
time reading during those times.
His message to others is to do whatever tapasya possible – as
Jainism says, by yathashakti, for your own soul, for your own
religious achievement.
Tapasvi Sri Gajendra Punatar
Living in India, one is always in the midst of happenings - be they
cultural, religious or other. During the Paryushan season, the
atmosphere is fully charged with lectures and discourses by many
scholars, temples brimming with people, folks all around you
engaged in all kinds of taps and vrats. This type of activity is on
the rise day by day in North America as well, but still compared
to India, at a much lower level. But when you have elders visiting
from India during Paryushan times, the atmosphere and
discussions at home changes. Sri Gajendra Punatar, a former IT
Manger, currently an investor, and a resident of Colorado had
the good fortune of having such visitors with him this Paryushan.
With his in-laws visiting, he got the opportunity to participate in
religious exercises, along with various discussions. In the course
of these activities he got inspired and encouraged to try his will at
doing tapasya, and for the first time in his life he tried and
successfully did an Athai.
What Gajendra found was that the first three days were a little
hard, but then things got easier. At the end of 8 days of fasts, he
was surprised that not only was Athai not that difficult, but in
fact, after the 3rd day, he had a lot of energy. He was able to
continue with his routine life, and had energy enough to entertain
about 65 people at his home during Sapna ceremony. And that
was just the beginning, he got more interested in Jain literature,
and tried to understand the reasons why people do tap, and also
started studying Atmasiddhi Shashtra. Since his tapasya, he has
found deeper feelings about religion and greater interest in his
spiritual development. He continues his journey in that direction
with Aymbil Oli and fasting on every pancham.
Tapasvi Kundanben Narendra Sinh Rathos
BavabaIjaMakurjananaa ragaaVa: xayamaupagata yasya.
ba‘*maa vaa ivaYNauvaa- hrao ijanaao vaa namastsmaO..
These above words from the great Acharya Hemchandraji mean:
I bow down to the pure soul - whether he is Brahma, Vishnu,
Shiv or Jin.-The soul that has destroyed attachment and aversion
- the root cause of birth and death.
These words seem very appropriate when narrating the tapayasa
of Kundanben Narendra Sinh Rathos. Kundanben was born in
a Kshatriya Yadavkul family and follows the Vaishnav Swami
Narayan religion. Yet the influence of Jainism on her is very deep.
It all started in 1998, when visiting a Jain friend in Detroit,
coincident with the period of Detroit Jain Derasar Pratishtha
Mahotsav. Participating in the mahotsav with her friend, she also
wanted to join in some of the rituals and poojas. Most of the
events were already signed up for days, but she was lucky to get a
Ghee-boli bid for a Panch Kalyanak pooja and Shanti Kalash. As
a non-Jain she simply followed the instructions, yet while
following the instructions she felt some divine force. Not knowing
any Jain stutis she requested if could recite a Swaminarayan
‘shloka’. To her surprise, both, the Vidhikar and the President
welcomed her suggestion and allowed her to recite her sholka.
Second interesting incident occurred at the end of the Pratishtha
ceremony when the management realized that they had forgotten
to acquire the Indra Dhwaja. She came forward to accept the
challenge and finished stitching theDhwaja (flag) overnight. These
two incidents have had a profound impact on Kundanben,she
had a clear feeling that a larger power was drawing her towards
spiritual enlightenment.
Since that time Kundanben has been doing Athai during every
Paryushan. In 1999, she did 6 months of partial ‘fasting’, drinking
only milk. Further more, she kept this a secret from her family
for five months.
When asked about her experiences during the tapasaya she says,
“I have noticed a change, there is an inner felling of joy, feeling of
getting closer to God and the inner-self does not let me do
anything wrong.” During this period she senses her kashayas
subdued, samata bhav prevailing and a feeling of being closer to
the pure soul.
Kundanben is committed to continue on the path of purification
by doing more and more tapasya every year. She says “I want to
get closer and closer to my soul and surely God will be with me
in this endeavor”.
The lotus says, “I remain completely unaffected
and detached, even though I am born and
brought up in muddy waters, why do you keep
yourself absorbed in sensual pleasures despite
being human”
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
25

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Paryushan starts when Paryushan ends
Diwali immediately follows Paryushan. And it is time for Partying: Fun, Food and Frolic the fun of dancing, our feet moving to the beat
of disco music, the dandia sticks trying to keep up with the feet; food - plenty of rich, delicious, yummy sweets; and the frolic - as the evening
develops one never knows who Lady luck will smile on, or the three Jokers wink at.
Well going about our Diwali partying, let us not forget the real PARTY -the PARTY we began during Paryushan - the only PARTY where
the pleasure (Anand) is permanent. The following briefly describes what Diwali actually means to Jains,.
Diwäli
Diwäli is probably the most important festival in India. The festival
falls on the last day of the month of Äso (Ashvini), the end of the
year in the Indian calendar (in October or November). Diwäli is
the festival of lights celebrated by Hindus as well as Jains. Hindus
celebrate Diwäli to rejoice the return of Rama to Ayodhya after
destroying the forces of evil by defeating King Ravan of Shri Lanka.
They worship Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and prosperity). For
Jains Diwäli marks the anniversary of the attainment of liberation
by Lord Mahavir at the end of his life in 527 BC. Diwäli is
second only to Paryushana in its importance to Jains.
Traditional Celebration: Most celebrate Diwäli in a traditional
Indian fashion. Generally, people enjoy themselves eating delicious
food, wearing new clothes, lighting fireworks, etc., On the Diwäli
day, there are lights everywhere throughout India. On this day, a
businessman would complete his accounting for the year and
conduct a simple ceremony of worship in the presence of the
account books. The New Year begins the next day and is the
occasion for joyful gatherings and wishing each other a Happy
New Year. Elderly people give gifts (mostly cash) to youths and
children.
Realistic Celebration: Festival days like the Diwäli naturally
increase the urge for Sansär (material world), if it is celebrated in
a traditional way. Actually the religious festivals are for increasing
the interest for Dharma by reading religious book, reciting the
virtues of the great people, carrying out some austerities like fasting,
exercising restrain in eating, practicing humility, doing Swädhyäy
and meditation, and reciting holy hymns.
Background: In the early morning of the previous day, Lord
Mahavir commenced his last sermon (final discourse known as
Uttaradhyäyan) which lasted until the night of Diwäli. At
midnight, he left his earthly body and attained the liberation.
There were eighteen kings of northern India present in his
audience. They decided that the light of their master’s knowledge
should be kept alive symbolically by the lighting of lamps. Hence
it is called Deepävali, from Deep meaning a lamp, or Diwäli. But
the light of Lord Mahavir’s knowledge cannot be kept alive by
just lighting the lamps. Realistically, we should light our internal
lamps - awaken our inner vision by practicing the path expounded
by Lord Mahavir. As a traditional Diwäli lamp needs clay bowl,
oil, cotton and lighter (or match box). The inner lamp needs right
faith, right knowledge, right conduct and right Tap (austerity).
External lamp needs oxygen, internal lamp needs self-efforts. The
resolution to increase the practice of good conduct is the way to
celebrate Diwäli. Some fast for two days as Lord Mahavir did.
Some count 20 rosaries, first reciting “Shri Mahavir Swami
Sarvajnaya Namah” on every bead (108 beads in one rosary) and
followed by 20 rosaries of reciting “Shri Mahavir Swami Päragataya
Namah”. In brief, Diwäli is for enhancing the spiritual wealth.
New Year: Lord Mahavir’s chief disciple, Indrabhuti Gautam, was
not able to overcome his attachment to his master and that had
prevented him from achieving enlightenment. The barrier was
only broken after a period of grief over his teacher’s Nirvän, when
he finally managed to achieve the highest degree of nonattachment
enabling him to attain the stage of omniscience, the
full enlightenment, in the early morning of the first day of the
new year. The Jains begin the new year with a glorification of
Gautam Swämi; and listen with devotion to the nine Stotras
(Navsmaran) and the auspicious Räs (epochal poem) of Gautam
Swami. Some fast for three days including the New Year day, the
real wish being that the whole coming year may be filled with
realistic Dharma, intellectual serenity and equanimity.
Bhäi Duj (Festival day for brothers): Rajä Nandivardhan, the
brother of Bhagawän Mahavir was in great sorrow due to the
Nirvän of Mahavir. His sister, Sudarshana took him to her house
and comforted him. This happened on the second day after Diwäli.
This day is observed as Bhäi Duj. This festival is like Raksha
Bandhan. On the day of Raksha Bandhan, the sister goes to the
brother and ties the Raksha; but on this day, the sister invites her
brother to her house to show regard for him.
Jnän Panchami (The holy day for acquiring knowledge): Jnän
Panchami is the name given to the celebration that takes place on
the 5th day of the first month of the year. This day has been fixed
for the worship of pure knowledge. On this day, the scriptures,
which impart knowledge to the people, are worshipped with
religious devotion. Swädhyäy, meditation, Pratikraman etc., are
also carried out. Moreover, the books preserved in the religious
libraries are cleansed and repaired as necessary.
Dasera – a Hindu Celebration: Ravan, who was supposed to have
ten heads, kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita. Rama was left with no
choice but to destroy evil forces of Ravan and Ravan himself. On
the day of Dashera, which occurs 20 days before Diwäli, Rama
became victorious by destroying the evil forces of Ravan and
returned to Ayodhya on the day of Diwäli along with Sita.
Spiritual Interpretation: One may interpret that the battle fought
by Rama was an internal one. Ten heads of Ravan represent the
ten evils; ignorance (lack of awareness), anger, ego, deceit, greed,
violence, lying, stealing, adultery (pre-marital sex or sex with
person other than your spouse) and accumulation. By-products
of these evils are jealousy, fear, contempt (disrespect), laughter
that hurts others, sorrow, hatred, affection, gossip, defamation,
arrogance and lust. Rama conquered his battle against his internal
enemies (Karmas) and achieved enlightenment. Jains believe that
Rama has attained Moksha.
The above mentioned ten evils are our worst enemies. The greatest
of all is greed. The greed is at the root of all other evils. Anger
destroys love, ego destroys humility, and deceit destroys friendship.
26

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution presents “Arts of the Indian Subcontinent
and the Himalayas” at the Freer Gallery of Art, located at 12th
Street and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC. In the
century since Charles Lang Freer’s first visit to India, the Freer
Gallery has acquired an outstanding collection of art that
eloquently expresses the cultural and religious diversity of the
subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau. To present this collection,
the Freer is opening a new, long-term exhibition featuring 39
objects and increasing by half the space previously devoted to this
region. `Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas’
features Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist sculpture, as well as rarely
exhibited paintings and luxury arts from the Mughal, Rajput and
Deccani courts.. For more information contact (202) 633-1000
or go to www.asia.si.edu.
Dr. Sushil Jain, Chairman, JAINA Public Affairs Council. 301-
670-0519
9/11 Bell Ringing Ceremony
Pravin C. Shah of New York represented Jain faith and attended
along with other faith Leaders 9/11 Bell Ringing Ceremony held
on Sept. 11, 06 at 8-48 am.at St. Paul Chapal opposite WTC site
in New York to pay homage to 9/11 WTC victims.
U.N.’s 61st Session Opening Ceremony
Interfaith Prayer Service/ceremony to Honor the 61st opening of
U.N. Sesson was held on Sept. 12 at St. Bartholomew Church,
Manhattan, New York. Swamiji Devendrakeertiji Bhattarakji and
Pravin C. Shah, New York, representating JAINA from N/E
Corridor, International Jain Sangh (President Shri Naresh Jain,
N.J.) and Trustee, Jain Center of America, New York had joined
the procession along with other faith delegates/leaders and
occupied the podium/stage. In his turn Swamiji Devendrakeertiji
Bhattarakji had recited Namokar Mantra with its English
Translation. In addition, the following 9 persons also participated/
represented Jain faith at subject matter function: Kirit Kapadia,
Nirmal Dosi, Girishchandra Sanghvi, Hemant Shah, Bachubhai
Mehta, Girish C.Shah and Vinay Vakani.
JAINA News At
the Program Book, and blessing to the Montreal Conference by
HH Amrender Muniji Maharaj.
JAINA President Kirit Daftary led the delegation of about 70
monks, scholars, artists and volunteers; and Naresh Jain, Interfaith
Co-Chair directed the program. The Exhibition was designed by
Sudhir Shah; and the Dharma Music Concert was coordinated
by Hemali Ajmera that included accomplished artists Divya Jain
from New Jersey, Jaya Srivastava from Montreal; and Puja Amin
from Toronto. The booklet ‘Essence of World Religions’ compiled
by Pravin Shah of JAINA Education Committee was distributed
to the conference participants.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New York
Ahimsa Diwas at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New York
celebrated the message of Jainism and its philosophy on August
19, 2006. Benediction by HH Amrender Muniji was followed
by the keynote speech from Gurudev Chitrabhanuji and bhajans
by Smt. Pramodaben. The program including the recital of
Namokar Mantra; speeches; and musical presentation of hymns,
verses and poems on peace was hosted by Bhavan’s Dr. Navin
Mehta and Dr. Jayaraman.
JAINA News
Global Congress on World’s Religions, Montreal
The World’s Religions Conference in Montreal, September 11-
15, organized by Prof. Arvind Sharma of McGill University, drew
over 1500 participants and religious leaders including Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar, Deepak Chopra and Prof. Padmanabh Jaini. The
highlights of JAINA sponsored programs included an Exhibition
on Jain teachings; a plenary presentation ‘Jain Perspective on
Nonviolence and Warfare’ by Prof. Jaini; Dharma Music Concert
performed jointly by artists from the International Jain Sangh,
Jain Society of Toronto, Montreal Jain Association, and Satya Sai
Center; nine presentations on Jainism; a JAINA advertisement in
27

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Jain and JAINA North America
Ahimsa Seminar at University of Connecticut
Jain Center of Connecticut and Jain Center of Greater Hartford
collaborated on Annual Ahinsa Seminar held at UConn on
October 1st, 2006 (eve of Mahatama Gandhi’s Birth
Anniversary). This year’s theme was “Reducing violence in
family settings”. Earlier speakers included Dr. Padamnabh Jaini,
Dr. Michael Tobias, Gurudev Chitrabhanuji, Samani Charitra
Pragyaji. This seminar was supported by an endowment
“Mahavir Ahinsa and Peaceful Living Experience (MAPLE)”,
setup at the time of 2600 birth anniversary of Bhagwan
Mahavir.
Florida International University, Florida
Samani Charitra Pragya has been invited by Religious Studies
Department as a visiting professor for the Fall 2006 semester
by FIU to teach an undergraduate course on Jainism & Nonviolence.
The university has also approved a dual enrollment
for High School students, which comprises a Jainism class
offered by Samaniji on Saturdays, and is attended by about 30
students. On 19th September 2006, Samani Charitra Pragyaji
gave a public talk at Florida International University (FIU),
Jainism At US Universities
Graham Center Ballroom. The topic was ‘Life of a Jain Nun’.
In addition, Samaniji has been invited as guest speaker in
various other classes to talk about Jainism and Nonviolence.
The course and the lectures have been so popular that the
director of Religious Studies department Prof. Christine
Gudorf has proposed to continue this course for spring semester
for undergraduate as 3 credit course.
University Of Houston, Texas
For the first time, from mid August 2006, University of
Houston, Texas, USA (a large State University) has been
offering a regular course in Indian Religions with special
emphasis in Jainism. This course will earn regular credit hours
(towards an Undergraduate degree) from the University and is
being attended by 35 full time students (mostly non Indians
and non Jains). This course is being taught by Prof. Andrea
Jain of Rice University. This course offering is part of the
India Studies Foundation, where courses in Hindi and Indian
cultures are also being offered. The University will consider
expanding and offering more such courses on a regular basis
in coming years. (Source, Dr. Sulekh C. Jain)
Subject: Essence of World Religions
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 14:10:50 -0400
From: Nicole Le Bihan
To: education@jaina.org
Hello,
I would like to know if it is be possible for us to receive one hundred (100) copies of this
beautiful document Essence of World Religions . We are at the beginning of a process of
implementing a new program in all of our schools in the province, the new program is called
Ethics and Religious Culture. We need documents for teachers to learn about the various religions
and I think that your document could be very helpful. What would be the cost for 100 copies
and when could we receive those documents I thank you very much in advance for considering
my request. Nicole LE BIHAN
Nicole LE BIHAN
Consultant in Moral and Religious Instruction
Lester B. Pearson School Board
32

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Wappingers Falls, New York
During the weekend of September 9-10, 2006, Pratishtha
Mahotsav was held at Hindu Temple and Indian Cultural Center
of Wappingers Falls, New York. Sthapanas for Shri Guru Gautam
Swamy and Shri Bahubaliji were made with the blessings of Sri
Devendrakirti Bhattarakji, with Sri Narendra Nanduji performing
the Pujas and Abhisheks. In addition, the seating of Shri
Dharnendra and Padmavatiji were rearranged.
Jacksonville, Florida–upcoming on January 24–27,2007
Hindu Society of North East Florida in Jacksonville is building a
new temple. Lord Ganesha will be the presiding deity. The temple
will have a deity of Lord Mahaveer Swami. Pratishtha ceremonies
are planned for January 24 to 28, 2007. Please plan to attend.
For more details and contributions contact Pramod Jain, 904-
519-1234, pjindent@gmail.com.
25th Anniversary Celebration of the First Jain Temple
in USA
The Jain Center of Greater Boston
The days of June 4th through 7th were the days the Jain Center
of Greater Boston (JCGB) celebrated the 25th Anniversary of
the Jain Temple in Norwood, Massachusetts. It was 25 years ago
in 1981 that a small and young Jain community gathered in Boston
to create an important landmark in the history of Jainism, the
first Jain Temple in North America. Shree Siddhachakra Pujan
and Dev Shastra Guru Puja were performed by Vimal and Nirav
Kadiwala with the blessing of Guruji Shrutpragnyaji.
In 1981 the fund for the temple was raised by young families and
Jain Pratistha Mahotsavs at…:
graduate students who had recently arrived from India. It was a
miracle that the funds were raised by this young community in a
matter of days, whether it be judged by the ‘80s, or even by today’s
standard!
This year’s festivity was a time to reflect upon the Boston Jain
community’s achievements over the last 25 years. JCGB president
Shreyas Shah led the presentation which was followed by two of
the founding members Dr. Vinay Jain and Dinesh Dalal. Among
the many achievements that the JCGB community can be proud
of were our participation in the formation of JAINA, initial
publication and distribution of Jain Study Circle magazine, and
the publications of North American Jain Directory, Level 1, 2,
and 3 Primer books by Dr. Rati Dodhia, Shri Samayik Book,
and the Prayer book containing prayers in Hindi and English.
JCGB has also been at the forefront of active participation in
JAINA and YJA conventions. For the Jain Education, the JCGB
has made numerous contributions. The JCGB Pathshala teachers
in 1997 organized the Pathshala Teachers’ Conference that was
attended by over 80 teachers from all over North America. An
audio CD was also published in 2006 to celebrate the 25th
anniversary.
The Boston community’s youth successfully organized the 2006
YJA convention with the active support of the entire community,
further signifying our deep commitment to creating a next
generation of Jains with unshakable faith in Jainism.
Prabhaben Shah’s “Anashan Vrat” in Texas, USA
Prabhaben Shah, a Jain member from Dallas Fort Worth area,
attained DevLok (Arihant Sharan) on Sunday, September 10 after
peacefully completing “Anashan Vrat” (Fasting until last breath)
of 19 days.
Prabhaben suffered hemorrhage in March
2006. The hemorrhage was very severe and
left her paralyzed and bedridden. As per
her wishes, she started her “Anashan Vrat”
on 08/23/06 during Paryushan days and
renounced all the worldly attachments.
She was in samata the whole time.
Prabhaben, born in Mumbai during 1947
to parents Hirbai and Lakhmashi Lalji
Dedhia of Baroi, Kutch was married to
Dinesh Jayantilal Shah of Koday. Kutch.
She came to USA during 1994. She is
survived by her husband Dinesh Jayantilal
Shah, two sons Chandresh and Bhavesh,
daughter Priti, their spouses and other
close family members and relatives. We
pray for the eternal peace to her departed
soul. May her soul rest in peace forever.
Jain and JAINA North America
33

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Jain and JAINA North America
Floods Relief Fund 2006
The World Community Service (WCS) of JAINA has launched
“Floods Relief Fund 2006” to help the victims of this humongous
humanitarian crisis. WCS has allocated $11,000 emergency aid
for the victims of these floods in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh and is appealing all the member centers to raise funds for
JAINA’s relief fund. As steadfast believers of Ahimsa and Jivdaya,
it is our moral obligation to help out. Your contributions will be
used in rebuilding effort - perhaps to contribute in building a
school or a hospital. Our selection of project to undertake will
depend on the assessment of situation and amount of money we
can collect with your help. Please remember, JAINA does not
charge any administrative costs to the relief fund. Every penny
collected will go towards the relief fund and administered through
a local charitable partnering agency.
We request you to send your tax deductible (USA) contribution
payable to JAINA on receipt of this appeal and mail to:
Prakash Mehta , 2960 Mother Well Ct, Oak Hill, VA 20171,
703-352-8340, 703-318-8252 H
Pmehta@psiint.com
JAINA’s Shri V.R. Gandhi Scholarship Awards
for 2006-07
So far we have awarded 37 scholarships to Jains and non-Jains.
Out of these, more than 50 % are non-Jains who have shown
considerable interest in advanced research, Ph.D. studies in Jainism
in Universities/Institutions which range from North to South.
Applications Forms can be down loaded from JAINA VRG
committee website. This year, we have awarded 10 such scholarships
detailed as follows.
NAME INSTITUTE DEGREE SUBJECT AWARD IN Rs.
Rajshree Bhupendra Raval Gujrat University PhD Critical Study of the NarmadaSundari Katha (a Jainistic work) 5,000
Paurik Virendra Shah Gujrat University M.A. Post Graduate C.C in Pakrit 5,000
Sanjeev Kumar Jain Sri Lal Bahadur PhD A Comparative Study of Jain Principle with Geeta, 15,000
Shastri Rashtriya
Veda & Other Philosophy
Sanskrit Sansthan
Appanna N. Hanje Dept. of Ancient Indian PhD Archaeology of Shiggaon Region 10,000
History & Epigraphy,
Karnatak Uni.
Renuka Jitendra Porwal Prachya Viyapith Post Doc Jain Stupa at Mathura with special reference to Inscription 5,000
Recognized by Vikram
& Art of many images - Ayogpatta.
University, MP
Navin Kumar Srivastav Dept. of Philosophy & PhD Jain Darshan-mein GyanMimanksha-ka-Anushilan: 10,000
Religion, Banaras
Jain-tark Bhasha-ke
Hindu University
Paripekshya-mein
Umesh Prasad Singh Dept. of Philosophy & PhD Tattvarth Sutramein Varnit Darshanik Tattva 10,000
Religion, Banaras
Hindu Univer
Rahul Kumar Singh Dept. of Philosophy & Ashtak Prakaranmei Pratipadit Jainachar eveim Drashan 10,000
Religion, Banaras Hindu PhD Sambhadhi Manyatae: Ek Parishilan
University
Anand Kumar Jain Jain Vishva Bharti, M.Phil Indian & Western Philosophy & Logic 5,000
Ladnun
Kantilal R. Shah Maharaja Sayajirao PhD The Welfare Economics of Dr. Amartya Sen and J 10,000
University Of Baroda,
ain Philosophy – A comparative Study
Vadodara
34

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
1st Annual Jain Youth Matrimonial Convention
Jain Milan 2006 – first Jain Youth Matrimonial Convention -
was held on August 4th - 6th at Fords/Edison, NJ. Total of 167
Jain youths participants from USA, Canada, UK and Singapore
had registered to take part in the convention. Every participant
received a souvenir with partial bio data and photograph of these
youths.
152 participants out of 167 registered participants attended the
convention- 81 female (53%) and 71 male (47%). 15 participants
were not able to attend, most of them because of their job
commitments. Approximately 60 participants traveled by air and
most were transported to and from the Hotel by our volunteers.
120 of the registered participants (72%) were between the age of
21 and 29 years and rest 47 participants (28%) were 30 years of
age or above.
65 (39%) of the participants have BA
degree, 35 (21%) of then have MS
degree, 25 (15%) of them have MD or
JD degree, 25 (15%) of them have MBA
degree, 10 (6%) of them have Ph.D. or
Pharm. D. and. 4 of them have other
college education. Besides Medicine,
Law and Pharmacy professions, 55 of
them are working as Engineers or
computer Science professionals and 35
of them are working in Finance or
Business.
122 (73%) participants have US
Citizenship, 23 have US Visa, 14 have
US Green card, 6 have Canadian
Citizenship and 1 each has UK and
Singapore citizenship.
All participants received a souvenir.
Those who could not attend the
convention received a copy of the souvenir via postal mail. A 60
page souvenir with partial bio data and photograph of the
participants was professionally designed. Today, any Jain can
receive a copy of the souvenir by registering with Jain Milan 2006
until the limited supply of the souvenir is available.
Matrimonials
MIS Ads for Jain Digest, October 2006
MALE
M472: Gujarati parents invite alliance for handsome
accomplished vegetarian US citizen issueless divorcee son, Sept
71, 5’7”, MS (ME), well employed / settled in NY from
educated cultured girls. Ph: 516/334-8196.
pshah44@hotmail.com
M864: Alliance invited by Gujarati parents for accomplished
handsome fair vegetarian US born son, Oct 76, 5’11”, 160 lb,
BS (civil eng), well employed as Project Manager with reputed
co., from pretty cultured educated girls. Ph: 334/283-5340 or
334/415-8833. gosaliajay@hotmail.com
M1107: Gujarati parents invite responses for good-looking
athletic talented vegetarian US born son, March 77, 6’0”, 170
lb, BA, BSN (RN), well employed with hospital, from cultured
educated veg Gujarati girls. Ph: 630/372-6329.
mcshahrci@hotmail.com
M1110: Gujarati parents invite responses for handsome
talented vegetarian son, born Jan 75, 5’6”, 160 lb, MCom,
working with Pharmacy, from cultured educated girls. Ph: 631/
666-1807. shardul_gandhi@yahoo.com
M1118: Gujarati parents invite proposals for handsome
accomplished US born son, Aug 79, 5’11”, 155lb, MD
resident, from cultured vegetarian educated girls. Ph: 606/
671-2145. shah7580@yahoo.com
M1128: Jain parents invite proposals w/photo profile for
handsome talented vegetarian US citizen son, March 79, 5’9”,
MD, doing radiology residency in NY, from well-educated
vegetarian beautiful girls preferably MD. Ph: 516/294-1968.
ddugar@hotmail.com
M1169: Gujarati parents invite responses for good-looking
athletic accomplished vegetarian US citizen son, July 80, 5’9”,
155 lb, MS (eng management) well employed with reputed
co., from cultured educated vegetarian girls. Ph: 813/962-
6714. pshah718@hotmail.com
35

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Matrimonials
M1170: Proposals invited for handsome accomplished
vegetarian US citizen, Gujarati boy, Sept 81, 5’10”, 140 lb,
BS (EE), well employed with Japanese co., from cultured
educated Gujarati girls. Ph: 734/467-1964.
wsuengin@yahoo.com
M1171: Gujarati parents invite alliance w/photo bio-data for
handsome vegetarian cultured US citizen son, May 81, 5’5”,
125 lb, BS (pre-law), from cultured educated Gujarati girls.
Ph: 410/884-9210. bitubabu81@yahoo.com
M1174: Gujarati parents invite responses from India born
educated vegetarian US citizen Gujarati girls for handsome
talented vegetarian son, Sept 82, 5’10”, 142 lb, MS (comp
sc), well employed as lecturer and willing to settle in USA. Ph:
630/467-0688 / 773/592-0920. prakashs@eni.com
M1175: Gujarati parents invite alliance from cultured educated
vegetarian girls, for very-handsome talented brilliant
professional vegetarian son, born May 82, 5’10”, 160 lb, Comp
Sc, Nassau college, NY, MCT, consultant / professor / own
business in NY. Ph: 201/774-3536. darshan@ds-ny.com
M1176: Alliance invited from educated vegetarian Gujarati
girls for an Oct 79 born, 5’11”, MS, vegetarian software
engineer working in NYC for a large financial firm (H1 visa).
Ph: 631/525-5191. sandipti@gmail.com
M1177: Los Angles based Gujarati family invite alliance w/
photo bio-data from cultured vegetarian educated slim girls,
for US citizen son, Nov 75, 5’11”, CPA, working with NASA.
Email: bmm301@hotmail.com
AM363: Alliance invited w/photo bio-data for handsome
accomplished vegetarian US citizen Gujarati boy, May 79, 6’1”,
190 lb, MBA, well-positioned with billion Dollar Company.
Ph: 937/848-3228. punatar@hotmail.com
AM494: Alliance invited for talented fair handsome vegetarian
Gujarati US citizen divorcee male, Feb 68, 5’11”, 180 lb, BE,
well settled, from educated vegetarian girls with family values.
Email: mehta_ketan@comcast.net
AM498: Gujarati parents invite responses w/photo bio-data
from well-educated beautiful vegetarian girls for handsome
intelligent US citizen son, July 78, 6’0”, BS, pursuing MBA,
well employed at reputed co., Ph: 714/736-5431.
punamshah@sbcglobal.net
AM499: Gujarati Physician parents invite alliance w/photo
bio-data for handsome outgoing athletic US born son, April
77, 5’10”, 160 lb, MD, 3rd Yr radiology resident, from
professional outgoing beautiful girls. Ph: 847/272-5384.
Bp4647@aol.com
AM500: Sister invite alliance from suitable match for widow
Gujarati brother Age 46, 5’10”, 187 lb, CA (Bom Uni)
practicing in Nairobi, visiting USA shortly & willing to settle
in USA. Has two sons 18, 20. Phone: 978/362-1138.
Roopa_parag@hotmail.com
AM506: Gujarati parents invite responses for cultured
professional vegetarian US citizen son, Oct 81, 5’6”, 145 lb,
BS (comp sc), software developer, from cultured welleducated
girls. Ph: 847/885-1721. mshah2481@yahoo.com
AM507: Gujarati uncle invite alliance w/photo bio-data for
handsome talented vegetarian nephew, born Feb 80, 5’8”,
160 lb, MS (pharmacy), employed with reputed Pharmacy
in NJ (H1 visa), from well educated cultured Gujarati girls.
Email: aaacompu@yahoo.com
AM508: Gujarati family in Bombay invite proposals for US
based handsome vegetarian son, born 79, 6’1”, 147 lbs, MS,
MBA, well positioned as Manager in a Fortune 500 company,
from cultured highly educated vegetarian girls. Ph: 847/
815-0928. bhs1979@rediffmail.com
AM509: Alliance invited by Parents for talented US born
divorcee son, born June 75, 5’7”, 165 lb, IT Tech, IT
professional; from cultured educated match. Ph: 845/735-
5766. gosrani.rupen@gmail.com
AM510: Gujarati parents invite alliance w/photo bio-data
for handsome vegetarian US born son, Dec 78, 5’6”, 138 lb,
MD, resident at Ivy League medical college, from highly
educated attractive US born vegetarian Gujarati girls. Email:
fairfax1978@yahoo.com
AM515: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data
for handsome successful vegetarian US citizen son, Feb 78,
5’11”, 145 lb, MD, 2nd Year resident, from well-educated
cultured vegetarian girls. Email: hbkrs@hotmail.com
FEMALE
F621: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data for
beautiful attractive accomplished US born daughter, Dec 73,
5’7”, MD, pursuing fellowship, from cultured vegetarian welleducated
professional boys. Ph: 407/366-8810.,
sachitatolia@hotmail.com
F782: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/ photo bio-data
for pretty slim vegetarian US citizen daughter, born Oct 76,
5’4”, BS Nursing, well employed, from professional welleducated
cultured boys. Email: aplajs@yahoo.com
36

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
F1080: Jain parents invite alliance for beautiful charming
vegetarian family oriented daughter, born March 74, 5’1”, MD,
pursuing final yr pediatrics residency in NY, from professional
well-educated cultured gentlemen. Ph: 347/365-6216.
gyanbaid@yahoo.com
F1094: Gujarati parents invite correspondence for beautiful
very-fair charming talented vegetarian US born daughter, April
78, 5’0”, BS (MIS), from cultured professional well-educated
boys. Ph: 304-255-0045. ilashah1223@yahoo.com
F1117: Gujarati parents invite correspondence for beautiful
accomplished daughter, born March 81, 5’5”, 110 lb, 4th Year
Medical student. Call: 606/571-2145. Email:
shah7580@yahoo.com
F1122 Proposals invited w/photo bio-data for beautiful very
fair slim daughter, Oct 74, 5’3”, 105 lb, comp Sc, working in
senior position for Intl co., issueless brief marriage, from
vegetarian educated professionally settled match. Email:
knighting_gale@hotmail.com
F1152: Gujarati parents invite responses w/photo bio-data
from cultured non smoking professional boys, for beautiful
slim accomplished US born daughter, Dec 81, 5’3”, 110 lb,
BS gen. eng, pursuing MS, well employed as Engineer. Ph:
847/259-0975. maheshc49@hotmail.com
F1158: Proposals invited w/photo bio-data for charming very
attractive US born daughter, Dec 81, 5’3”, 110 lb, BSE (oper.
eng) health-care management professional, from MD or
professional boys. Email: madhubapna@aol.com
F1162: Alliance invited for beautiful slim accomplished US
born daughter, Sept 74, 5’3”, MD, 100 lb, rheumatology
fellow, from cultured professional boys. Ph: 585/872-2859.
Email: jdmis2006@yahoo.com
F1163: Gujarati parents invite responses for beautiful talented
vegetarian US born daughter, Jan 81, 5’4”, BS, well employed,
from cultured well-educated professional boys. Ph: 518/756-
8861. Email: smita364shah@yahoo.com
F1164: Gujarati parents invite responses for beautiful fair
charming vegetarian US born daughter, 1980, 5’3”, 110 lb,
4th year Medical student, from cultured vegetarian non-smoker
medical students, Physicians. Ph: 908/251-4027. Email:
rgimaple@yahoo.com
F1165: Alliance invited for beautiful fair slim vegetarian greencard
holder Gujarati girl, born Nov 81, 5’1”, MS (commerce),
from cultured vegetarian Gujarati educated boys. Email:
ami_yummy@yahoo.com
F1166: Gujarati parents invite proposals for beautiful fair slim
talented vegetarian US citizen daughter, Dec 79, 5’4”, 107,
BS (O.T.), pursuing MHA, from cultured well-educated boys.
Ph: 561/373-1829. hashah115@hotmail.com
F1168: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data from
cultured professional boys, for pretty slim vegetarian US citizen
daughter, July 82, 5’1”, 98 lb, BS (Fin). Ph: 410/884-9210.
bitubabu81@yahoo.com
F1172: Gujarati patents invite proposals for beautiful slim
talented vegetarian US born daughter, May 77, 5’0”, BSN
(RN), well employed with Hospital, from cultured welleducated
boys. Ph: 609/605-0086. amishah_rn@hotmail.com
F1173: Gujarati parents invite responses for beautiful slim
charming US born daughter, April 76, 5’3”, MD, doing
fellowship, from cultured well-educated professional boys. Ph:
408/733-1132. ranimpex@comcast.net
F1178: Alliance invited from cultured professional vegetarian
boys, for very-pretty fair slim charming accomplished Jain Girl,
born Nov 79, 5’2”, 106 lb, MS (com sc), employed as Lecturer
in India and willing to settle in USA. Ph: 503/703-5395. Email:
prajai@yahoo.com
F1179: Gujarati Jain parents invite proposals from welleducated
professional vegetarian boys, for pretty, vegetarian
physician US born daughter, May 76, 5’0”, MD, pediatrician
/ private practice in Naperville IL. Ph: 847/541-4155.
advance79@hotmail.com
F1180: Gujarati parents invite responses w/photo bio-data for
never married beautiful charming vegetarian family-oriented
US born daughter, April 73, 5’7”, well employed from educated
US born vegetarian professionals. Ph: 330/289-9491.
sonal.jasani@sherwin.com
F1181: Gujarati parents invite proposals for beautiful
professional US born daughter, Dec 77, 5’3”, BA, working in
Chicago with reputed co., from well educated vegetarian
professionals. Ph: 330/289-9603 / 330/869-0067.
shimuljasani@yahoo.com
F1182: Gujarati parents invite responses for beautiful slim
virtuous vegetarian US citizen daughter, July 79, 5’1”, BS
(com), AA (comp sc), well employed, from cultured educated
vegetarian professional boys preferably India raised. Ph: 407/
786-6405. nitin_482003@yahoo.com
Matrimonials
37

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Matrimonials
AF367: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data for
beautiful affectionate vegetarian US born daughter, Oct 77,
5’4”, PharmD, employed as Pharmacist, from well-educated
professional US born boys. Ph: 312/802-0067.
Benu444@yahoo.com
AF407: Gujarati parents invite alliance for beautiful fair slim
vegetarian daughter, born July 77, 5’4”, MS (management)
well positioned with large MNC, from cultured educated
Gujarati Jain boys. Email: shubham48@hotmail.com
AF435: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data for
pretty successful vegetarian US born daughter, June 79, 5’5”,
MD, doing residency. Ph: 516/302-7431.
ms1698@yahoo.com
AF475: Jain parents invite proposals for beautiful fair slim
charming vegetarian US born daughter, June 79, 5’6”, 110 lb,
DDS, working with reputed organization, from well-educated
cultured vegetarian boys, born raised in US. Ph: 469/831-
2120. Email: insty@verizon.net
AF483: Gujarati parents invite responses for cultured
professional vegetarian US citizen daughter, Nov 79, 4’11”,
105 lb, PharmD, employed as Pharmacist, from cultured welleducated
boys. Ph: 847/401-6168.
meghnashah13@hotmail.com
AF496: Gujarati parents invite proposals for pretty slim
vegetarian US citizen daughter, Dec 81, 5’3”, 110 lb, BS (comp
sc), well employed, from cultured professional boys. Call: 732/
297-2757. shma23@hotmail.com
AF497: Gujarati parents invite responses w/photo bio-data
from well-educated vegetarian non-smoking professionals for
beautiful talented US citizen daughter, Aug 80, 5’7”, BS –
CIS, employed with reputed co. Ph: 714/736-5431.
punamshah@sbcglobal.net
AF501: Alliance invited for attractive slim intelligent Gujarati
vegetarian US born daughter, Oct 78, 5’1”, PhD, currently at
major research institute, from well educated vegetarian US
citizen boys. Email: sayah1005@yahoo.com
AF502: Gujarati parents invite alliance for pretty slim
vegetarian talented US born daughter, July 81, 5’3”, BA,
pursuing MS in special education, well employed, from cultured
well-educated professional US citizen boys. Ph: 817/795-4392.
pshah439@yahoo.com
AF503: Gujarati parents invite alliance w/photo bio-data for
beautiful slim US born daughter, March 80, 5’6”, BS, working
as teacher of handicapped in school, from professional boys.
Ph: 201/265-7160. kcshah1@hotmail.com
AF504: Gujarati parents proposals w/photo bio-data for
beautiful vegetarian physician US born daughter, Aug 78, 5’3”,
DO, 3rd year resident, from cultured professional vegetarian
boys. Ph: 216/235-8374. sodhb@yahoo.com
AF505: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/bio-data photo for
pretty vegetarian US citizen daughter, June 81, 5’3”, BS
consumer & textile science, from cultured professional welleducated
boys. Email: avanis28@hotmail.com
AF511: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data for
beautiful vegetarian blend of east / west US born daughter,
Aug 83, 5’5”, Medical Student, final year, from professional
vegetarian boys. Ph: 407/376-1531. sej2007@gmail.com
AF512: Jain parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data for
beautiful attractive fair charming vegetarian US born daughter,
Nov 78, 5’6”, 110 lb, MD, radiology resident, from handsome
professionals preferred MD. Email: drjain111@yahoo.com
AF513: Gujarati parents invite responses w/photo bio-data for
beautiful charming slim fair accomplished vegetarian daughter,
Jan 81, 5’5”, MS (physiology) recipient of merit scholarship,
taking interest in family business throughout North America,
from North America born / raised vegetarian professional boys.
Email: lilt12481@yahoo.com
AF514: Gujarati parents invite proposals w/photo bio-data from
professional boys, for beautiful charming slim vegetarian US
Citizen daughter, May 80, 5’1”, MD, doing 2nd Yr residency.
Email: hbkrs@hotmail.com
F1049: Gujarati Jain parents invite proposals for attractive
academically brilliant musically gifted pianist US born daughter,
April 1977, 5'-3", 110 lbs, MS (Chem. Eng), well employed,
from well-educated vegetarian US-raised professionally settled
boys. Ph: 781-413-1188. Email: india1757@yahoo.com
38

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Auditor’s Statement
39

JAIN DIGEST• Fall 2006
Auditor’s Statement
40