09.01.2016 ►JVB NJ ►Inspiration | Vol 27 News & Upcoming Programs @ HereNow4U

Acharya Mahashraman 2016 New Years Message:

From
Acharya Tulsi

Main hoon - main hai, bhed par, jab jata hai dhyan, sambhav banati hai tabhi, atma ki pahachan

When we pay attention to the difference between "I am" and "I is", only then it can be possible to recognize the self.

The Heartiness of Anekanta

Mutual Connection
Co-existence of Opposite Pairs

It is in the nature of objects to find opposite pairs within them. It is also in their nature to discover that the opposite pairs co-exist. The question is how to accept this as a distinct possibility.Two opposing qualities co-existing in the same single object......how is that possible? It is a difficult problem. And yet there is no problem within the object. In this world there is nothing that is always in opposition, always in different stances or variation. It is an important find of anekanta that no element is always alike or always different. They are not always similar nor are they always dissimilar. That, which we think is alike and similar has points of differences as well as dissimilarities. That, which we think is different is similar also. We announce our conclusion of similarity and dissimilarity, likeness and otherwise, difference or otherwise on the basis of gross appearances. But when we enter the world of the subtle, we realize our thinking is not all true. All our rules change there. Our thinking is based on the gross manifested properties of the object. When the world of avyakta or the unmanifested modes opens before us, when the world of unknown becomes known to us, then we begin to understand the rules governing the world of the subtle and all our thoughts based on the gross world begin to change.

Excerpts from "ANEKANTA THE THIRD EYE" by Acharya Mahaprajna

Jain Sutra - Arth

Navkar Mantra

Ṇamō Arihantāṇaṁ - I bow to the Arihants

Ṇamō Siddhāṇaṁ - bow to the Siddhas
Ṇamō Ayariyāṇaṁ  - I bow to the Acharyas
Ṇamō Uvajjhāyāṇaṁ  - I bow to the Upadhyayas
Ṇamō Lōē Savva Sāhūṇaṁ  - I bow to all the Sadhus of the world.
Ēsōpan̄caṇamōkkārō,  - This five-fold salutation completely
savvapāvappaṇāsaṇō  - destroys all the sins.

Maṅgalā ṇaṁ ca savvēsiṁ, - And, of all auspicious mantras, (it) is
paḍamama havaī maṅgalaṁ - indeed the foremost auspicious one.

8 Day Weekend Gyata Dharma Katha Agam Workshop

Under the auspicious guidance of Samanijis, JVBNA members embarked on their annual month long Agam workshop on Saturday, Nov 21, at the JVBNA center. This year's Agam is Gyata Dharma Katha. This Agam was Samani Satya Pragyaji's subject of Ph.D. research some years ago and her deep insight along with Samani Rohini Pragyaji's knowledge of Prakrit added a new dimension to the first two sessions of the workshop. The workshop continued through the month of December and was an extremely enriching experience for all. By popular demand, Part 2 of the workshop will offered starting on Saturday, Feb 13 and will run through the month of February. No registration will be required for this part and all are welcome to join. As each session deals with a new chapter, which essentially is a new insightful story, everyone is encouraged to attend sessions whenever they can.

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Youth Forum on Eating Habits & Health

By Yash Jain

We went to youth forum to learn about “ Eating Habits and Health ”. In Youth Forum, we had group activity discussing two questions. The first one was what we have been told about good eating habits. The second one was what we believe are good eating habits. There were many responses to these questions.

We learned the proper ways to eat. Samani Satya Pragya ji told us to eat mindfully. This means to eat with full thoughts on food, without watching television. It also means to chew your food 32 times and no multitasking. Samani Rohini Pragya ji explained the aspects of health in three respects, namely, Balanced diet, fasting and ejection. We discussed various types of fasting practices prescribed in Jainism

Hansraj ji Uncle explained the importance of good health with the analogy of boats. As a good boat will help us to reach the destination similarly a good health will help us throughout our life. To maintain good health, we need to know when to eat. Some of the main things you need to know here is to not eat immediately after sunrise or late at night. Then, we discussed how to eat. You need to “be there”, which means to have full concentration and mind on food. If food is not tasty, then still eat it. If it is not salty enough, then still eat it. You also need to note that if you do not feel hungry, then do not eat the food, since if you overeat, then it is not healthy. After that, we discussed what to eat. We concluded that we should always be killing minimum living things while we are eating. So therefore, you should not be eating red meat, seafood, roots, or eggs. Finally, we talked about the impact food habits have on our mental health, such as the endocrine system.

In conclusion, we talked about our eating food habits and health. First, both the Samanijis discussed about eating mindfully and the aspects of fasting. Then, Hansraj ji Uncle told about how life is like a voyage and how health plays a big role in it. Finally, we learned when to eat, how to eat, what to eat, and what these food habits have an impact on our mental health. Bhavi Daftary was the MC for the forum.

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Gyanshala Holiday Drive to benefit Ozanam Family Shelter

On December 13th, 2015 under the auspicious guidance of respected Samani Satya Pragyaji & Samani Rohini Pragyaji, JVBNJ Gyanshala students, parents, and teachers conducted a holiday drive by supplying daily hygiene items to Ozanam Family shelter located in Edison, NJ.

The children were also given a tour of the shelter. The sight of big families living in small square of room with just one bunk bed and a closet was disconcerting. Younger group of Gyanshala students were brimming with curiosity, and asked questions such as: “Do the children living in shelter go to school?, Do they get to eat ice creams and hot chocolate? Do they get medical help when needed?” and many more!! The insights gained at the shelter were heartwarming and emotional.

It was indeed a humbling experiences to be cherished when Gyanshala students faced this part of world as well and realized the Jain belief that “Sharing is caring”, and facts about aparigraha and Samabhavana. Children also realized that some help and gestures can go long way for some people in need and to make their lives better. Thus, by means of Gyanshala Holiday drive, Gyanshala students had a wonderful opportunity to practice their Jain spirits during the holiday season and hope to make this into a tradition in the near future.

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Inaugural Jaap at the JVBNA New Center

December 15, 2015 will go down in the history of JVBNA as an important milestone. A vision of a bigger center, which would be capable of supporting the rising needs of our community and would allow us to expand our programs in meaningful ways to engage the society on the path to spiritual growth, took its very first step towards fruition.

With the blessings of Acharyashri Mahashraman and spiritual guidance from Samanijis, we finally acquired the property on 155 Front Street, South Plainfield, NJ 07080.

The very next evening, on Dec 16, our NEW CENTER was inaugurated by Samani Satya Pragyaji and Samani Rohini Pragyaji with Mangal Jaap Anushthan, prayers and speech by both the Samanijis.

Samani Satya Pragya ji said JVBNA team has worked hard to fulfill its dream of establishing big spiritual center for the Jain community. She added that now let us plan well and progress in the direction of individual and collective spiritual practices.

Samani Rohini Pragya congratulated the entire community for their achievement and their vision to enhance the spiritual activity of the center.

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New Year Jaap, Annual General Meeting & EC 2016 Oath

JVBNA New Jersey celebrated the New Year 2016 at the JVBNA New Center at South Plainfield, under the auspicious guidance of Samani Dr. Satya Pragyaji and Samani Dr. Rohini Pragyaji. Master of the ceremony, Hemant Surana, graciously welcomed the audience and the program was inaugurated with Navkar Mantra and New Year Jaap led by Samanijis. The Jaap was followed by Manglacharan performed in the melodious voice of Madhumita Parmar.

In her speech, Samani Dr. Rohini Pragyaji stated that three powers work behind every success - man power, money power and management power. She added that It was time for all of us to leverage these powers with spiritual activities to keep the platform of this new center active.

The Annual General Meeting began with the remarks of President Madhumita Sacheti, who stated that EC 2015 was one of the luckiest teams in the history of JVBNA because of auspicious inspiration from 10 Samanijis, acquisition of bigger center, a cohesive EC team, and a devoted supportive board. A video created by Ashish Jain highlighting the EC 2015 activities was screened. Treasurer Sudhir Jain presented the 2015 financial statements and a Q&A session followed. Chairman Pratap Jain expressed his gratitude towards Samanijis and the team for their perseverance in acquiring the new property. He also expressed his gratitude towards Acharyashri for blessings of Samanijis throughout the years.

Two videos depicting Acharyashri Mahashraman 's blessings and message for the New Year were screened and much appreciated by everyone.

Samani Dr. Satya Pragyaji announced and blessed the EC 2016 team and an oath ceremony followed. President Madhumita Sacheti remarked on JVBNA's focus on education for 2016 under the initiative and guidance of Samanijis and encouraged everyone to make spiritual education a part of their new year resolution. Shweta Daftary and her Online Classroom team comprising Ashish Jain, Sheetal Daftary, and Deepa Jain introduced the Online Classroom launched on Jan 1. Hansraj Nahata spoke about the restructured Youth Forum under the guidance of Samanijis.

Samani Dr. Satya Pragyaji introduced the existing Board members and announced the induction of three new members to the JVBNA Board. Director Mool Singhi discussed the status of the new center project and encouraged everyone to volunteer for various sub committees to steer the project forward. Director Surendra Kanakariya spoke about the financial needs of the project and appealed to everyone to come forward with their generous contributions.

In her speech, Dr. Samani Satya Pragyaji wished everyone a happy New year and emphasized that New year not only brings new date on the calendar but also new energy and enthusiasm. She added that New year invigorates every one like a rising sun with manifold plans. She further said that It was a matter of great pride to welcome this New year 2016 in the New Center of New Jersey and that she believed that everyone would realize their spiritual resolution on this occasion and would pray to be endowed with insight of knowledge, wisdom and devotion. The program ended with Mangal Path and blessings for the new year from Samanijis.

Happy New Year!

Please click on the link below for the JVBNA EC 2016 and JVBNA Board Lists

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JVBNA Online Classroom

Under the auspicious guidance of Samanji Satya Pragyaji and Samanji Rohini Pragyaji, JVBNJ is proud to announce the official launch of Online Classroom on January 1, 2016. It was a joint effort of Samanjis and team members to create the online Jainism classes. These online classes are designed to provide opportunities to interested participants of all ages to learn and understand the fundamentals of Jain philosophy.

The course is designed to be conducted online in a self-study mode using audio-video technology for delivery of weekly lectures. Relevant reference materials are also provided. The weekly time commitment is about 30 mins.

In 2016, the online classroom is offering Jainism 101. Jainism101 is designed to be conducted over a year to cover 4 main segments in 4 quarters - Jeev 101, Ajeev 101, Nav Tattva 101, Shad Dravya 101. The primary language of instruction is Hindi. Registration is required and is still open. Please click on the link below to access the detailed flyer and to register.

Click here to read more about it.

Regular Sessions

Preksha Meditation - Tuesdays - 7:30PM - 8:30PM - JVBNA Center
Swadhyay - Thursdays - 7:30PM - 8:30PM - JVBNA Center
Youth Forum - 3rd Friday of Every Month - 7PM - 9PM - JVBNA Center (Upcoming Dates - Jan 22, Feb 19, Mar 18)
Gyanshala - Two Sundays every month - Jan - 3:30PM - 6PM - Franklin Temple Classrooms
Pakshik Pratikraman - Every Pakkhi - 7:30 PM - JVBNA Center (Upcoming Dates - Jan 9, 22, Feb 7, 22, Mar 8, 23)
Online Classroom - Weekly - First quarter in progress

Upcoming Events

JVB Orlando 20th Annual Spiritual Camp featuring 8 Samanijis - MLK Weekend - Jan 15-18, 2016
Maryada Mahotsav Celebration - Feb 12, 13, & 14
8 Day Weekend Gyata Dharma Katha Agam Workshop (PART2) - Begins Feb 13, 2016 and runs through February - Every Sat and Sun - 10 AM - 12 Noon - JVBNA Center - No Registration Required - Open to All
Holi Milan - Saturday, March 26

09.01.2016 ►JVB NJ ►Inspiration | Vol 27 News & Upcoming Programs