Federation Of Jain Associations in North America
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Sincerely, | |||||||||||||
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| The moment we are aware of a hindrance in our nature to that fulfillment which all life unconsciously seeks,aware of it as a fetter upon ourselves,that moment we are on the way to its abolition. - Bhagwan Mahavir | |||||||||||||
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 Padmaprabhu Swami is the 6th Tirthankar of this Avsarpani Kaal. He was the son of King Shridhar and queen Shushima. He was born in the town of Kaushambi. He was named Padmaprabhu because in the initial stages her mother always wanted to sleep on a lotus. He had 107 gandhars and took 3 bhavs after Samiyak Darshan to attain Moksh. The topic of his first sermon was Sansar Bhavna. He compared sansar with ocean and explained that the way the amount of water in an ocean is unaccountable, the same way, the number of times we take birth and death is also unaccountable. He also said that our soul keeps on changing its body according to its deeds and in this process it has to bear lot of pain and hardship. Sometime a soul may take birth as a king, and sometimes it takes birth in an animal. It all depends on what kind of karma we do and how we live our life. He also said that a soul has to suffer everywhere, no matter where it is. Even Dev Gati is not free from unhappiness. Hence, by explaining the weirdness of Sansar, where we are in constant cycle of birth and death, Bhagwan showed the path of Diksha and preached the importance of Diksha in achieving our ultimate goal of Moksh. | |||||||||||||
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 Gyan Paacham is a festival where we celebrate the importance of Jinvani. It is the festival of Jinbhakti. In Jainism there are 5 types of gyan, namely- Mati Gyan, Shrut Gyan, Avdhi Gyan, Man-Paryav Gyan and Keval Gyan. Out of all these types, Shrut Gyan is one of the most significant types because it is through this Gyan that we are able to acquire Keval Gyan. It helps to judge between, what is right and what is wrong for the soul. It helps us identify which actions will lead us where. In the present era, there are no Tirthankars, Kevali Bhagwant and Chaudh Purvi, etc and so we can only rely on Shrut Gyan which means Jinvani to attain Moksh. | |||||||||||||
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| Jainism believes that the more a person possesses in worldly wealth, the more (s)he may be unhappy and the more likely (s)he is to commit sin, both physically and mentally. Jains believe that possessions are an obstacle to liberation. Jain monks have virtually no possessions, while Jain Shravaks try to minimize their possessions. People form attachments to possessions and desire more possessions: possessions become an end in themselves. This gets in the way of detachment and spiritual growth. Non-acquisition is also an ecologically sound doctrine as it leads to reduction in use of natural resources. | |||||||||||||
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 JAINA is hosting Story Writing Competition based on ‘Principle of Aparighra ’. The best story will get published in our newsletter and at www.jaina.org. Please send your entries to [email protected] by 18th November, 2016. Competition Rules: 1. Age: No bar 2. Articles should be in English language and maximum 400 words long in a word file. 3. Writing style must be clear and easy to understand. 4.Please write your name, address and phone number along with the story. 5. Story is welcomed from anywhere in the world. | |||||||||||||
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| Jain Center of Greater Phoenix | |||||||||||||
 Jain Center of Greater Phoenix welcomed the 2016 Diwali and New Year weekend in Phoenix with seva. Several volunteers prepared and served hot vegetarian breakfast to over 500 people at the Andre House Homeless Shelter from 5-8am Between 9-11:30am, some 350 people conducted Diwali puja with tremendous Bhav. And more than 50 kids participated gleefully in Rangoli Competition using water-colored rice. The event ended with a Aarti followed by dinner. | |||||||||||||
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| Young Jains of America wishes everyone a happy and peaceful Diwali and New Year! YJA local representatives from Atlanta and Chicago hosted meetups at the Diwali events at their local Sanghs, and enjoyed the chance to engage with the local Jain community. YJA will be kicking off this new year by hosting 27 National Dinners across the country from Oct 29-Nov 11. Here is the full list of National Dinners in various region at the links below: | |||||||||||||
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 YJP is making it easier for you to connect with local Jain professionals in your city/region! Join a group today! Please click on below link to review about your region/ city group update | |||||||||||||
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