A grand Anjanshalak Mahotsav was held at Jirawala Parshwanath Tirth in Rajasthan on Feb 3, 2017. Rashtrasant Namramuni Maharaj Saheb had a mild heart attack and underwent a successful Angioplasty on 9th Feb, 2017. Gurudev Namramuni is now recovering at Parasdham, Mumbai. Over 1,000 Ayambil’s have been conducted around the world for Gurudev’s fast recovery.
On-line Pathshala is enjoying an overwhelming response around the world. Congratulations to Hetali Lodaya & Avis Jain - YJA Co-chairs and their team for job well done!
Sincerely,
Ashok Domadia JAINA President Chairman - JAINA BOD
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
As gold does not cease to be gold even if it is heated in the fire; an enlightened man does not cease to be enlightened on being tortured by the effects of karma.
- Mahavira (Mulachara 2/44)
KNOW YOUR TIRTHANKAR
Munisuvrath Swami is the 20th Tirthankar of the Avsarpani kaal. He was born to King Sumitra and Queen Padmavati Devi in the city of Rajgiri. He attained nirvana at Samet Shikhar and had 18 Gandhars. He took 3 bhavs after Samyak Darshan to attain moksh. The topic of his first sermon was Marganusarita.
Marganusarita means a soul with less Kshayas and 35 qualities that were mentioned by Munisuvrath Swami. A Marganusari can only go ahead on the path of religion.
KNOWLEDGE
Mati Gyan has 28 principle divisions in accordance with thought process. Mati Gyan is a kind of Paroksha Gyan which includes samvyavaharika pratyaksh, smriti, sangya, tark and anumana.
Samvyavaharika pratyaksh- this knowledge is conditioned by the senses and the mind and is limited. It is said to be conditioned by the senses where the senses play a major part and the mind exerts influence in its generations and it is said to be conditioned by the mind when it is generated by the mind alone. Accordingly it is classified into 2 kinds- sensuous (indriya) and Non-senseous (anindriya). Thus totally samvyavaharika pratyaksh is of 6 kinds-5 senses and 1 mind.
Smriti- memory is the cognition generated by experience. It is a cognition which has for its condition, the stimulation of memory- impression. Recollection is the cognition generated only by experience. Memory is that cognition which is cause by the awakening of past impressions.
Sangya- it is a synthetic cognition arising out of perception and memory assumes the forms such as “this is the same as that”, “this is similar to that”, “this is dissimilar”, “this is opposite of that”.
Tark (inductive reasoning)- it is knowledge of universal concomitance which is caused by apprehension and non apprehension. Inductive reasoning is the knowledge of universal concomitance conditioned by observation and non-observation.
Anuman (inference)-it is the knowledge of probandum (sadhya) on the strength of the probans (sadhna). It doesn’t mean guessing, it is true and definite knowledge based on evidence. Eg- there is smoke on the hill (perception). Wherever there is smoke there is fire. Therefore it follows that there is fire on the hill.
JIRAWALA PARSHWANATH - PRATISHTHA
Between January 28, 2017 to February 3, 2017 Shri Jirawala Parshwanath Tirth, Rajashthan celebrated the Anjanshalaka Pratishtha in the pure and supreme divinity of our Tirthankar Bhagwan.
Tens of thousands of devotees from around the World took blessings from Shree Jirawala Parshwanath Bhagwan - our 23rd Tirthankar and enjoyed this grand Pratishtha.
JAIN CENTER UPDATE
JAIN SOCIETY OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO
Though January is marred with cold weather in the Midwest but come to Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago (JSMC) and you will find it bustling with activity.
At JSMC we started the year with our Semi Annual Pratimaji Sudhdhikaran Project where close to 30 volunteers came together under the leadership of our Religious Secretary. The team cleansed Pratimaji’s of Tirthankar and Dev-Devi’s as is traditionally done in India. The month progressed with 50 members of JSMC committing for a better health by joining the 8 week Yoga Training Session conducted at the JSMC Center. The month ended with the most awaited youth event of winter, JSMC Lock In.
More than 155 kids from the age group of 8 to 15 participated in the JSMC Lock In event where the kids stay overnight at the JSMC center. The evening started with Kids and Volunteers performing Aarti together in the temple. After Aarti all parents were asked to leave leaving behind just the kids and volunteers. The night saw kids enjoying group games such as tag ball, dance competition, Geographic championship, Kho and the Amazing Race. While many of the kids were playing the games, others were enjoying various activity stations like creating Chinese lanterns, nail arts and tattoos. From non-stop bouncing on the inflatables to running, jumping, dancing for the minute-to-win-it games kids were just having fantastic time. There were groups playing table tennis, doing freeze dance, karaoke and yet others were just sitting in a big circle and bonding. After so many jumping and bouncing, to calm them, we also had a soothing Yoga and Meditation session. The event was supported by 30 volunteers including members of YJA and YJP.
February is going to be another exciting months starting with JSMC Computer Classes for beginners in Gujarati. For more information on activities please visit us at www.jsmconline.org or drop us a note at .
ACHARYA DR LOKESH MUNI IN AUSTRIA
Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni was invited as representative from Jain religion in the Advisory Forum meeting of World’s prestigious Inter Religion and Inter Cultural platform KAICIID (King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue).
Acharya Dr Lokesh Muni mentioned that world is facing numerous challenges which are threatening our planet. He observed that world citizens believe in different religions & rituals and communities have different cultures & lifestyle, which is the inherent beauty of our world. In order to protect the multicultural nature of this world, 24th Tirthankar of Jain religion Bhagwan Mahavir’s principle of Anekant Darshan (Unity in Diversity) can be very useful in this world at this moment.
YJA UPDATE
Registration for the Mid-Atlantic (2/18-2/20), South (3/10-3/12) and Southeast (3/17-3/19) Retreats is now open at yja.org! The Mid-West Retreat is sold out but sign up for the waitlist to receive updates in case of a cancellation. The retreats are filling quickly so be sure to reserve your place soon!
Sign up for YJA Pathshala, our new online pathshala program, at ! This is a low-time commitment, low-stress way to build (or refresh, if it’s been a while) your knowledge of Jainism basics and discover the parts of our religion that you connect the most with.
The application to host the next YJA convention is now open at yja.org/2018! Interested in bring #YJA18 to your city? Fill out the Bid Packet! If you have any questions, please feel free to email and get excited for the 2018 YJA Convention!
JAIN STORY: KING MEGHARATH
Once there was a discussion going on in Indra's (head of heavenly angels) court. One of the demi-gods said that there are brave and merciful kings on Earth who would not hesitate laying down their own lives to protect those who come to them for a shelter. Another demi-god doubted his statement. The two began to argue and so Indra intervened by asking them to go to the Earth and see for themselves. The two demi-gods made a plan of action. One of them decided to take the form of a pigeon, and the other took the form of a hawk...
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