04.03.2017 ►JAINA ►Newsletter

Jai Jinendra!

On February 17, 2017, Chair in Jain Studies was established at University of California, Riverside. Thanks to Maheshbhai Wadher, JAINA VP-West, for generous donation of $ 250K, along with donation of $ 250K by Dr. Jasvant Modi and $ 100K by Vijaybhai Chedda from Los Angeles.

As a reminder, JAINA maintains updated Master Schedule of events at various Jain Centers at . It can help you decide if you wish to attend any event at a local Jain Center when you travel to another city.

JAINA also has an excellent collection of 30 Jain Stories at to help enhance your religious knowledge.

Sincerely,

Ashok Domadia
JAINA President & Chairman

The sun scorches only during the day, but cupid scorches in the day as well as in the night. One can protect oneself from the sun, but cannot from cupid.

- Mahavira (BhagavtiAradhana)

Neminath Swami is the 22nd Tirthankar of the Avsarpani kaal. He was born to King Samudravijay and Queen Shiva Devi in the city of Shouryapur. He attained nirvana at Raivatgiri and had 11 Gandhars. He took 9 bhavs after Samyak Darshan to attain moksh. The topic of his first sermon was Abhakshya Tyag.

We should not eat abhaksha and anantkai. Alchol and Non Vegetarian food are called Abhaksha. These are not permitted in any form. Anantkais are the plant which are inhabitate not like the majority of the vegetable kingdom by individual jeev, jeevas but by an infinite number of living organization.

Sphatika Crystal is pure and transparent gem so is the soul also pure and transparent in its original form. If we place near the Sphatica, any colour-, it acquires that colour and radiance. The soul also assumes various forms in accordance with the effect of the various putgals on it. It keeps wandering through various conditions. The Jain dharma gives the name, “Lesya” to the various transformation that the soul undergoes.

The propensity and mental reactions are called lesya. The effect of thinking of the environment and of food falls on the body and the mind, either deeply or lightly. The colour of the body also changes in accordance with that effect. The face of an angry man grows red and blood seems to rush out of his eyes. The face of a man who is in despair or dejection grows pail. The brightness of his face fades away. The face assumes different colour under the impact of love or infatuation. All these changes take place on account of lesya. The lesya have been properly classified on the basis of the colours that appear or disappear in the face on account of the effect of propensities and thoughts. In Jainism there is a great deal of importance given to lesya. Lesya refers to the state of mind. Our activities reflect the state of our mind. There are 6 types of lesyas.

1) Krishna Lesya- Black
2) Neel Lesya- Blue
3) Kapot lesya- Brown
4) Tejo Lesya- Red
5) Padma Lesya- Yellow
6) Shukla Lesya- White

On the evening of December 23rd. 2016, our youth coordinator, Shivani Doshi had arranged an Alumni get together with the generous offer of Amar Gada. Our keynote speaker was a past alumni and a successful entrepreneur, Nimit Maru, who owns and operates an IT training institute in New York and Chicago.

The presentation was inspiring and enjoyable as Nimit spoke about his personal story and the path he took through his many business ventures with both successes and failures and the lessons he learnt from those struggles. Our Level 3 and Level 4 students along with their parents had a chance to meet many of our past Pathshala students who are pursuing different educational paths and professional careers. Nimit and the alumni shared their experiences and shared advice that would help them going forward.

Once there were six friends, who were going on a trip. Along the way, they got lost in a forest. After a while they were hungry and thirsty. They searched for the food for some time, and finally found a fruit treeAs they ran to the tree, the first man said, "Let’s cut the tree down and get the fruit." The second one said, "Don’t cut the whole tree down, cut off a big branch instead." The third friend said…

YJA hosted its 2017 Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West Retreats in Matamoras, PA and Alto, MI, respectively, over Presidents' Day weekend. The Mid-Atlantic attendees hit the slopes of the Pocono Mountains, discussed how Jainism influences their daily lives and got into a friendly snowball fight! Out to prove that they were, in fact, #MidBest, Mid-West attendees enjoyed sunrise yoga, vegan s'mores, an interfaith discussion and much more all with beautiful lakeside views! There is still time to register for the YJA West and Northeast Retreats so don't miss out on the fun!

While we're anticipating the 2017 JAINA Convention, it's also time to start preparations for the 2018 YJA Convention! If you would like to bring the convention fun to your city, fill out the bid packet now available at by March 31st!

B. V. Sudhakar (left), secretary of the Department of Posts of the Government of India, is greeted by Deepak Chopra, president and CEO of Canada Post for historic bilateral meetings.

Discussions focused on historic stamp issue for Canada’s sesquicentennial as well as growing e-commerce

Representatives from India Post recently concluded a productive three-day visit to Canada, where bilateral meetings were held with senior officials from Canada Post to discuss a historic joint stamp issue.

Meetings were conducted in Ottawa and Toronto to discuss the long-standing working relationship between the two postal services. In addition to a joint stamp issue, e-commerce was a main topic of conversation between the two countries.

“This stamp - to mark the festival of Diwali - is Canada Post’s first joint issue with India. Not only will it represent our country’s proud diversity, it will celebrate the close bond between both countries,” said Deepak Chopra, president and CEO of Canada Post.

In attendance with Chopra were B. V. Sudhakar, secretary of the Department of Posts of the Government of India, and Dinesh Bhatia, consul general of India in Toronto.

Please write an essay on your understanding of Leshya and how it plays a role in our Spiritual life.

The best essay will get published in our newsletter and at www.jaina.org. Please send your entries to [email protected] by 18th February, 2017.

Competition Rules:
1. Age: No bar
2. Articles should be in English language and maximum 300 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 essay.
5. Essay is welcomed from anywhere in the world.

The first three leshyas lead the soul to ruin, and the last three lead the soul to the spiritual prosperity. A person with black Leshya will go to hell. A person with blue lesya is reincarnated in plant life and person with grey lesya is reincarnated in animal life. On the other hand, persons having red lesya are reincarnated as humans, those with yellow lesya are reincarnated as celestial beings while those having white lesya are either reborn in highest heaven or having achieved purity attain liberation.

To get the answer please visit website		Find below words: 1) Leshya 2) Black 3) Blue 4) Grey 5) Red 6) Yellow 7) White 8) Liberation