07.04.2017 ►JAINA ►Newsletter

Jai Jinendra!

On behalf of JAINA, I wish all Tapasvis good sukh-shata during this Ayambil Oli.

This month we present Theory of Karma which is universally accepted and now lets understand in detail.

We will be giving a detailed biography of our religious leaders and their contribution to our society beginning with this News letter. We start with a bio sketch of Acharyashri Chandanaji from Veerayatan.



Sincerely,

Ashok Domadia
JAINA President & Chairman

A truthful man is treated as reliable as the mother,as venerable as the guru (preceptor) and as belovedas the one who commands knowledge.

- BhagwanMahavir (Mulachara, 837)

UNODARI - is second type of bahya tap. Una - means empty, Uder-means the stomach.

Unodari is of two types:

Dravya unodari - means keeping less things than required and eating and drinking water less than what one desires to eat and drink at the time of eating and drinking than the extent of one’s hunger and thirst.we should keep the stomach empty to some extent. It is believed that when one is healthy,one needs food that can supply 2500 calories of heat to the body. This is considered enough. Jain dharma prescribed 32 handful of food for male and 28 handful of food for female. And in order to perform this tap,one may eat a few handful less than the prescribed amount.

Bhav unodari - means to limit our desires to some extent and also controlling our kashayas.i.e anger,pride,greed and deceit. Bhav unodari is more difficult than dravya unodari but once this stars then we will limit our desires for things in our daily life and it is Dravya unodari that leads us to Bhav unodari.

One can have many negative emotions that can lead him to wrong path. Therefore,it is important that one not only reduces his normal diet but also reduces his passions. By reducing the intake of food and controlling the kashayas, one not only gains physically but also benefits mentally,emotionally and spiritually.

Unodary keeps us healthy and keeps us way from the doctor and diseases but most importantly it strengthens the spirituality.

Jain Centers of USA and Canada are getting ready to celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak. This list will help you know program details for Jain Centers near to you.

What else can you call someone that has given eyesight to hundreds and thousands of people other than a hero? Acharya Shri Chandanaji has done just that. To date, she has given the ability to see to 289,579 people and is still continuing to do so among many other monumental goals she has taken on.

Acharya Shri, as she is known to most, is not your typical hero. Almost 81 years old and cloaked in all white, she is a Jain nun who took her religious vows at a very young age and has been living by her motto, “compassion in action”, ever since. To her, “obstacles are just milestones” and she somehow always finds a solution to any obstacle she comes across and I would like to share her story with you.

It is one of the peculiar characteristics of Jainism, which is elaborately discussed. The theory of karma is nothing but the theory of causation, the law of moral causation. Nothing happens without a cause. Each individual is responsible for his or her own actions. These actions are the cause that produces proper effects at people times. This is the eternal and universal law of Karmas. Other systems also believe in the theory of Karma. According to the theory of Karma, man is dependent upon only himself. It does not believe in the supremacy of God. It is against Akriyavada. It is against Fatalism. There is glorification of freedom of individual. ‘Purusharth’. Person should make good use of the knowledge of the law that good actions generate good fruits and bad actions generate bad fruits. Then, he will hesitate to perform bad actions and feel elated to perform only good actions. At times, under certain circumstances, we are constrained to disregard the law of Karma and forced to perform evil actions against our will. In such cases too we do bind Karmas. But the duration of such Karma may be short and the bitterness may be less intense.

The doctrine of Karma occupies a more significant position in the Jain Philosophy as compared to other system of philosophy. The supreme importance of the doctrine of Karma lies in providing a rational and satisfactory explanation to the apparently inexplicable phenomena of birth and death, happiness and misery, inequalities in mental and physical attainments and the existence of different species of living beings. Every Jiva or soul is possessed of ‘consciousness’ and of ‘Upayoga’ comprising the power of perception and knowledge; it is the doer of all actions; it has the capacity to occupy the full dimensions of the body which embodied it; it is the enjoyer of the fruits; it has the inherent tendency to move upwards and is a Siddha or liberated in its stage of perfections. However, soul finds itself tangled in ‘sansar’ the cycle of transmigration, suffering, birth and death, happiness and misery.

The doctrine of Karma explains the operation of Karmic matter, which draws a veil over the natural qualities of the soul, crippling its powers. The soul is found entangled with Karma since eternity. It is the primary functions of religion to stop the influx of Karma and mitigate the presence of Karma with the soul and thereby show the path of liberation and methods through which the soul could achieve perfections.

In ancient times there was a businessman named Dhandatta. He was highly religious. He had a son who was also full of religious perspective. Once, Dharmaghosh-suri, the highly enlightened Acharya of that time, came to town, where Dhandatta lived. Thereafter Dhandatta went to listen to his sermon along with his young son. The boy was much impressed by the talk of the Acharya and decided to become his pupil.

Jain society of San Diego recently had Lake Miramar 5 miles walk event which was followed by the breakfast.

The celebration began auspiciously with Navvanu (99) Prakari Puja at our Caldwell Jinalay. This puja enlightens us about the various Jirnoddhars of Shtrunjay, visits of countless souls that attained liberation (siddhipad), and the history of this Shashvattirth that was visited by almost all Tirthankars of the current chovisi.

Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington proudly unveils a spectacular 3D Model and a 3D Virtual Tour of their Future New Jain Temple.

Silver Spring, MD, USA (Mar 27, 2017) - Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington (JSMW) organized a very successful Fundraising Gala event themed “Dreams to Reality” with the flagship attraction of the event - the unveiling of a stunning replica 3D model (scaled 1:40) and showing of a lifelike 3D virtual tour of their new Shikharbandhi (a temple with a dome) Jain Temple. In an afternoon filled with celebrations and philanthropy, three generation of JSMW members and guests walked down memory lane with video clips from the Prathistha day (Consecration Day) of the current Jain Center from 1989 along with several clips from the Mahavir JanmaKalyanak (Birth of Lord Mahavira) programs over the past 20 years. Several members, who had performed as children in those events, were nostalgic to be attending the Gala with children of their own. The new Jain Center is envisioned to be an all-inclusive 24,000 sq. ft. facility connected to a 6,000 sq. ft. temple complex.

Jain Academic Bowl (JAB) is a team-based competition for young Jains (up to age 21) held each year at the JAINA and YJA Conventions. This competition tests the students’ overall knowledge of Jain Philosophy, Jain History, Sutras, Tirthankars, revered Jain personalities, the Jain Way of Life, and more in a fast gameshow format.

JAB is a great experience for all participants.It helps everyone to increase their knowledge of Jainism, provides an opportunity to forge new friendships with Pathshala students nationwide, and much more. In the end, every participant is a winner because of the immense knowledge they acquire and having fun by being a participant in this team based competition. You must be registered for the Convention and for JAB to participate.

37 attendees from YJA's West region got together for the largest West Retreat YJA has hosted! They dove into meaningful discussions about what Jainism means to them, Gender and Jainism, and Jainism and the environment. We developed surveys to measure the impact of Jainism on the YJA community and 6 diverse social impact projects in all corners of the West region. And of course, we enjoyed countless games of Mafia, Contact, and Uno, and topped it all off with Garba at 3am!

Read the story of True Study andanswer the below questions. (Mark you answers in the puzzle)

This story is when the five Pandavas used to study in the ashram of Guru Dronacharya. One day Guru Dronacharya taught them to always tell the truth and never tell a lie and, said to remember this throughout their life. He also told them to memorize a certain lesson. The next day the Guru made them stand and turn by turn, memorizing the lesson. All the students memorized the lesson. When it was Yudhister's turn he said, "Guru, I could not learn the lesson". The Guru punished Yudhister and taught the others another lesson. For twenty days Yudhister said the same thing. On the twenty-first day, the Guru said angrily, "Oh Yudhister, you are a fool. Could you not learn the small lesson till now". Yudhister said, "Guru, when you taught to always tell the truth and never tell a lie, I always tell the truth. But, I could not make my words fully true till now. How can I say that I have learnt lesson? Only repeating the line is not learning the lesson, but to follow it, is true study". Then, Guru Dronacharya said, "Oh my son Yudhister, you are a very clever student".

Question:

1. The five Pandavas used to study in the asharam of Guru _______.
2. All students memorize the lesson except _________.
3. Guru taught the students to always tell the _________.
4. At last guru called Yudhister a very ________ student.

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