JVBL - Celebration Of Paryushana Mahaparva By Samanijis At Various Jain Organisations In London @ HereNow4U

By the grace of Acharya Mahapragyaji and at the request of shravak-samajaof London three groups of Samanijis celebrated paryushana mahaparvaat various Jain organisations.

Celebration of “Paryushan Mahaparva”at Jain Vishva Bharati London

Jain Vishva Bharati London celebrated “Paryushan Mahaparva” from 28 August to 4 September 2008.

Meditation-Mantras-Prayers-Lectures:

The morning programme was conducted in the auspicious presence of Dr Samani Chaitanya Pragya and Samani Prasanna Pragya from 9.30am to 11.30am. Every morning the programme started with the recitation of Namaskar Mahamantrafollowed by a spiritual song. Recitations of mantras and “Arhat Vandana “ were also the part of daily routine. The final part of the morning programme was followed by lectures in English and Hindi on “Arhat Vandana” prayer and “Kalpa Sutra” which describes in detail the life of Lord Mahavir.

Evening Pratikramana & Lectures

The evening programme was held in the auspicious presence of Samani Prasanna Pragya and Samani Rohit Pragya.The devotees had a choice of participating in Hindi, Gujarati or English Pratikramana.This was followed by lectures in English by Samani Prasanna Pragya. The topics ranged from ‘You can realize your soul’, ‘Know your previous life' to ‘Secret of success’ and ‘Why friendliness?’ The audience listened to these lectures with great interest as they carried subtle messages of Jain philosophy. Samani Prasanna Pragya delivered the lectures in a lighthearted manner with examples followed by question and answer sessions.

The programme on the last day (Samvastsari) started at 9am and continued till 12.30pm in the afternoon. On this auspicious day the devotees practiced different forms of penance and many members of the congregation also fasted.In the evening, about 200 people participated in the pratikramanservice, which was followed bya programme of micchami dukkadam(seeking forgiveness). Samanijis inspired everyone to put an end to their enmity and family divisions. The audience expressed their sincere gratitude to His Holiness Acharya Mahapragyaji and the Samanijis for bestowing selfless spiritual guidance.

During this holy period, the devotees fully appreciated the benefits of practicing samayik, maun vrat(vow of silence), recitation of sacred stotrasand reading scriptures & religious books. During the paryushan mahaparva10 people also practicedpaushad vrat(vow of temporarily living like a monk or a nun whilst fasting). A competition on different aspects of penance and restraint was held for children and youths. They observed it very sincerely for the whole of eight days. Every one found the whole period of the Paryushan Mahaparvanot only a time for retrospection but also as an impetus for spiritual upliftment. D.r Samani Chaitanya Pragya ji also organised five special classes and three workshops on Jainism during this period.

Paryushana at Navanat Vanik Association

Navnat Vanik Association invited Samani Agam Pragya & Samani Rohit Pragya for Paryushanfestival. The morning programme started at 11am and continued to 1pm. Sessions of meditation, mantra chanting and singing of hymns were followed by lectures on various aspects of Jain religion. The afternoon sessions comprised of lectures on “Sambodhi” and “Man ke jeete jeet”, the two books written by HH Acharya Mahapragya. The whole programme was conducted in Gujarati language. The Chairperson of Navanat Vanik Association expressed his gratitude to Acharya Mahapragyaji and Samanijis for accepting their invitation to participate in the programme at their centre.

Samani Agam Pragya & Samani Rohit Pragya at Navanat Vanik Association

Paryushana at Jain Association

Dr Samani Chaitanaya Pragya & Samani Agam Pragya celebrated Paryushanaat Jain Association every evening from 8.00 – 10.00 pm. Many devotees including children and youths benefited by Pratikramanaservice as well as lectures and discussions. Topics of lectures were based on the three requisites for the liberation of the soul – right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. These lectures instilled a new awareness into the minds of the audience.