Jain Lesson I

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: Diwakar Prakashan
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/001138/1

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Jain Education Series-4 JAIN LESSONS-I
NAMO ARIHANTĀNAM NAMO SIDDHANAM NAMO AYARIYANAM NAMO UVAJJHĀYANAM NAMO LOE SAVVASĀHUNAM
For Private & Personal Use
FEDERATION OF IAIN ASSOCIATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA

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First Edition :
2000 Copies Mumbai, India March 1995
Second Edition :
2000 Copies Mumbai, India May 1997
Publishers :
JAINA Education Committee Federation of Jain Associations in North America 4410, 50th Street Lubbock, TX 79414 Phone : (806) 793 8555 Off. (806) 794 4777 Resi.
(806) 793 0753 Fax
MAHAVIR SEVA TRUST C/. Dr. Mansukhbhai B. Jain B 29-30, Yojana Apartment S.V. Road, Malad (W), Bombay-400 064, INDIA Phone: 8892121
Printed & Designed at :
DIWAKAR PRAKASHAN A-7, Awagarh House, Opp. Anina Cinema, M.G. Road, Agra-282 002, INDIA Phone : (0562) 351165, 51789
Available from:
JAIN CENTERS AND SOCIETIES OF NORTH AMERICA MEMBERS OF JAINA EDUCATION COMMITTEE, FEDERATION OF JAINA, MAHAVIR SEVA TRUST, MUMBAI-INDIA, AND DIWAKAR PRAKASHAN, AGRA

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JAI JINENDRA
Dear Friends,
It is a pleasure for the JAINA Education Committee to be involved in the development of the Curriculum for JAINA Education Program.
The idea was perceived through the vision of Sri Sulekh Jain, Past President of JAINA. It was felt that educational material was available to some and that too in a scattered manner, therefore the committee has tried to undertake the task of setting up a standard curriculum for the future.
They invited two Jain Scholars 1). Malukchand Shah, 2). R. K. Jain who contributed their honorary services for this task, spent more than six months reviewing different Pathshala courses conducted in various places in India. With their help and the help of the teachers and youths from various Jain Centers a following basic program was set.
JAINA Education Program is divided in four different age groups : 1. Age 3 to 7 (Preschool and Grades 1 and 2), 2. Age 8 to 11 (Grades 3, 4 and 5), 3. Age 12 to 14 (Grades 6, 7 and 8), and 4. Age 15 and up (Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 and up).
This way children's interest is captured at any early age and a greater depth of knowledge is gained with age.
The first outline of the curriculum was presented at the first seminar of teachers of JAINA pathshalas at Jain Center of New York in December 1991 to discuss and explore their ideas of this curriculum. After incorporating new ideas into the outline we continued on to the stage of the books. We faced many difficulties collecting material for younger children but finally with the help of various people we managed to compile a set of eight books for the first and second groups. The copies of each of these eight books were sent to more than fifteen Jain Centers for evaluation. The response was so good that we sent a copy of these books to the Presidents of all the Jain Centers. A plan was made to mass produce these books by Summer of '94 but because of cost it was decided that the books should be printed in India and thus delivery was delayed till Summer of '95.

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Set of eight books are
For age 3 to 7 1. COLORING BOOK
3. ALPHABET - PART - som lovet 2. DOT TO DOT BOOK 4. JAIN LESSONS-1 For age 8 to 11
5. ALPHABET - PART - || 7. JAIN SKITS 6. JAIN LESSONS-2
8. JAIN STORIES We hope teachers and parents will like these books and if you have any suggestions then please notify us so we may incorporate them in the next edition. This syllabus is common for all sects of Jains. While preparing we have tried our best to represent all of them. Please pardon us for any mistake, oversight, understatement or overstatement in any lesson.
We would like to thank everyone who has directly or indirectly helped us to achieve this goal and would like to extend special thanks to the following people : Sulekh Jain, R. K. Jain, Malukchand R. Shah, N. L. Jain, Manubhai Doshi, N. Seth, Jackie Purvis, Angie Delgado, Jeremy Chaney, Neela Gada, Bhagwati Gada, Tejal Shah, Komal Shah, Payal Shah, Kishor Shah, Ujvala Shingavi, Santosh Shah, Sweta Shah, Amar Salgia, Palavi Mehta and Amita Desai. If we missed anyone then please forgive us.
We would also like to thank Dr. Mansukhbhai B. Jain, the Trusty of Mahavir Seva Trust, Bombay who has taken deep interest in getting these books printed in India. It is my pleasure to announce that Mahavir Seva Trust will print extra 1000 sets to promote Jainism among youth in India.
We have borrowed pictures from various books and would like to thank their authors and publishers for that. We would like to thank JAINA who had a confidence in us even though we were sluggish. Last but not the least we would like to thank the donors and Jain Community of North America who inspired us to undertake this task.
Premchand B. Gada (Chairperson)
Jaina Education Committee Lubbock, TX. 1995
(806) 793 8555, 794 4777
Committee Members
Mrs. PRAMODABEN CHITRABHANU ........
..........(212) 5346090 YOGENDRA JAIN ....................(617) 237-5997 JAYA NAGDA.......... .......(301) 540-7708 PRAVIN SHAH ....... ......(919) 4690956 NARENDRA SHETH.................(619) 693 8272
SURENDRA SINGHVI ............(513) 885 7414 NAVIN DEDHIA... ...............(408) 629-1723 SHANTI LAL MOHNOT..........(412) 325 2058 SANTOSH SHAH................(504) 340-4283 UJVALA SHINGAVI..............(713) 463-0903 URMILABEN TALSANIA.........(708) 969-8845
.

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JAIN EDUCATION SERIES LEVEL 1
TOPICS
No.
Lesson
Page
01
.01
04
...09
05
06
.........
07
..21
02
09
10
..27
..34
11 12 13 14
Namokār Mantra ... Morning Prayer...
...07 My Family ............
...08 Jain Temple.. Vardhaman (Mahāvira) and the Monster ..... The Compassion of the Elephant....
.......16 Jain Food Habits ......... Ramesh in the Restaurant.
.....23 Seema Goes Grocery Shopping ........
.25 Monk Metarya .. Fearless Prince Vardhamān........ Love the Animals...... ............
35 Jain Center .......... Daughter-in-law - Soma.......... Our religion ... My habits .........
........46 Do's.
.......47 Don'ts .......... Let's go to Pathshala................. Spiritual Teacher and Religion
..51 The generous Laxmiben
..54 Abraham Lincoln.........
..56 The Devoted Frog ..... Shri Krishna ...
..59 Questions
..60-68
42
15
..43 .45
16 17
TO
48
..49
20
21
...57
25

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LIST OF PEOPLE AS WELL AS JAIN CENTERS WHO HAVE MADE POSSIBLE TO PRINT EDUCATION BOOKS Shantilal and Rukminiben Kenia, MA
Bharat Shah Arvind and Ashaben Vora, LA
Santosh and Bhavnaben Shah, LA Jain Center of America, NY
Mahendra and Shobhnaben Patel, TX Ashok and Ujwala Shingavi, TX
Jain Society of Greater Detroit, MI Harkishan and Kusum Vasa, CA
Subodh and Palaviben Mehta, TX Bharat & Kokila Shah, NY
Anop & Renuka Vora, Rochester, NY D. C. & Nirmala Mohnot, LA
Aswin Shah, LA Dhanendra C. Shah, MN
Davendra Mehta, NJ
Dhiraj & Bharti Chheda, LA Dinesh & Jagruti Shah, MO
Dipak & Milan Kapadia, MO M. Aman & Teresita Khan, TX
Harakh Dedhia, LA Hasmukh Choksey
Indira & Suresh Shah, MO Jain Center of Greater St. Louis
Jain Center of Middle Tennessee Jain Society of Central Florida
Janak Sheth, LA Keshab & Shubhra Gangopadhyay, TX
Kirit & Leena Shah, MO Lalit Mehta, LA
Malini Parameswaran, TX Navin Dedhia, CA
Neerav Reddy, TX Nilesh Shah
Rajendra K. Jain, LA Sudhir Mehta, LA
Surendra Patel, TX Jain Center of Central Ohio, OH
Tulsa Jain Sangh, OK Varsha and Rajendra Shah, LA
Vikram Sheth, LA Vismay Shah, LA
Yashvant Pithadia, TX (If any names have been forgotten then please forgive us)
JAINA Education Committee
DIWAKAR CHITRAKATHA SERIES
Colorful story books on Jainism Federation of JAINA (USA), Mahavir Seva Trust (Bombay) and Diwakar Prakashan (Agra) are jointly publishing a series of Colorful Chitrakatha books in English based on Jain religious stories which allow children as well as elders to imbibe the elements of Jainism through reading stories. One book will be published every month. The series of books can definitely go a long way in enriching the new generation with the valuable insight into our religion. Parents are requested to give it a thought. For annual subscription, please contact Federation of JAINA or Mahavir Seva Trust at the addresses mentioned on Cover Page No. 2 or Diwakar Prakashan, A-7, Awagarh House, M. G. Road, Agra-2, (INDIA) Annual Subscription Rates (12 Books): India
Rs. 200.00 Other Countries
US $ 18.00/£ 11.5 Single Copy Rates : India
Rs. 20.00 Other Countries
US $
1.50/£ 1.00

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Lesson 1 NAMOKĀR MANTRA
NAMO ARIHANTĀNAM
BOW DOWN
TO
ARIHANT
HSINGH

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NAMO SIDDHANAM
tel
BOW DOWN
TO SIDDHA

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NAMO AYRIYĀNAM
HBOW DOWN TO ACHARYA

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NAMO UVAJJHYANAM
I BOW DOWN TO HvUPADHYAYA

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NAMO LOE SAVVA-SĀHUNAM
I BOW DOWN TO
SĀDHU

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ESO PANCH NAMOKKĀRO
These five bowing downs
SAVVA PĀVVAPPANĀSANO
destroy all the sins.
MANGALĀNANCHA SAVVESIM
Amongst all that is auspicious
PADHAMAM HAVEI MANGALAM
this Namokār Mantra is the foremost.
FR
NAMO ARIHANTĀNAM
NAMO SIDDHĀNAM NAMO AYARIYANAM NAMO UVAJJHĀYANAM NAMO LOE SAVVASĀHUNAM
ESO PANCH NAMOKKĀRO SAVVAPĀVVA PPANĀSANO MANGALĀNANCHA SAVVESIM PADHAMAM HAVEI MANGALAM

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LESSON 2 MORNING PRAYER
a. As soon as I get up in the morning, I sit up, close my eyes and recite the Namokār Mantra five times.
NAMO ARIHANTĀNAM NAMO SIDDHĀNAM
NAMO AYRIYANAM NAMO UVVAJJHAYANAM
NAMO LOE SAVVASĀHUNAM ESO PANCH NAMOKKĀRO SAVVAPĀVA PPANĀSANO MANGALĀNANCHA SAVVESIM PADHAMAM HAVEI MANGALAM b. I remind myself,
I will be nice to everybody. I will not hurt anybody. I will not get mad at anybody. I will not lie. I will not insult others. I will not boast. I will respect all lives. Dob r o

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3
Lesson 3 MY FAMILY
These are my Father and mother I say "Jai Jinendra" to my parents, brothers, and sisters when I first see them in the morning. We go to the temple/Upāshraya every Sunday, and more often if possible. We say our prayers to Lord Mahavir. My parents go to work. They avoid jobs and other activities which involve killing or hurting any animals, birds or bugs. When my parents buy groceries, they only buy vegetarian food. Jains do not eat meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, or anything that involves hurting or killing animals. We give food and clothes to poor people. We donate money for religious purposes. My parents teach me Jain religion. They teach me that we should be kind to animals and plants because they have life just like us. We
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LESSON 4 JAIN TEMPLE
222
a. This is a Jain temple. It is a very beautiful and peaceful
place. We come here to worship. b. Before entering the temple, we must take off our shoes. c. We do not eat, drink or chew gum in the temple. d. When we enter the temple we say "Nishihi" three times.
NOOT and to be an con robado

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This is the Statue of Lord Mahāvira. e. We pray to him quietly. f. We sit down quietly and recite the Namoākar Mantra. g. We do not shout or run in the temple. h. We put money in the donation box.
bab i. While leaving the temple, we do not turn our backs
towards Mahavira (because it is disrespectful). Instead, we walk backwards or walk near the side of the room.
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LESSON 5 VARDHAMAN (MAHAVIRA) AND
THE MONSTER
One afternoon, Prince Vardhamān was playing a catch and ride game
with his friends. The Person who won would get to
ride on the back of the loser.

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A new child joined their game. This child was easy to catch, and he lost every time. Almost every
child got to ride on his back. Prince Vardhamān also caught
the new child. Vardhamān also rode on his back.
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M (A few minutes later) While Vardhaman was on his back, The child started to grow bigger and taller. At First, Vardhaman's friends watched this with curiosity. Later when the child's face began to turn weird, the children got scared and started to run away in panic. Some children climbed up the trees while others ran to tell their parents. 13

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ES
During all of this, Vardhamān remained calm and brave.
The monster kept growing very tall so Vardhamān hit the monster in the head
with his fist. The monster tried to throw Vardhamān off
his back to avoid the pain, but he could not succeed.
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Ultimately the monster gave up and
asked for forgiveness. Vardhamān forgave the monster. The Monster called him "Mahāvira",
Which means Strong one. Since then, Prince Vardhamān
was called Mahāvira.
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Lesson 6 THE COMPASSION OF THE
ELEPHANT
Once upon a time, there lived an elephant in a forest among many
Other animals.
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Once a big wild fire broke out in a forest.
To save themselves, all the animals including the elephant
ran to a safe area. Soon, the area got very crowded ble
with the animals. ro Dios
golosinas
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The elephant raised his leg to scratch his foot. A rabbit quickly jumped into this space. When the
elephant went to put his foot down, he felt something. He noticed the rabbit sitting there. To avoid crushing and hurting the rabbit, he held his leg up. The fire lasted for three days. Throughout the
three days the elephant kept his leg up.

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When the fire stopped, all the animals and the rabbit left. The elephant felt happy that he
saved the rabbit's life. Then, the elephant tried to put down his foot, but he could not, because his body had become stiff.
Instead, he fell down and died.
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As a result of his compassion and kindness,
the elephant was born As Prince Meghkumar in his next life.
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LESSON 11 JAIN FOOD HABITS
JAINS ARE VEGETARIANS. WE EAT VEGETABLES & FRUITS.
HSINGH
Squash, Beans, Peas,
Tomatoes, Fruits, and Lettuce.
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AINS DO NOT EAT AND DRINK
V
HasiNG #
Steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, or any other kind of meat, chicken, eggs, turkeys, or any poultry items, fish, lobsters, oysters, or any kind of seafood. Jains do not drink beer, wine, liquor, whiskey, or any kind of alcohol. Jain should not waste any food. Jains respect every life. Jains avoid food products which involve injury to any life. Jains try to minimize violence even to plants; therefore, Jains avoid eating root vegetables, such as onions, garlic, beets, carrots, and potatoes. Jains offer food to poor people. Jains fast on certain religious days. Jains prefer to drink boiled water. Jains also try not to eat after sunset and before sunrise
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LESSON 8 RAMESH IN THE RESTAURANT
Ramesh : Let's go to the Hamburger place. Anil : Can we get vegetarian food there? Ramesh : Yes, I Think so. (They went to a nearby hamburger place. Anil and Ramesh looked at the menu. Roger, the waiter, came to take their order.) | Roger : Are you ready to order?
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Anil
: We
Anil
: (Pointing to the menu) is this a veggie burger or a
Hamburger? Roger : This is a meat burger, but we can make a veggie
burger for you. Anil : I would like a veggie burger. Roger : (With surprise) why don't you eat a Burger with
meat in it? : We are Jains, and, Jains do not eat meat.
(Ramesh interrupts Anil) Ramesh : As a jain, we respect all life. We consider Animal
life as good as our own life. Anil : Just as we don't like to get hurt or killed, animals,
birds, and fish don't like to get hurt or killed
either. Roger : Oh ! That is interesting. It makes sense. I will get
the vegetarian burgers for you. (While getting the veggie burger, Roger admired their love and care for life.)
Anil and Ramesh were happy and satisfied.
Jains are very careful of what they eat. They try to make sure that their food does not contain any meat, lard, seafood, chicken broth or eggs in it.
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LESSON 9 SEEMA GOES GROCERY SHOPPING
DOPODG
ON
Mother : Let's go to the grocery store. Seema : All right, mom. (Seema and her mother go to the grocery store.)
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(They pick up vegetables, cookies, fruit, and milk.)
Seema : Mom, can I get Ice Cream?
(Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the freezer
and brought the ice cream) Mother : Seema, did you check the ingredients? Seema : No, I did not. Should I ? Mother : Remember, we learned the other day that some Ice
cream has eggs in it. As a Jain we don't eat any food that contains eggs,
animal fats like lard, animal shorting, or glycerine. Seema : Oh yeah, I forgot. Let me check the ingredients.
Sorry, mom, It contains eggs. Let me put Ice cream
back. Can I get another brand of ice cream? Mother : Yes, Seema, but always be sure to read the
ingredients. Seema : Yes, mom, I promise I will be more careful. (Pause) Seema : Mom, does this mean that I should check the
ingredients of bread, cookies, candies, canned foods
and frozen foods also? Mother: Yes, Seema, we should always check the ingredients
of everything we buy. (Seema was happy that she learned something that would help her be a better Jain.)
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Lesson 10 MONK METARYA
Monk Metarya was a pupil of Lord Mahāvira. He was born in a family of untouchables. The Jain religion does not believe in any caste discrimination and accepts all souls as equal. So he was admitted as a monk.
Once, on a very hot day, Monk Metarya was going out for alms. He was bare footed. His head was not covered and he had no hair. He was going from house to house regardless if they were rich or poor.

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He came to the house of a goldsmith. The goldsmith was well known in the city of Rajgriha for his art work. Even King Shrenik admired his skill. When Metarya came to the house, the goldsmith was making barley shaped grains of gold for jewelry. When he saw the monk at his door, he felt very happy and fortunate.
He put his work aside, bowed down to the monk, and welcomed him for alms.
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While the goldsmith went to the kitchen to get food, a bird came down from a tree and swallowed the golden grains, thinking them to be barley seeds. Then it flew back to the tree. The monk noticed this.
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The goldsmith came out and offered the monk food acceptable to him. After accepting the food, the monk left. When the goldsmith went back to his work, he saw that the golden grains were missing. He looked everywhere but could not find them. He thought, he might have put them away, so he once again checked everywhere but he still could not find them. Then he started wondering if the monk might have taken them. He thought that the costly grains might have tempted the monk, or, he might not be a true monk and might be a thief disguised as a monk.
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He ran after the monk and brought him back to his home. He asked the monk, if he had taken the grains of gold. The monk said, "No, I have not taken them?” So, the goldsmith asked him, "Who has taken them.''The monk thought that if he told the goldsmith about the bird, then he would kill the bird and that violence should not occur. So he kept quiet. The goldsmith thought that since he didn't reply the monk must be hiding the gold. He got angry and started hitting the monk still kept quiet. The goldsmith became furious and decided to teach the monk a lesson.
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He made him stand under the sunlight and tightly fastened a wet leather band around his head. As the leather pand got dried, it sqeezed the monk's head very hard. The goldsmith thought that the monk would speak, when he could no longer bear the pain. But he did not realize that this monk was a real monk who was willing to give up his life, to save the life of a bird. The monk suffered the acute pain, but did not change his mind about telling the goldsmith what had happened. He did't get angry with the goldsmith either. He maintained peaceful by thinking, "This body is perishable, why should I worry about it?" He truly felt happy that the bird's life was saved. Under the
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impact of total equanimity the monk attained omniscience, Kevaljnan. Simultaneously, the pressure of the leather became so tight that his eyes popped out and, he died. His soul was liberated from the cycle of birth and death forever.
While the goldsmith was waiting, a wood cutter dropped a bundle of wood on his patio. The noise scared the bird and it purged the grains. The goldsmith could not believe that and repented his foolishness in doubting the monk. He ran to the monk to release him, but it was too late.
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Lesson 11 FEARLESS PRINCE VARDHAMAN
There was a big banyan tree. One day, while Prince Vardhaman and his young friends were playing there, they saw a black snake. The snake had
yellow eyes, and it was hissing.
His friends got scared. Some started to run away, while
others climbed up the banyan tree. Only Vardhaman remained calm. He went near the snake. He gently picked up the snake and placed it far away without hurting it. All
of his friends were relieved. Vardhaman told them that they should be brave, and not
fearful.
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LESSON 12 LOVE THE ANIMALS
WANAMA
12
Prince Nemkumār was the son of
King Samundra Vijay.
He was engaged to Princess Rājul.
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GOOOO
Princess Rājul was the daughter of King Ugrasen.
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LASING
On the day of their marriage,
Prince Nemkumār traveled to Princess Rājul's palace in a decorated chariot. He heard the screaming of many animals and birds Prince Nemkumār asked his driver about this noise.
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eee
SING
The driver told the prince that These animals and birds would be se killed for his wedding dinner. Die
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LSING
This answer made prince Nemkumār very sad. He said, “The animals and birds are hurt when they are killed. Killing animals and birds for food is
not necessary."
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Prince Nemkumār freed
all the animals and birds. He did not marry Princess Rājul
and left.
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Prince Nemkumār gave up his worldly life and went to the forest
for peace and meditation. Many of the people at the wedding realized the message of Prince Nemkumār and
stopped eating meat.
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Lesson 13 JAIN CENTER
श्री शान्तिनाथ जिनालय
RE
जिन-मंदिर
This is a Jain Center. It has a hall and a temple.
We go there to pray and meditate. Here, people recite the Navkarmantra with a mala (Rosary),
while others read religious books. Some worship the Jina idols. We have a Pathshala here,
where we learn about Jainism. Monks and nuns give us lectures here. They tell us about the Jain principles.
They teach us How to follow the Jain Principles.
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Storld and econo Lesson 14 walletto THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW SOMA
Long long ago, there lived a merchant who was very religious. He was Jain. Every morning, when he woke up, he used to recite the Namokār Mantra, peacefully perform Sāmāyik, and then he used to bow down to Sadhus.
This merchant had a daughter whose name was Soma. She also performed religious activities like her father. She had taken a vow from a Sadhu that when she woke up, she would recite the Navkar Mantra and perform Sāmāyik.
When she turned eigteen she got married. Her in-laws were not very nice. They didn't like the idea of religion, and they hated Jainism. Her mother-in-law didn't practice any religious activities at all and didn't like it when Soma performed her prayers.
Soma didn't know what to do. Should she forsake her religion? No, she would continue to observe her religion. Every morning she would wake up early and recite the Namokār Mantra and perform Sāmāyik. Every time her mother-in-law tried to prevent her from undertaking her religious activities, she used to curse Soma, but Soma did not pay attention to her. Soma was very polite. She repeatedly requested her mother-in-law to understand. Soma did whatever her mother-in-law told her to do, but she wanted to spend at least forty eight minutes for her prayers.
Soma's mother-in-law did not pay any attention to her request. She kept on disturbing Soma. Sometimes she would scream at Soma and physically abuse her. Soma stayed calm and tolerated all o problems. Soma never said a single unkind word to her mother-inlaw. She had learned about Ahimsa (Non-violence) from her parents and her religious teachers. She understood the importance of patience.
One day Soma's mother-in-law decided to resort to an extreme measure. She got a poisonous snake from a snake charmer and put it in a pot. In the evening when it started to get dark, she called Soma
and asked her to bring the flower garland from the pot.
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Her mother-in-law wanted to get rid of Soma, so that there would be no reason to quarrel.
Soma had deep faith in her religion. She uttered the name of Lord Mahavir and recited the Namokār Mantra. After that she put her hand in the pot to take out the garland. When Soma pulled out her hand, she really had a flower garland in her hand. Her mother-in-law was shocked. Soma gave the garland to her husband and he put it aside. As soon as he put the garland down it turned into snake. The motherin-law realized that Soma was really a religious girl and a true devotee to Jainism. She knew that the snake had become a garland due to Soma's faith.
True faith can help in changing the circumstances of a situation. Soma's mother-in-law felt very fortunate to have such a religious daughter-in-law. From that day on the mother-in-law started to love Soma. Since then everybody in the family including the mother-inlaw became follower of Jainism.
Religious faith is very important. We should be able to face the difficulties of life with confidence.
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Lesson 15 OUR RELIGION
a. We are Jains. b. Jainism is our religion. C. Lord Mahāvira was the last Tirthankar, Jina, who taught
the Jain religion. d. He did not have any emotions like Anger, Greed, Ego,
and Deceit (AGED). e. We follow his sermons. f. We do not hurt any living beings. g. We always tell the truth. h. We do not take anything without permission. i. We control our desires. j. We possess only as much as we need. k. We help others. 1. We listen to and respect other people's point of view. m. We are vegetarians; therefore, we do not eat meat,
seafood, poultry, and eggs. n. We say the Namokār Mantra in the morning and in the
evening. o. We worship Lord Mahāvir. p. We will try to be like him.
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Lesson 16 MY HABITS
a. In the morning, I say the Namokār Mantra.
b. I say “Jai Jinendra" to my parents and siblings.
c. I try to be nice and helpful to others.
d. I try not to hurt or kill any bugs, animals, or people.
e. I try not to pick flowers or pull leaves off the trees.
f. I go to the temple, my Jain school, and regular school. g. I help my parents do chores around the house.
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Lesson 17 DO'S
a. Recite the Namokār Mantra daily. b. Greet all your Jain friends and elders by saying "Jai
Jinendra." c. Respect your parents, teachers, and elders. d. Visit the Jain Center as much as possible. e. Respect the Sadhus (monks) and the Sadhvis (nuns). f. Go to the Pathshala (Jain School) on a regular basis. g. Learn about our religion, Jainism. h. Always listen to your parents. i. Always tell the truth. j. Eat only vegetarian food. k. Give vegetarian food. 1. Give clothes to the needy. m. Share your toys and books with your friends. n. Put money in the donation box, whenever you visit the
temple. 0. Be kind to all animals. p. Speak politely so that you don't hurt other people's
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Lesson 18 DON’TS
a. Do not hurt or kill humans, animals, plants, or insects. b. Do not lie. c. Do not say bad words. d. Do not get angry. e. Do not be a tattle-tale. f. Do not be greedy. g. Do not miss Jain School (Pathshala). h. Do not miss any opportunity to help others. i. Do not pick flowers or leaves. j. Do not take anything without permission. k. Do not steal. 1. Do not be afraid to ask your teachers questions. m. Do not buy anything prepared with animal products or
involving violence to animals; such as foods containing) gelatin or glycerin. Also don't use silk or leather.
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V
Lesson 19 LET'S GO TO PATHSHALA Sheela : (On the phone) Where were you last Sunday when I
called? Ami : Sheela, I was at Pathshala. We have classes every Sunday.
How about your center? Sheela : At our center, we have a Pathshala every other Sunday. Do
You go to Pathshala every week? Ami : Yes, every week. What made you ask that question? || Sheela : Because, even though we have classes every other week at
our center, I have not gone there at all. Ami : At all !!!. Your must be kidding. Sheela : No, I am not. Ami, don't you think it's a waste of time to
go to Pathshala? I would rather watch TV at home. Ami : No, it is not a waste of time. We learn a lot about our
religion (Jainism) and its principles. We also meet other
people of our age, and make new friends. Sheela : Well, if I want to make new friends, all I have to do is to
have a slumber party, then I will have so many new friends
that I would not know what to do with them. Ami : You are really silly ! I did not say that I go there just to
make new friends. You missed the main point for going to Pathshala. I said, we learn Jain principles which help us be
better human beings. Sheela : You mean you really learn there? Ami : Yes, they teach us how to get along with other kids. They
also teach us that we should love other living beings including animals, birds, bugs, and plants. My teacher
Amm
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told me that they like life the same way we do; they feel the pain the same way we do and they also feel happy or
unhappy the same way we do. Sheela : Oh !!! This is getting interesting. Tell me more about what
they teach. Ami : They also teach us that we should not hurt anyone, get
mad at anyone, not show off in class, tell the truth, share!
what we have and not steal. Sheela : I was mistaken. Pathshala is not a waste of time. Ami : Wait, that is not all. They also tell us stories. They show
us videos on Jainism. We sing devotional songs, and we
have discussions among ourselves. Sheela : I have been missing a lot. Well, I will tell my mom to take
me to the Pathshala next Sunday, and if she is busy, I will
go with Rina. She goes to the Pathshala regularly. Ami : That is wonderful. I am so happy that you will be going
to the Pathshala. Hey !!! I forgot to ask you why you
called me last week. Sheela : Oh yeah !!! I called to let you know that we are planning
to come to your house next weekend. I wanted to spend
time with you. Ami : Sure and on Sunday we can go to Pathshala. Sheela : Oh Yeah !!! That's a deal. I am sure, I will have a good
time. Bye. Ami : Bye.
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Lesson 20 SPIRITUAL TEACHER AND RELIGION
Teacher : Payal, can you tell me some of the characteristics of our
spiritual teachers? Payal : I have heard that spiritual teachers are different from our
regular school teachers. Is this true? Teacher : Yes, you are right. Though both of them teach us, spiritual
teachers are different from school teachers. Shila : Can you tell me more about our spiritual teachers? Teacher : Yes, though our spiritual teachers live among us, they are
different from us in many ways. 1) They have voluntarily given up all their worldly
pleasures. This means they have given up wearing fashionable clothes, going to the movies, watching television, sleeping on soft beds, staying in an airconditioned room, going out to eat ice cream or pizza,
and going out in cars, aeroplane, or any other vehicle. 2) They have given up all worldly aspects and renounced
their worldly life. This means that they no longer take interest in any personal matters, social functions, or
economic aspects. 3) They have voluntarily taken following five vows and
they will observe them for the rest of their lives. i) Not to hurt or kill anyone (love all), ii) Not to lie (tell the truth), iii) Not to steal (be honest), iv) Not to engage in any type of sexual activities
(Celibacy),
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v) Not to accept more than their bare needs
(giving up of all possessions). [When situations arise where their vows are at stake, not only do they stick to their vows, but they do not ask anyone else or encourage anyone else to do something that is contrary to their vows.]
4) Some wear plain white clothes and have Muhapati
(mouth cover to protect fine living beings, some hold it in hand), and Rajoharan (little soft broom to sweep the ground to protect insects, it is also called ogho) as a symbol of being a Jain monk or nun Svetamber. There are also some monks who do not wear any clothes at all (Digambar) and carry water pot and small broom made of peacock feathers. All nuns wear white
clothes. 5) When spiritual teachers teach, they do not teach
subjects like math or science, they teach us how we can be free from our unhappiness and miseries, be helpful to others, and be compassionate. In short, they
help us become better human beings. So, now you can see that our spiritual teachers are
different from our school teachers. Kavita : Sire, can you tell us about our religion and who laid the
foundation of it? Teacher : Our religion is laid down by Arihant Bhagwans. They are
also called Jinas or Tirthankars. Our religion is one of India's oldest and most independent religions. Our religion teaches us to love everybody, and help those who are miserable and unhappy. We should not hurt, trouble, or kill anyone. We should be kind to everybody, and
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should have no hate towards anyone. We should be truthful and should not lie at anytime. Without the permission of the owner we should not take anything that does not belong to us. We should not steal. We should care more for our soul than for our body. We should learn to restrain ourselves. We should not get mad or greedy, and should not show off or deceive others. We should tolerate other people's views. We should learn to forgive everyone including those who have caused us pain or suffering.
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Lesson 21 THE GENEROUS LAXMIBEN
This is a true story that happened about eight hundred years ago.
One day a sad and gloomy visitor was sitting outside the door of Jain Upashraya, in the city of Karnavati. He was poor and was looking for shelter. He was a follower of the Jain religion.
That day as usual, a Jain Shravika named Laxmiben came to the Upashraya. After finishing her rituals, while she was leaving the Upashraya, she saw the visitor. She affectionately asked him "I have never seen you here. Did you come from out of town?" The man replied, “Yes madam, I have come from Rajasthan."
She asked, “Are you alone?" "No, I have my children with me." "What brings you here?" “I am looking for work."
"Oh !!! "Laxmiben thought for a moment and then asked, "What| is your name?"
“Uda." "Where are you staying?” “I have not found a place to stay."
"Do not worry brother, come with me. My house is your house You can stay with me for a while. I will do my best to help you."
Uda with surprise kept listening to this generous and kind lady. He thought very highly of this place where people are generous even to strangers. Uda felt good and thought he was lucky.
He and his children came to Laxmiben's house. She gave them
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food and let them stay in one of her vacant houses. While staying there, Uda slowly started saving money by warking hard. After a while, he thought of carrying out some repairs in the old house which he was occupying.
He went to Laxmiben and asked for permission to start the repairing. She replied that she had already given the house to him, and he could do whatever he liked. Uda felt thankful and carried out, some badly needed repairs.
After a few months however the old house fell down. Uda therefore decided to rebuild it and started digging the foundation. While digging he found a valuable treasure hidden under the ground. Uda believed that the treasure belonged to Laxmiven since it was her house. He therefore went to Laxmiben and offered the treasure to her. Laxmiben was however a true Laxmidevi (goddess of wealth) by heart. She refused to accept it and said, "Are you kidding? That is not my house any more. I gave it to you long back. Now, why should I have any connection with it?"
Uda tried hard to persuade her, but Laxmiben did not change her mind. She did not even touch the treasure. At last Uda had to take it back with him. Now, Uda was no longer poor. He became Udayan Sheth.
Laxmiben is praiseworthy. She had a very generous heart. Even though she herself was an average woman, she helped others without asking for anything in return. She gave one of her houses to a stranger, because he belonged to the same religious faith. She did not even think of keeping the treasure.
Generosity is a great virtue and it is a sign of true religious feeling. Laxmiben will be remembered for her generosity. We must try to be generous like her.
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Lesson 22 ABRAHAM LINCOLN
AMMO
There was an ordinary farmer who had a son. He studied hard. He became a lawyer. He was simple and humble. He did not have an ego. He stayed on the path of truth. One day he became the President of
he United States. He possessed three good qualities : kindness, humbleness, and truthfulness. He always did his own work, and never waited for someone else to do his work.
One day while President Lincoln was going to the Congress, he saw a helpless pig stuck in the mud. He felt pity for the animal and wondered how he would feel if he was in the pig's place. He decided to help the pig. He told his driver to stop the carriage, so that he could pull the pig out of the mud
The driver stopped the carriage, and President Lincoln got out. The driver said to the President, "You wait, I will take him out. I don't want your clothes to get dirty."
The President replied “I do not care for my clothes. The pig's life is more important."
The driver said, “Please wait and let me try. If I fail, I will ask for|| your help."
The driver tried very hard, but he could not pull the pig out of the mud. So the president helped the driver pull the pig out of the mud. While doing that the President's clothes became very dirty. The driver offered to take him back home so that he could change his clothes. The president however told him that he did not want to be late for the meeting, and asked him to drive towards the Congress building.
When he reached at the meeting, everyone wondered what happened to the president. The driver explained everything. He told them how the president saved the life of a helpless pig. Everybody in the Congress praised the president for his kindness.
When you show kindness, friendship and love towards other living beings, you get a lot of happiness and satisfaction in return.
You also get regards from others.
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Lesson 23 THE DEVOTED FROG
Once upon a time, there lived a merchant named Nagdatta in the city of Rajagrahi. His wife's name was Bhavdatta. They both loved each other, but the merchant had too much affection for his wife. Unfortunately, the merchant died one day. His wife wept, cried, and mourned. The merchant, because of his Karma, was reborn as a frog. Incidentally, he was born into his own well.
One day, when Bhavdatta came to get the water from the well, the frog saw her and he suddenly remembered his past life. Now he knew who he was, he felt very happy. He started dancing and followed Bhavdatta. He followed her into the house. She felt sympathetic for him. She put him on the out side so that he would not get crushed, but the frog came back. Wherever Bhavdatta went, he followed her. This continued for many months.
One day Bhavdatta went to pay reverence to a monk named Suvrat. The frog followed her there. After paying her homage to the monk, the curious Bhavdatta asked him about the frog. She said that the frog had been following her for many months.
This monk was not an ordinary monk. He was an Avadhijnani. That means he can know something up to some distance. He knew who the frog was. He told Bhavdatta that her husband, after his death, was reborn as the frog. He had remembered his past life and he knew that she was his wife. So, out of affection he was following her.
Bhavdatta picked up the frog gently, and took him home. She started taking good care of the frog.
After a few days Bhavdatta heard that Lord Mahavir had come
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to the nearby mountain, Vipulachal, and he was there in Samavsaran. Almost everyone in the town including the king was going to pay their homage to him. Bhavdatta joined others towards the Samavsaran. When the frog heard this news, he went hopping along with everybody. People saw him under their feet, so they tried to plave him off the road. They did not know that he wanted to go and see Lord Mahavir. He kept going with the crowd, and while doing so, he was crushed under the foot of an elephant, and he died.
Since his thoughts were highly devotional and he was so eager to see Lord Mahavir, he earned good Karma (Punya), and was reborn as angel in heaven with many capabilities. With his special power, he looked back at his past lives and remembered the whole incident and his desire to see Lord Mahavir. In order to fulfill that desire, he came to the earth to pay homage to Lord Mahāvira and then returned to heaven.
The moral of the story is that attachment should be given up. The second moral is that if a creature like a frog can have devotion, we should have devotion. This devotion leads to the spiritual upliftment of the soul.
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Lesson 24 SHRI KRISHNA
Shri Krishna, the king of Dwarka, was very bold. Even though he was a brave person, he was kind at heart. Whenever he saw anybody suffering, he tried to relieve their pain.
Everyone praised him for his kindness, even the heavenly angels. One day the king of the heavenly angels told all the other angels that there were many people who were compassionate, but there was no one comparable to Shri Krishna.
After hearing that, one of the angels decided to test Shri Krishna's compassion. He assumed the form of a miserable dog and laid down on the main road in the city of Dwarka. The dog was starving and was lying restless. The bones of his body were showing. His teeth were protruding out of his mouth. He was crying because of the pain. There was blood all over his stinking body. His foul smell caused many people to start using other roads.
One day, Shri Krishna passed on that road. He saw the restless, screaming dog. He felt pity for him and without minding the foul smell, he went near him. He talked to him with affection. He wiped the blood with his clothes and torn them for making bandages for the
dog.
The heavenly angel said to himself, Shri Krishna is really a kind king. He resumed his true form and praised Shri Krishna for his kindness.
The moral of the story is that we should try to be kind, like Shri Krishna. We should help everyone, whether they are humans, animals, birds or any other living being, who is suffering. Nobody likes pain or suffering. We should be helpful. By helping others, we acquire good Karma called “Punya."
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QUESTIONS
Lesson-1 1. What does NAMO ARIHANTĀNAM mean? 2. What does NAMO SIDDHĀNAM mean? 3. What does NAMO ĀYARIYĀNAM mean? 4. What does NAMO UVVAJJHĀYĀNAM mean? 5. What does NAMO LOE SAVVASĀHUNAM mean? Lesson-2 1. What is the name of the mantra we say in the morning? 2. What should we remind ourselves every morning? 3. How do these thoughts help us? Lesson-3 1. How should we greet our family members? 2. What kind of food do we buy? 3. What should we not eat or drink? 4. What do we do before going to bed? Lesson-4 1. What kind of place is a Jain temple? 2. What do we do before entering the temple? 3. What should we say while entering the temple? 4. Whose statue do we find in the temple? 5. What do we do in the temple?
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6. How do we behave in the temple? 7. What do we recite in the temple? 8. What should we not do while leaving the temple? Lesson-5 1. What game were they playing? 2. Did anyone else join their game? 3. What did the new child do when Vardhmān rode
on his back?
What did Vardhmān do to the monster? 5. Why is Vardhmān called Mahāvira? Lesson-6 1. Who lived in the forest? 2. Why did the animals run one place? 3. What did the elephant do when he saw the rabbit
under his foot? 4. How long did the fire last?
What do you think about what the elephant did? 8. What happened when the elephant tried to put his
foot down? 9. What did the elephant become in his next life? Lesson-7 1. Should Jains be vegetarians? 2. Can you name a few vegetarian foods? 3. Can you name some vegetables Jains should not eat?
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4. What do Jains check before ordering any food? 5. Can you name some common meat items? 7. Do Jains eat poultry?
Can you name some common meat items? 9. Do Jains eat seafood? 10. Can you name some common seafoods? 11. Do Jains drink wine, beer, or liquor? 12. When should jains eat? Circle the foods which Jains eat and cross out the thing which Jains do not eat. Green vegetables
Hamburgers Lobsters
Lima beans Chicken
Hot dogs Black-eye peas
Turkeys Fish
Bean Burritos Ice-cream with eggs
Steak Veggieburgers
Potatoes Lesson-8 1. Why did Anil agree to go to the restaurant?
What do Jains check fefore ordering any food? 3. What did Roger ask Anil? 4. What did Ramesh tell Roger? 5. How did Roger feel about Jains being vegetarian? 6. Name some of the foods Jains should not order.
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Lesson-9 1. What kind of food did Seema and her mother buy? 2. What did seema bring? 3. What did Seema's mother ask her? 4. What did Seema learn today? Lesson-10 1. Does Jainism believe in the cast system? 2. Where did Monk Metarya go for his alms?
What did Monk Metarya see while waiting for his alms? Why did the goldsmith get angry with Monk
Metarya? 5. Why did Monk Metarya not say anything about the
bird? 6. How did Monk Metarya get Kevaljnan? Lesson-11 1. Why did the children get scared? 2. What did Vardhmān do to the snake? 3. What did Vardhmān tell his friends? Lesson-12 1. Who was Prince Nemkumār? 2. Who was he engaged to?
Who was Rajul? 4. What did Nemkumār hear on the way to the
wedding?
3.
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5. What were they going to do with these animals 6. How did he feel about this? 7. What did he do to the animals? 8. Did Nemkumār marry Rajul? Why? 9. What did Nemkumār do? Lesson-13 1. What are the different things we do at the Jain
Center? Lesson-14 1. Who was Soma? 2. What religion did Soma follow? 3. What kind of vow did Soma take from the Sadhu? 4. How did her in-laws view religion? 5. How did Soma's mother-in-law treat her?
How did Soma treat her mother-in-law? 7. Where did Soma get her strength during her
difficulties? 8. What did Soma's mother-in-law plan? 9. What happened to Soma? 10. How did the family feel about Soma after the
garland incident? 11. What did you learn from this story? Lesson-15 1. Who are we? 2. What is our religion?
6.
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Who was Lord Mahāvira? What is another name for Tirthankar?
What are his teachings? 6. Can you name the different emotions? 7. What should be our food habits? 8. What do we recite daily? 9. Who should we use as our role model? Lesson-16 1. What do we do in the morning? 2. How do we greet our parents, brothers and sisters? 3. How do we treat bugs, animals, plants, and people? 4. What kind of Jain places should you visit? Lesson-17 1. List ten things that we should do?
Lesson-18 Fill in the blank with "do" or "do not"
Do
Examples : Namokār Mantra Pick flowers Hurt animals
Do not
Get angry Say "Jai Jinendra" Tell the truth
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Eat meat Help the poor Be kind Respect teachers Be greedy Kill bugs Be a tattle-tale Give donations Go to Pathshala Tell lies Steal things Be vegetarian Say bad words Respect monks Kill flies Learn religion Lesson-19 1. Why was Sheela surprised that Ami goes to
Pathshala? 2. Why does Ami like Pathshala? 3. What kind of Jain principle do they teach in
Pathshala? Lesson-20 1. Who are the spiritual teachers? 2. What do they teach us about Jainism?
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5.
What do they give up when they renounce the
world? 4. What kind of vows do they take? 5. Do our monks and nuns do social work? 6. Do they keep any money? Lesson-21 1. Where was the stranger sitting? 2. What religion did the man follow? 3. Who noticed him sitting there?
What did Laxmiben offer him?
How did Laxmiben treat him and his children? 6. What happened when Uda was reconstructing the
house? 7. What did Uda do about the treasure he found? 8. What did Laxmiben do about the treasure? 9. What is the moral of this story? Lesson-22 1. What kind of child was Abraham Lincoln? 2. What did Abraham Lincoln become? 3. What did he do while going to Congress?
Why did Abraham Lincoln not change his clothes? 5. What lesson do we learn from this incident?
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Lesson-23 1. What happened to the merchant after he died? 2. Why did the frog following Bhavdatta go
everywhere she went?
How did she treat the frog in the beginning? 4. How did she find out who the frog was? 5. How did she treat the frog later on? why? 6. Why was the frog hopping on the road? 7. What happened to the frog? Lesson-24 1. What kind of person was Shri Krishna? 2. What was the heavenly angel testing? 3. What did Shri Krishna do when he saw the restless
dog screaming? 4. What do we learn from this?
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