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REGIONAL NEWS...
Samni Sanmati Pragya Ji and Samani Unatt Pragya Ji. JCGS organizes a monthly Swadhyay, and various activi- ties including religious celebrations, Preksha dhyan and meditation classes, and lectures by visiting dignitaries. For additional information, please contact Rajiv Jain, JCGS President, at e-mail: arham108@aol.com.
SAN DIEGO, CA
Jain Society of San Diego (JSSD) organizes regular activities which include - a monthly Jainshala for children, adult classes, swadhyay, and a weekly pooja every Saturday at Shri Mandir. For additional information, please contact Trusha Shah, JSSD President at 760/943-1241 or e-mail: shaht64@hotmail.com.
Chitrabhanu. Her lectures were very informative conveying a very down to earth message for people to follow in their day-to-day lives. Under her able guidance members displayed tremendous response and we had a lot of Tapasya. To name a few: Nimit Solanki 21 upvas, Jayshree Mehta 16 upvas, Pratik Shah, Tajas Shah and Raniben Solanki each with 11 upvas and four each with 9, 8 and 7 upvas. Our Youths were not far behind and Nidhi
Turakhia, Charmi Shah and Ravi Shah all did Atthai. Also for the benefit of our youth, Samvatsari Pratikraman was performed in English per our tradition.
This year about 50 of our members visited Dallas Jain Sangh for the Chaitya Paripati trip. We must express our gratitude to Dallas Sangh for their hospitality and well-planned activities and programs. Shri Virendrabhai form New Jersey performed the 108 Parshwanath Poojan on Oct. 31. Diwali was celebrated at JSH with various Jaaps such as Nirvan Samadhi Jaap, Ghatakaran Mahavir Jaap and Navkar Mantra Jaap.
For more information please contact JSH President Dilip Kapasi at 281-9804567 or Navin Shah, JAINA Director at 281-565-9780 or by e-mail at navinrshah@yahoo.com.
Houston and Tulsa for a Chaitya Paripati gathering, about 90 people from outside joined the local Sangh for this 2-day event. After lunch on Saturday, there was a cultural program at a hall in the Fun Asia complex. Younger children presented some dances on songs and moral stories followed by a drama on Shalibhadra including his previous life where he offered most of his Kheer to a Sadhu (Supatra Daan) and due to that Punya, was born as Shalibhadra in a very rich family. The high school children presented their skits on how Sadhus and Sadhvis conduct their lives on a daily basis, which were enlightening even for some adults. After children's program, Prem Shah, Anu Sheth, Deshana Shah and some out-of-town guests sang some Stavans before breaking for dinner. On Sunday, there was a Puja followed by Bhavna by King Beats group of Bombay and a delicious lunch.
JSNT celebrated Diwali on November 14, 2004 with Gautam Swami Poojan conducted by Rajendra and Aruna Shah from Nagpur. Sunday's Pooja was followed by children's program. Young children recited their Jain learning and also performed a dance. Urja Mehta from Pathshala group 2 presented a Jain song on a violin as her teacher Charuben Khara sang. The meeting was concluded with Aartis, Shanti Kalash, Chaitya Vandan and Sangh Jaman.
Pathshala group 3 children attended YJA Southwest Regional Conference in Houston during the weekend of November 20-21. JSNT contact is our current president Bhal Daulat at 214824-1953, thewhiterocker@yahoo. com. our website is www.dfwjains. org.
SEATTLE, WA
Jain Society of Seattle (JSS) celebrated Payushan and Dashlakshan Mahaparvas which was attended by around 150 people. Many participated in performing poojas and abhishek. Diwali "Mahavir Nirvan Day" was celebrated by performing pooja and distributing sweets. Monthly programs are scheduled on every 2nd Sunday of the month. For additional information about JSS and programs in Seattle area, please contact Devkumar Gandhi, JSS President, at 425/235-4848 or log on to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jainsocietyseattle/.
DALLAS, TX
SOUTHWEST Jadavji Kenia, Regional Editor
Paryushan Maha Parva was celebrated from September 11-18 with daily Puja, Kalpa Sutra Vanchan and Pratikraman in the evening, followed by Das Laxan Maha Parva through Sep. 27th. Besides several upvas and Ekasanas there were several Atthais locally and 2 in India by JSNT members. Over 300 people participated in the Swapana ceremony. Dineshbhai and Dr. Ujjwalaben Shah gave their discourses during the Das Laxan days. They again continued in November following their tour at the other centers during October
Jain Society of North Texas invited our neighboring Sanghs from Austin,
PHOENIX, AZ
HOUSTON, TX
With a long list of Sadhu-Sadhvijs and Jain Scholars leading up to Paryushan, the Mahaparva started with the arrival of Shrimati Pramodaben
During the summer of 2004 the Jain Center of Greater Phoenix hosted Pandit Dhirubhai Mehta, Prakash Jain and Narendra Nandu. Narendrabhai and his group enthralled community with Stavan/Bhavana, Ras Garba and
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For Private & Persona Pathshala materials is available on www gaina.org