Jain Digest 2016 08

SR No.: 527140
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA
Publication Year: 2016
Total Pages: 44
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, USA_Jain Digest, & USA
File Size: 6 MB

Page 15

Digest
Uttami Godha, Age 15 Coppell High School, Irving, Texas
Growing up, most people assumed I was Indian, spoke "Indian" and got "Indian" grades. Some of the smarter individuals I came across in my academic career claimed I was "Hindi." With such oh-so-clever mindsets I was exposed to while
growing up in the United States, I realized that adhering to the principles and values of Jainism, my small, esoteric religion, would be difficult in a country where Christian churches and Christmas carols were the heart and soul of popular culture.
For example, the pedagogy used by American schools used to baffle me. Growing up in a Jain family, I learned the principles of Jainism at a tender age, and strived to apply those values in my daily life. One of these values included the practice of aparigraha, or non-attachment. Yet, as I sat in my third grade classroom, in an elementary school that was part of a well-to-do school district, all I could see around me were kids playing games on their iPads and texting on their iPhones, completely addicted to technology, fully immersed in a virtual reality.
And, if we weren't playing games or texting, we were utilizing technology for schoolwork: to take online test, to create something using Google Presentations, or to take notes on Google Docs.
By the fifth grade, it had come to the point where the majority of the class didn't even know how to read analog clocks anymore, because we had been so reliant on the digital benefits our cell phones and iPads provided for us.
Now, I don't consider myself apart from the general masses- I was just as enthralled by the appeal and ease of using online resources as opposed to heavy, physical copies of textbooks. However, having grown up with Jainism instilled in every crevice of my mind and body, for some fleeting moments of my childhood, I recalled the values of aparigraha, and even lobh, or greed. And I wondered how I went from being a devout Jain to becoming so heavily reliant on technology, ignoring even the most basic principles of Jainism, such as non-attachment, especially to a pudgal, in this case.
nothing actually belongs to us.
Even now, as a high school student, at times I fail to adhere to the principles I Aparigraha reminds us that
grew up with the main reason being that there are just so many distractions. And I'm sure this applies not just to teenagers and children in general, but to adults, as well. After all, adults have to go to work, feed and support their families, and have a million things on their minds. And, with the added circumstance of not being in their home country, it can be quite difficult to
remember one's upbringing. Michael Stone
But, over the years, even in the midst of Jewish menorahs, final exams, and
Christmas trees, I've realized something. Whether it's using the karma theory to make sense of how things occur, drawing on meditation techniques to calm my thoughts, or taking care to not step on an ant or swat away a fly I may be bothered by, Jainism has subconsciously impacted so many of my decisions. Being a Jain makes me unique. It makes me different from my Hindu, Muslim, and Christian friends. It has shaped me into the person I am today, and brought me closer to my culture, even if I do live in the United States. If being Jain means receiving blank stares at its mention, being the only one writing about it on Religion Day, and being asked if I'm "actually vegan," bring it on.
I could not be more grateful.