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recognized that to promote Jain teaching, we needed booksandliterature,in
addition to frequentvisitsby scholars andmonks. We neededto have library
in our building plans. We could then pass on this information to interested
parties such as members, students, scholars, universities etc. We planned to
have classes for our children to learn the meaning of our religion. We
considered adult classes and satsangs to have deeper understanding ofour
rich heritage.
JAINA: Now thatJCSC wasestablished, the Executive Committee
started to discuss and implement the idea of organizing the National
Federationofall Jains in NorthAmerica. JCSC decidedto hold aconvention
forthatpurpose. JCSC invitedcommunity leaders fromvariousstates, other
Jain associations and interested community members throughout US and
Canada. A Convention Committee was formed with Sudhir Kothari as
Chairman, Lalit Shah as co-chair, and Dhiren Shah, Dinesh Gala, Pallavi
Sheth and Mahendra Khandhar as members,to carry out all the Convention
relatedtasks.
About 15 Jain organizations participated in the pre-Convention
discussion for Jain federation. The meeting for the formation of North
AmericanJain Federation forall Jains was held attheConvention chairedby
JCSC. Pujya Gurudev Chitrabhanuji and Pujyya Acharya Sushil Kumaryi
graced the Convention with their presence and blessings. Prof. Padmanabh
Jaini, Prof. Jagdish Prasad Sharam, Sudhaben Sheth, and many scholars,
dignitaries and VIPs gave inspiring speeches. The constitution was
hammered out and the name JAINA wasadoptedat the meeting. The First
Executive Committee ofJAINA waselected and included - Lalit Shah as
President; Manoj Dharamsi, Tansukh Salgia and Dinesh Dalal as three Vice
Presidents and Girish Shah ofSan Jose as Secretary/Treasurer. Thus JAINA
was bornat the first everJain Convention held by JCSC at TRW Hall in Los
Angeles in 1981. At the end of Convention, the JCSC Committee took
Acharya Sushil Kumarji and Gurudev Chitrabhanuji to Las Vegas to look at
the wooden temple (Palitana replica, now adoring the foyer area ofLA Jain
Center cultural complex). The Committee had already started a dialog to
acquireitforJCSC, TheConventionwasagreatsuccess in everyrespect.
Theguiding vision was nowturninginto reality step by step. JAINA
embarked uponhelpingto establish Jain Centers/Societies in other parts of
US and Canada. The members would visit those places and help the
communities to start a Jain Centeror Society oftheirown. They would also
givethemongoingsupportasneeded.
| SR No. | 528142 |
| Book Title | Jain Center Los Angeles CA 2009 07 Historical Perspectives of JAINA |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Jain Center So CA Los Angeles |
| Publisher | USA Jain Center Southern California |
| Publication Year | 2009 |
| Total Pages | 28 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Magazine, USA_Souvenir Jain Center CA So Los Angeles, & USA |
| File Size | 2 MB |