________________
SCHOOL
TIONAL
OF
JAIN STUDIES
SELF STUDY IS THE SUPREME AUSTERITY
स्वाध्याय परम तप
B.1.2.2
Jainism in North America
Dr. Sulekh C. Jain
"Jainism - India's, and possibly the world's oldest religion - is a quiet, overwhelmingly serious way of life, a cultural insistence on compassion, a sociology of aesthetics that has dramatically changed the world, and will continue to affect change." Dr. Michael Tobias 100 years ago at the first Parliament of world's Religions in Chicago, a Jain leader, a scholar, and the only Jain on North American soils, Mr. V.R. Gandhi said, "I come from India, the mother of religions. I represent Jainism, a faith older than Buddhism, similar to its ethics, but different from it in its philosophy and professed by several millions of India's most peaceful and law abiding citizens." Mr. Gandhi then gave a short no-nonsense, highly condensed and technical account of the ethnics and history of the Jains, their books, teachings, and practices. From this humble beginning, a Jain Diaspora appeared not only in North America, but also in Britain, East Africa, Malaysia, and Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and in such other places as Australia and New Zealand. It is probably the first time that about 100,000 Jains are settled outside India today.
This is an exciting period for us Jains in North America. Now about 50,000 Jains live in U.S.A and Canada. Since 1965, we have established a strong infrastructure that we all can be proud of. Now there is a Jain organization or a group in practically every major city in North America. Twelve years ago we created a national organization or a group in (Federation of Jain Associations in North America, JAINA), which now represents nearly all the Jains. More than twenty places of worship with Jain deities have been established. Several new Jain temples are being constructed or being designed. Suitable, appropriate, easy to read and understand educational and Pūjā materials have been made available and several more are in progress. Quite a few videos and audios are now available; a couple of libraries (especially JAINA library in Lubbock, Texas) are ready to serve the needs of the community.
We now celebrate our holy festivals on a very regular basis. Many of our rituals, places of worship and publications are non-sectarian. JAINA conventions and other such functions have become gathering places for all Jains to meet debate and discuss issues. Participation in inter faith movements, visits and availability of Jain scholars, publication of several Jain Magazines (e.g. Jain Digest, Jain Study Circular and Jinamanjari, etc.) and start or beginning of Jain studies at several universities in U.S.A and Canada are bringing new
Page 166 of 317
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
