Int Jain Sangh NJ 2002 04 Mahavir Jayanti

Author(s): Int Jain Sangh NJ
Publisher: USA International Jain Sangh IJS

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Philosophy of Karma and Overview of Jainism
The two day workshop was held in Hotel Ramada Limited, South Plainfield, NJ, on Feb 9 & 10, 2002, to warm up the cold winter weekend of 48 participants from 7 states in USA and from India; including men, women and youth from several ethnic backgrounds. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Pravin K. Shah, Chairperson, JAINA Executive Committee from North Carolina. It included significant reading material, slide presentations, Q/A sessions, certificates of participation and vegan meals.
Feedback was received from 23 participants. Several IJS officers, organizers and additional members of participating families excluded themselves from evaluations. The participants overwhelmingly liked the program structure, delivery, faculty, open and sincere discussions, philosophical understanding, karma and its application, comparison of religions, conference room, service and vegan food. None of the modules were undesirable. However, some of them suggested that the reading material and the details on Jain scriptures could be reduced. Time provided was generally felt to be sufficient, but several of them could spend one more day. Most of them learnt about this program from friends or IJS e-mail.
Regarding future IJS workshops, 43% prefer one day event while 30% are comfortable with two days. The preferred topics are history of Jainism, karma, comparison of religions, effect of ahimsa on modern life, basic Jainism & scriptures, applying Jainism to modern life, benefits of yoga/ meditation, penal discussion on Jainism as seen by other religions, and continuation of the present workshop itself. Regarding the program structure, some participants would like to see more time assigned to Q/A sessions, breakup into subgroups for discussions, and inclusion of some stretching meditation. Almost half the participants desire to volunteer in future programs.
IJS thanks everyone for spending a busy weekend with us and for valuable feedback. IJS will work on to organize more frequent workshops on suggested topics.
************************************************************************ Ms. Chaitali Gala writes from California: Naresh Uncle, Thank you so much for putting together such a wonderful workshop. I really enjoyed the workshop and got to learn a lot. Thanks again! Sincerely, Chaitali
Mr. Dhruv Shah writes to Ari Jain from New Jersey: Dear Mr. Jain, I want to congratulate you for having organized a well informative seminar from Mr. Pravin Shah. Both my children Sinki and Ripple Shah have informed me that they enjoyed the seminar thoroughly and learned a lot. The credit goes to the organizers like yourself and others. Other parents who could not attend or could not send their children have shown interest in attending future seminars. I would appreciate if you could inform me about future seminars. Thanks again. Regards, Dhruv Shah.
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