JAINA Convention 1999 07 Philadelphia

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 11

10th Biennial JAINA Convention
CONVENORS' MESSAGE
Joy of Being A Jain
On behalf of the Executive Committee of Samarpan Jain Sangh and the Convention Board it gives us great pleasure to welcome you all to the 10" Biennial JAINA Convention and to our city of Brotherly Love where America began a little more than 200 years ago.
The World needs a country like America that dares to dream of being perfect and dedicates itself constitutionally with consistent compassion to the task of achieving that dream of excellence. On that path America has established a strong lead in many areas of human activity and has made stupendous strides in conquering (outside) nature.
What about the inner nature of man? Americans are endowed with openness and have been engaged in employing their legendary curiosity in the spiritual field. They are constantly searching for a philosophy that answers their question: "Who is a good person?” Unless individuals strive for perfection, America cannot hope to obtain a perfect society.
Jainism believes that all souls on this living planet are connected by an all pervasive energy and intelligence that created them and has divine perfections. That is why we as human beings have to watch our actions. When we intentionally hurt a weapon with malice on a fellow man, it may hit him or it may not, but it will surely come back to haunt us. If you consult your soul constantly (meditation, it will guide you perfectly. If you disregard it, you will discover that you are powerless before this decisive force of Karmic Laws.
This care in not wanting to harm other souls (AHIMSA) while you secure your progress is the heart of Jainism which strives perennially to liquidate suffering (VEDANA) every where in order to live harmoniously with its surroundings. Both men and women have equal chance to attain that final state of happiness (MOKSHA) based solely on their good deeds, Karma (energy accumulated by deeds). Jainism is one of the few religions that allows that those outside the religion (non-Jains) can also attain Moksha.
The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) was founded in Los Angeles with the inspiration of Gurudev Chitrabhanu and Acharya Sushilkumarji in 1981 to foster this philosophy of living in this adopted Motherland. Historically Jainism did not travel outside India. There was a real danger of losing this heritage for all Jains living outside India. Like Columbus, Gurudev our keynote speaker was a pioneer that brought this 2500 years old message to this Modern World where our second generation of Indians has started to flourish and take leadership positions in many fields of activity
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