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10th Biennial JAINA Convention
PRIDE AND JOY OF THE CONVENTION 99 - TEMPLE OF OUR DREAMS
Reporter: Dilip V. Shah
-Z-u
Tenth Biennial Convention in Philadelphia is expected to be the most widely attended convention in the history of JAINA. This convention is going to have some unique characteristics. For the first time in any convention, a Siddh Chakra Poojan by specially invited Vidki Karaks from Bombay - Shri Narendra Nandu and his party will bring true religious flavor to the convention. Also, the visitors to the convention in Philadelphia over the 4th of July weekend are going to be treated to a marvelous sight. A specially built Choumukhi temple just for this convention made of pink stone, intricately carved and so authentic, you would think for a moment that you are in India visiting temple.
-Z FIZ
This is a story of how this remarkable temple came into being. A vision of one man - efforts of scores of volunteers and an inspiration for thousands. A story that took over ninety-five years to tell and played out on three continents.
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You must have heard about the antique teakwood temple that was brought from Gujrat to the World's fair in St. Louis in 1903. The Temple was owned by Howard Hughes but was languishing in a motel in Las Vegas. With lots of efforts it was finally acquired by the Jain Center of Southern California. Most people would simply admire the awesome panels on display at the Jain Bhavan in Los Angeles. But Nipul Shah is not like most of us. He is using the panels and arches of this temple to create "something unique that would inspire our younger generation, who have never visited India, about the richness of our religion".
ZZ
Nipul was born in Nairobi, Kenya with a strong Jain environment around him. At the age of 16 he met Gurudev Chitrabhanu who was traveling out of India for the very first time. He was already assigned the task of decorating the hall where Gurudev was to speak. Gurudev touched the heart and mind of young Nipul in such a powerful way that to this day he remembers and lives by the message he heard that auspicious visit. One of them was:“When you point a finger of blame at someone, remember you are also pointing three fingers at yourself". His mission had just begun.
He went to England and obtained a Ph.D. Today, he is an internationally recognized authority on Combustion. In 1987 he moved to the USA and made San Diego his home. Just as in Kenya and in England, he is very active in community affairs, temples and "Shishu Kunj". He has a kidney transplant and almost lost his life on a couple of occasions. His motto in life is "Be Good - Do Good” Accordingly, he has turned his life towards doing something for the children.
When he heard about the temple in Los Angeles and about the convention in Philadelphia, an idea of creating the temple was born. He has seen temples in Kenya and England, but has never been to India. Many of our children have never been to India and are missing out on the rich heritage that is rightly theirs. He wants to involve our youngsters in projects that will fortify them with our culture and religion. Inspired by the antique teak wood temple, invitation
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PHILADELPHIA, PA
Jain Education International 2010_03
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