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MY FIRST FIFTEEN YEARS
Mansi Vira
Age 15 Edison, New Jersey. bluedancer 17@hotmail.com)
From the deep, warm realms of the womb a child crawled out. She was yet another progeny to whom which her parents could transmit their Indian heritage, culture, and family values to. This child already had several identities, a couple including American, Indian, but most importantly, Jain, She was raised with her mother's affectionate nurturing, the first and single person to instill the significances and morals the Jain religion underlined. From birth itself, this child had matured and prospered in school and faith with the Jain religion abide her, unrelentingly governing and protecting her. Ordinary people would call it this child's luck to be born under the sanction of a Jain family who believed in nothing but the well being and truth. However, I call the so called "luck", my own karma. Yes, it is my own accumulation of positive karma to be blessed with the characteristics that compile my identity as a human, Jain, yet specifically a soul with equivalent energy as each and every soul in Moksha.
Yes, it is my own accumulation of positive Rama to be blessed with
the characteristics that condile muidentitu as a
human, Jain, yet specifically a soul with
equivalent energy as each and every soul in
Mokesha.
regard Jain Darshan as my instinctive nature. In my opinion, it is the only religion and philosophy that I have come across to be so explicitly true. What I admire most about it is that it and its concepts are not forced upon you-you practice however much you want, and not more. Other religions/ philosophies promote themselves by having positions such as missionaries to force upon the particular religion or convert people's beliefs into that religion without their consent or desire. The astonishing fact is that currently, people are increasingly learning the ideals of Jain faith, such as vegetarianism, without any impressments or obligations. This reality reveals one fundamental, yet crucial aspect of the Jain philosophy: Bhavana. Without the inner motivation, no practice, understanding, or essentially anything at all is credited to the "effort" put forth. I have incorporated a set routine of setting aside 20 minutes in the morning and at night devoted strictly to reciting sutras, stutis, and meditating. It is my desire, and no one tells me to do it. I know that without my desire, my bhav, anything I do will not amount to a tangible result. However, when I do religious practices with a sincere bhav, I receive a special spirit; a spirit to learn, incorporate, practice, and to excel. But from where does this spirit come from? Indeed, from none other than the eternity and everlastingness of our own soul.
See, this is what I like about my Jain philosophy, we don't pray to our Gods asking for something to be done or changed. We simply ask for the spirit, the energy to withstand and surpass what ever predicament we are in. For example, if someone has cancer and is admitted into the hospital, one doesn't pray to God to get rid of the cancer. Instead, one prays for the strength, the energy to bear the agonies and fight the cancer. I admire this very aspect of Jainism, because it challenges me to unveil my own spirit, and essentially my own soul. I think there's no other religion out there as unique and self-providing as the Jain religion. I mean, in other religions it's the same as mandatory to go to a church and perform various rituals to achieve the ultimate goal. For us, it's more than sufficient to contemplate on and uncover our soul. Upon accomplishing this difficult, but not impossible
14 Biennial JAINA Convention 2007
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