Jain Center Los Angeles CA 1988 07 Jain Bhavan Inauguration

Author(s): Jain Center So CA Los Angeles
Publisher: USA Jain Center Southern California

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JAIN CENTER OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A Message from the President
Dr. Manilal Mehta
It is a great privilege and a distinct honor for me to welcome you on this auspicious occasion of our Jain Bhavan Inauguration and Murti Sthapna Ceremonies.
This joyful, historic event is of great significance to us. It is a culmination of a dream that began with the founding of the Jain Center of Southern California in late 1979. Ever since its beginning, the leaders and members of the Jain Center had an overwhelming desire to have our own Jain Bhavan. The Center was instrumental in the founding of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA). The very first JAINA convention was hosted by us here in Los Angeles in 1981. On that great occasion, Pujyashri Chitrabhanuji and Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj were at hand to encourage and inspire us to set a goal of having our own Jain Bhavan in the Los Angeles area. What you see here today is the achievement of that goal. However, the pride and joy of this achievement should not be confined only to Southern California. Instead, I sincerely hope that our success will act as a catalyst to inspire and encourage all the member organizations of JAINA to establish similar Jain Bhavans and temples throughout North America.
The significant progress made during my tenure as President has been greatly facilitated through the support and help from many individuals. Whilst I am grateful to each and every one of them, I must acknowledge some of them individually. To begin with, the dedication and commitment of my wife, Savita, towards the services of the Jain Center has surpassed even the consideration of her own health. Both of my sons, Ashish and Minesh, have always been there to carry out my requests.
Many dignitaries have taken a very active interest and have played a notable role in the success of our project. I am very happy that Pujyashri Chitrabhanuji is here today to share with us the result of the vision he helped to inspire from the very beginning. The Derasar Murtis were obtained through the efforts of Shri Uttambhai and Shardaben Mehta, Shri Shrenikbhai Kasturbhai Sheth, Shri Arvindbhai of Shri Shankheshwar Parshvanath Pedhi and Dr. Kumarpal Desai.
In addition to the efforts of all the hard working past and present Executive Committee members, the contributions of Shirish Seth, Chandrakant Parekh, Mahendra Khandhar, Jitu Shah, Shashi Jogani, Dinkar Shah, Bhupesh Parikh, our architect Dhiren Shah, and many more should be specifically noted. The growth of the Jain Center Youth Council has flourished under the direction of Girish Shah and Mahendra Khandhar. Over 60 children now attend the fortnightly Jain religion and Gujarati language classes being held at the Jain Bhavan.
The inauguration of the Jain Bhavan is not the end of our mission. Rather it is just a humble beginning. We need to continue to sustain, nurture, share and promote our religious faith. We should preserve and pass on our religious and cultural heritage to our children and generations to come. With the blessings of Lord Mahavir, we will accomplish this together.
JAI JINENDRA
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