Jain Center Los Angeles CA 2008 09 Pratishta Souvenior

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

Page 163

Biren Mehta
From Childhood to Adulthood in the Jain Center Community
Long before our Jain Center erected its very own temple in Buena Park, I was first introduced to our community through youth classes held in various living rooms in Southern California. I do not recall having any strong desires to attend or not attend the classes, but at the young age of 8, I recall being profoundly affected by the concept of compassion.
It was not until 6 years later that our community inaugurated the opening of our temple and I realized how large and powerful this community really was. The temple and its community had its greatest effect on me during its first four years of existence, which coincidentally were my high school years. At a time when students are exploring their independence and defining their identity, I found mine in our religion and our Jain community. It was during those years that I established my boundaries and built strength in my conviction. Soon after I found myself treading unfamiliar waters in college and away from home, only to realize that I had a firm and content understanding of 'who I was.'
I managed to stay close to the community and the temple when I entered the workforce. I married a girl who also grew up within our community and shared my values. Today we find ourselves so grateful that our temple has become a focal point for our family and that our 1-year-old daughter will grow up with an even larger and more united community than we were.
Biren Mehta is a busy husband and father with a career in finance and in graduate school for an MBA.
With Best wishes to Jain Center of Southern California,
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