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JAIN DIGEST
First national Prakrit Conference
he Conference on Prakrit language was held on Dec. 8 and 9, 1990 at was inaugurated by the Honorable Justice E.S. Venkataramaiah who was formerly the Chief Justice of India. The conference providedparticipants with a forum to facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge, experience, and expertise in the inter-disciplinary fields of Prakrit studies and Indian culture. There were about 30 papers read by scholars including Prakrit inscriptions, origin, history, and its relationship with other languages.
Saman visits U.S.S.R.
W
ith the joint collaboration of "Cooperation for Peace" and "Anuvrata International," Saman Sthitaprajna accompanied by the youth community- Rajesh Gandhe, Bharat Tatia, Lalit Chhajed and Vinod Patawarivisited the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Saman Sthitoaprajna gave theoretical and practical lessons to students of various European countries on relaxation, long breathing, perception of psychic centers and conteplations. As a result, people came to know about Anuvrata, Preksha meditation and the Science of Living accurately.
Feature Articles
Jains in Kenya have achieved economic
prosperity
n most of the big towns in Kenya, there is a center, a temple and often a Jain school. In Mombasa and Nairobi, the community centers are large and include a sport complex, reception halls and administration offices. The two main schools in Mombasa and Nairobi are y well administered and their pass rates are some of the highest in the country. All the Jain institutions are managed by voluntary committees-in Nairobi, there are some sixteen such committees! Except for Nairobi, the Jain population in other towns has dwindled from what it was in the 1970s and early 1980s. This has led to a significant decline in manpower and enthusiasm for community work.
Jain Education Intemational
In Nairobi, the Oshwal community is active and they have taken some important new initiatives in recent years. A library has been established which is well stocked and, more importantly, well used! They have submitted a syllabus and material on Jainism to the Education Ministry to ensure that it is included in the new religious education program. Regu
Jain temple in Kenya
lar "pathshalas" are being held for children.
The Oshwal Youth League is very active and recently organized a sports festival which attracted Oshwals from all over the country. It was a very successful event. There is an atmosphere of interest in community work among the youth.
Unfortunately, a large majority of the Jains in Kenya are non-practitioners of the essence of Jainism. The incredible wealth that they have made has been retained for themselves, with the result that the youth have become spoilt and spirituality is in the decline. The Africans in Kenya are very poor and there is a lot that the Jains could do to help them in terms of education, medical care and housing, but very little is being done.
-This is an excerpt from Jains in Kenya
Watch out- do you
think you are still
vegetarian?
A
survey and feedback from many Jain families has shown that more than 90% of the Indian restaurants in North America do not serve vegetarian meals. The deep-frying done in restaurants does not distinguish between vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. Beware of ordering samosa, pakora, kofta, puri, mattar, paneer or saag paneer from the vegetarian menu. Chances are that the items have been deep-fried along with meat items or at least in the same oil. Thus many of the Indian restaurants non-vegetarian meals to vegetarians. In the end let us say to contact to restaurants to immediately stop this deceitful practice. Page 11
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