Jain Digest 1991 11

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 14

year-old Laju Shah of Hayward. "And a lot of us think our parents should loosen up and allow us to
tapas (self-control).
Jainism prescribes a simple path to happiness, where one must not injure living beings, not be greedy and must try to control one's passions and desires.
Sixth Biennial JAINA Convention was a great success
On July 4, 1991 nearly 3,500 Jains from North America and around the world gathered at the sixth bicentennial JAINA Convention. This was the largest one ever held outside of India.
Some of the pleas to consider Jainism as a way of life, because it is as relevant today as they were 2,500 years ago, were given by High Commissioner, L.M. Singhvi; environmentalist, Michael Tobias; former governor, Jerry Brown; Ambassador, N.P.
bock, TX. Three special awards were presented for contributions to Jainism to Michael Tobias, Padmanabh Jaini and John Cort.
The primary focus of this event was a contemporary theme "Extending Jain Heritage to the Next Generation." The Jain message itself as professed by Vardahaman Mahavir hinges on the basic philosophy of reverence for life (ahimsa), nonpossessiveness (aparigraha) and
The convention brought home the conviction that Jainism is a very unique philosophy of life, a unique religion with a code of conduct, which offers to the world a philosophy which may yet provide a basis for informed and enlightened action on the ecological front.
Jain Digest
adapt on issues like dating. But that kind of thing takes time. I
Jain and UC Berkeley student, Rakesh Bhandari.
Many strategies were suggested, for example, making yearly visits to India, or living in India for extended periods of time to learn what the real culture is like, visiting Jain pilgrimage centers, taking part in local Jain events, going to patshalas and forming youth groups.
The 1991 JAINA award was given to Dr. Prem Gada who established a library of Jain books and audiovisual material in Lub
think that ultimately you can be Jain and be an American, too."
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The youth was a main focal point of this JAINA
convention, with more than 600 youths taking part in the event, representing one of the largest gatherings of Jain youths outside of India. Jain youth leaders were clear about their vision of the future. For them the journey had only begun. They saw the convention as being the start of the quest to secure Jainism for future generations and in doing so they gave assurance that Jainism would not dissolve in the great American melting pot. If Jains all over the world continue to strive to "Extend the Jain Heritage to the Next Generation" in their lives and through their endeavors like the JAINA Convention the future will take care of itself.