Jain Digest 1993 01 Vol 20 No 01

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

Page 13

A Major Achievement Computer-based Jain Education Bulletin Board by Prvain Shah, Releigh, N.C.
Jain Study Center of North Carolina and JAINA Federation has established a computer based Jain Bulletin Board System (BBS) to promote the Jain Religion education among youths and adults of North America.
A computer based Bulletin Board system allows people anywhere in the world to use their computer at home or office to access information stored in a remote computer by using a modem attached to their computer. A modem is a simple equipment connected to a computer which uses the telephone line (just like a fax machine)
to communicate with the remote computer.
The first phase of Jain BBS will be completed and operational by February 15, 1993. The BBS will be available for access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The telephone number to access the BBS is (919) 469-0207.
The access to Jain BBS is absolutely free of charge. The only cost involved is the cost of the phone-call (if long distance) for dialing into the BBS.
The information available in the Jain BBS can be copied onto your computer, printed on your printer, and distributed freely for non-commercial purposes.
The Jain education bulletin board is planned to have the following information: (1) A course on Fundamentals of Jainism for youths and adults. This course will include, among other things, concept of gods in Jain religion, metaphysics of Jainism, Jain ethics, history of Jainism, Jain sacred literature (Agam and NonAgam), Jain geography, Jain sects and many other topics; (2) A list of commonly asked questions and answers on Jainism; (3) Scholarly articles covering all aspects of modern time issues such as ecology, animal cruelty, vegetarianism, population growth, violence, abortion, role of women in society, etc.; (4) Jain rituals (Samayak,
Jain Digest
Pratikaman, Puja, etc.). This includes step-by-step procedures for the performance of many rituals and their meanings; (5) Life of all Tirthankaras, and other monks and scholars; (6) Collection of Jain moral stories; (7) Collection of Stavans and Bhajans; (8) Information on Jain temples and pilgrimage places within and outside India; (9) Essays written by youths of North America; (10) Articles on comparative studies of other religions; (11) Rare authentic books on Jainism. (Entire books will be available on-line); (12) A catalogue of Jain books, and magazines consisting of information such as Title, Author, Translator, Publisher, Language, etc.; (13) Jain calendar; (14) A catalogue of audio and video cassettes; (15) Listing of Jain societies and temples outside India; (16) List of scholars and summaries of their works; and (17) A dictionary of Jain words and phrases.
This is the most ambitious project Jain Study Center of North Carolina has launched. All of the above information may not be available on February 15, 1993. However, a course on the fundamentals of Jainism will be available on line. The other information will be made available soon.
Currently, the entire BBS will have all the material in English. In the future, we will include materials of different Indian languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Ardh-magdi, etc.
The Jain BBS committee would welcome any material on Jainism that you would like to be included in the BBS. The sky is the limit. We could use your help in the areas of data collection and management, computer data entry, editing the articles (spell and grammar checking), etc.
If you have any suggestions, any questions or to get further information on the Jain BBS, please contact any of the committee members.
Jain Education Bulletin Board (BBS) Committee: Pravin Shah, Chairman and General Editor, (919) 4690956; Kamlesh Shah, System Manager, (919) 571-1077; Mahesh Varia, Member, (919) 929-6726; Pratysh Mehta, Member, (919) 467-2078.
How To Connect To JAINA BBS
There are only three requirements for connection to the JAINA BBS: (1) Any type of computer at home or office; (2) A telephone; and (3) A modem. This is a simple piece of equipment that allows connection between the computer and the telephone
[3
line. A simple modem may be purchased for about $70 and usually comes with software and instructions.
Once you have the modem set up, dial (919) 469-0207 from your computer according to your modem software instructions.
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When you are connected successfully to the JAINA BBS, press the ENTER or RETURN key 3 to 4 times. You will get a screen that welcomes you to the JAINA BBS a new user and has instructions about how to get your number. log-in name or After you are registered, you will see a menu screen of available choices. Follow instructions on the screen to guide you through the available information.
To sign off the JAINA BBS, press the CONTROL and "C" keys and then the LogOff key "0".
Both adults and youth should find the JAINA BBS easy to use in a short time.