Jain Digest 1993 07

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

Page 19

Pilgrimage to Shravanbelgola
Mahamastikabhisheka of the 58 ft. tall idol of Lord Bahubaliji will take place from December 19-24, 1993. This ceremony takes place once every 12 years. The next one will be in year 2005. About a million Jain devotees are expected to attend.
This is a unique opportunity for Jains in North America to attend this unique, colorful, and grand ceremony. JAINA has the following plans:
• Lead the Jain Sangha from N. America to Shravanbelgola (Karnataka) by chartered plane •Perform Mahamastikabhisheka on a day specially reserved for N. American Jains
• Organize/Participate in seminars/symposiums, and meet Jain saints and scholars
• Open dialogue and communication with Jain leaders of India, N. America, and other countries
If you are interested in joining this pilgrimage, please send us the following information. We need this information quickly so that we may inform the management committee in India about this event and proper arrangements for boarding, lodging, etc. can be made at the earliest possible time.
Note: Even if you are planning to travel on your own to India, you can still join the North American Jains in Shravanbelgola. In that case also we do need your names.
Please send this information to Sulekh C. Jain, 9831 Tall Timber Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45241, Phone: (513) 777-1554 immediately. After hearing from you, we will provide you with further details. You may also contact the following for details: Dhiraj Shah (716) 773-1314; Mahendra Pandya (718) 816-0083; Vinay Jain (617) 237-5997; Tansukh Salgia (213) 223-7735; S.A.B. Kumar (416) 890-3368; Anand Jain (604) 9926288; Chandra Khasgiwala (508) 6851594; Manibhai Mehta (714) 8983156; Gyan Chand Jain (416) 4471650; Surendra Sethi (412) 283-8822.
Jain Digest
JAINA Announces Youth Camp
The Board of Directors of JAINA has passed a resolution to hold a Youth Camp Convention under the auspices of Young Jains of America (YJA) every even numbered year starting in 1994.
The Camp Convention will be held on scenic Lake Geneva at the Conference Point Center in Williams Bay, Wisconsin from July 1-4, 1994. The campsite is located one and a half hours north of Chicago, near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. The Camp Convention will provide young Jains with an opportunity to learn and practice Jainism, exchange ideas, network with other young Jains, and will offer a platform to design, develop, and implement programs of interest specially tailored for the young adults. The fee for the three day program, including lodging and boarding, will only be $125 and it will be open to all youths ages
14-29.
Mark your calendar now, inform your friends, and plan to attend this historic National Youth Camp Convention. The details and the registration form will be published in the next issue of Jain Digest.
Editorial - from page 1
The news should, as before, be kindly sent to the respective regional editors within the deadline given on the cover page. Letters to the editor concerning current issues in the Jain community are greatly welcomed. However, I would like to remind our readers that, as has always been, letters to the editors simply represent the views of the individual and not those of JAINA.
Each page costs $250 to produce and we are forced to limit the length of news coverage. We hope that in the future we will have more issues per year. For continuing our efforts, we need cooperation of our
For Private Personal Use Only
readers toward sending their annual donations regularly which could be as low as one-tenth percent of your income. Self-addressed envelopes are enclosed for your convenience.
Vantage Point - from page 1
in the basic principles of Jainism, practicing those principles in daily life-both personal and social-proud of its heritage and identity, under one umbrella with equal respect not only for different forms of following Jainism but also for other religions.
A Jain community of this type is my goal, mission and vision. In order to realize the goal we need to concentrate on activities relating to education and practice of Jain religious principles; external identification through mass media; preservation of the family through the institution of marriage; community service at the local and international levels in the spirit of caring for and sharing with the needy; and interfaith activities. This is our agenda for the future.
To accomplish the above agenda, a strong organization with sufficient funds and increasing involvement of youths and women in the organization is a must. The new constitution providing the positions of six regional vice-presidents and regional editors for the Jain Digest, I hope, will go a long way in making JAINA a stronger body. The constitution also provides sources of more funds. I invite youths and women to come forward and volunteer their services for committee positions.
I want to assure everyone that humility and service before self shall be my directive in conducting the affairs of JAINA. I believe in: Conquer anger by pardon; conquer a liar by speaking him truth; and Conquer a miser by giving him more. I have a firm faith in hate the sin, not the sinner. I seek everyone's cooperation in creating a Jain community of which our future generations may be proud.