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Houston, TX
Jain Society of Houston has passed a difficult milestone in their goals of renovation and expansion of their Jain Center. The final expansion plan includes approximately 4,800 sq.ft. of built facility. The bids for the expansion/renovation project have been evaluated and the builder has been selected. Drafting of the final contract is under way.
Jain Society has mailed a check of $3,000 to JAINA for the earthquake relief fund. This is in addition to the amounts donated by members directly to JAINA or to the other non-profit organizations.
The format of the Swadhyaya program is being altered on an experimental basis. Instead of listening to a cassette every Sunday at 10:30a.m., one of the members will prepare on a given subject, present it to the group and then lead a discussion. Members are encouraged to volunteer to study for and lead Swadhyaya program, participate and help make it a success.
Phoenix, AZ
The Jain center of Greater Phoenix, Arizona consists of about forty families. About half of them reside in the North Valley and the other half in the East Valley. Due to the great distance between the two valleys the families are not able to get together very often. Instead they both have their own gatherings. The North Valley group has been having Swadhyaya on Thursday nights for two hours. Adults read and discuss Tattvarth Sutra. They also conduct Pathshala for the youths on Sundays. The Pathshala is divided into three classes: the small group (ages 8 and under), the middle group (ages 9 to 14), and the older group (ages 15 and up). The East Valley group also conducts Pathshala and their curriculum consists of teachings on the Jain philosophies.
During the Paryushan, six people completed the traditional eight day fast (Atthai). These forty-eight fasts were matched, rather exceeded by the others doing either one, two or three days of fasting. There was thus a total of 104 days of fasting done by about 20 families.
The Jain Center of Greater Phoenix also proudly notes the ongoing Varshitap by Mrs. Ushma Bavisi and by Mrs.
March 1994
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Shantaben Gosalia who have already completed nine months. Both of them have planned their Parnu during the first week of May. Furthermore, the Jain Center is planning to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti on April 24, 1994.
Tulsa, OK
Tulsa Jain Sangh got an inspiration to have their own mandir after attending the Murti Sthapana Mahotsav in Dallas and within two short months celebrated their own Murti Sthapana in Tulsa on September 4-5, 1993. It is housed in a temporary facility of 1200 sq.ft. given by Mukesh Shah until the Sangh decides to build or buy a separate one.
The ceremony was graced by Shri Jin Chandra Vijayji (Triputi Bandhu) and attended by many devotees including a bus load of people from Dallas accompanied by two samniji. The ceremony began with a lunch on 4th, followed by a Rath Yatra bringing Murtis of Mul Nayak Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir, Tirthankar Bhagwan Parshvanath and Namokar Mantra Shila. A highly decorated open van was used for this purpose. Murtis were taken inside while the devotees chanted Mangal songs and Stavans. Atmosphere was really enhanced by sweet musical voice of Shri Vinodbhai Shah from New York area. Eighteen Abhishek and other pujas and ghee bolis were performed in the preparation for the big occasion next day. Following a delicious dinner, there was a lecture by one of the Samaniji and then a cultural program presented by youths and children. One of the dramas dealt with Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir's life and teachings. The whole day was full of joy and devotion.
Next day started with getting the bedi ready with water cleansed and purified with mantras. Panch Kalyanak and other pujas were performed preparing murtis for their Pratishtha and at exactly 12:39 p.m., the auspicious time of Vijay Muhurt, they were installed on the same Bedi. The feeling of divine presence swept through many minds as the festivities continued. Shri Jin Chandra Vijayji gave a brief lecture on Jainism before breaking for lunch. All in all a small Jain community took on a huge task and carried it out very successfully.
JAIN DIGEST
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WEST REGION Chandrakant Parekh Regional Editor
Los Angeles, CA
Jain Center has elected a new committee which includes Hasendra Shah, President; Virendra Shah, Vice President; Kishor Sanghvi, Secretary; Dinesh Shah, Treasurer; and Nitin Shah, Public Relations.
Under the direction of two teachers, Girish Shah and Dr. Balbhadra, 63 children ranging in age from 8 to 16 years participated in the Jain Center Youth Council (JCYC) winter camp organized over the Thanksgiving weekend (November 25-28) at Lutheran Church Campsite in Lake Arrowhead. The chief guest at the camp was Dr. Balbhadra (Bruce Costain) from Toronto, Canada. The course material, distributed to the camp participants in the form of a workbook, was prepared by Dr. Balbhadra. The theme of the camp was Think Jain and it's primary goal was to give our children the basic knowledge and experience of Jainism, and to do so in an enjoyable and challenging manner. The approach was based on Samayika (soul purification) program which included mantras, meditation, and philosophy. The instructions centered around five topics - Atma (eternal and indestructible soul); and four guiding principles for daily living - Ahimsa (nonharming in thought, word, and deed), Anekantavada (accepting and respecting different points-of-view). Aparigrala (not acquiring or accumulating more than one needs), and Karma (understanding the consequences of one's actions in thought, word, and deed effecting one's future). The children conducted and presented a samayika program and a talent show which included dances, Jain rhymes, Jain rap, and several skits on non-violence, vegetarianism, say no to drugs, and other social issues. To assess the understanding and effectiveness of the course material, the children were required to complete a test on the last day of the camp. High test scores achieved by majority of the students attest to the success of the camp. It is interesting to note that
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