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Contents
President's Message
Almost 10,000 people attended the Pratishtha Mahotsav and the 8th Biennial JAINA Convention. These two auspicious occasions were held at the Jain Center in Chicago from June 28 to July 4, 1995. I wish to congratulate the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago for planning and hosting these wonderful and successful events. A report on the Convention is included in Headquarters News, in this issue.
Headquarters News ................ For Your Information.............. Regional News .................. M. I. S. .............. Affiliate News .................... Committee News .............. International News ................. 29 Articles
............. Jain Path Nutrition and Vegetarianism Young Minds .......................
I would like to thank everyone for their support in electing the new Executive Committee under my leadership. My priority is to uphold the fundamental vision of JAINA as an umbrella organization to unite all Jain Communities in North America. My goal is to maintain an open channel of communication with all centers, to respect and reconcile differing views and opinions and to implement constructive suggestions for the benefit of the entire community. The twenty-six subcommunities have played a major role in JAINA, by promoting the practices and preachings of Jain principles. I plan to provide support to these subcommunities and seek additional resources to help them expand their activities.
Innovative educational activities must be implemented for the benefit of the younger generation. We need to develop state-of-the-art teaching tools to help our youngsters learn about Jain heritage. We need to create more opportunities for them, to get them involved in promulgating Jain principles. We need to reinforce our support, and encourage them to help sustain their interest in practicing Ahimsa and Anekantvad. I am very happy to note, that the Young Jains of America have already begun to plan for the Second JAINA Youth Convention in 1996.
From the Editor
Jai Jinendra. The Jain Digest would like to congratulate the new Executive Committee and wish them the very best and encourage cooperation from all of us. Under this new leadership, we are confident that JAINA will reach new heights. We salute the hard work of the outgoing committee for putting JAINA on a stronger financial and organizational footing.
We wish to compliment the fine work the Chicago Jain Sangh and the JAINA committees did to bring about the successful Convention and Pratishtha Mahotsav in Chicago. Seeing so many Jains in one place outside of India, gave a feeling of assurance that the Jain culture will survive and flourish in North America. The report and picture record demonstrate a small fraction of the excitement that these events generated. One such event, that attracted a great many young people and parents, was the activities of the Marriage Information Service. This issue of the Jain Digest highlights the important work of this committee. The ever increasing number of announcements that are published are a very important feature. The Jain Digest salutes Husmukh Shah for his dedication and those of you, who have taken advantage of this valuable community service.
The YJA is planning the next Youth Convention in the summer of 1996. Details about this are included in Young Minds.
The Jain Society of Greater Boston has taken upon itself to update the Jain Directory, that so many of us have come to depend upon. Please take the time to fill out the forms which - continued on page 36
It is with great pleasure, that I acknowledge the contributions of Jagat Jain and his committee members in leading JAINA for the past two years. Through their dedicated efforts, JAINA has continued to evolve as an effective organization of international repute. My team members and I plan to further the goals and vision of JAINA. With the blessings of Lord Mahavir and the continued support and trust of the entire Jain community, we will be able to achieve our goals.
All Jain centers must have celebrated the auspicious event of Paryushan Mahaparva with great enthusiasm. I offer my Michhami Dukkadam to everyone and convey my best wishes for a prosperous New Year.
Jai Jinendra.
M
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Manibhai Mehta
Sept./Dec. 1995 Jain Education Intemational
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