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our temple are cordially invited for darshan and services. For more information, please call 201/226-2539 or 908/329-3236.
Philadelphia, PA
The Samarpan Temple of Philadelphia would like to honor 11 year old Sunny T. Shah who completed an 8 day fast. Sunny has been paralyzed since birth.
Sunny T. Shah
New York, NY
The Jain Center of America (JCA), New York has embarked on an ambitious project of building a new temple in the New York City area. Four acres of land in Nassau County, about 1/4 mile from the New York City-Queens border, has been purchased. This site will accommodate a temple, a school and a facility for community events. The JCA welcomes construction suggestions and financial contributions.
The JCA held the Parna Mahotsav for eleven Varshitap tapasvis on May 11, 1996. At this time, the JCA gave a tribute to Gurudev Chitrabhanuji for his continuous spiritual and inspirational guidance to the Jains of North America.
The JCA organized a Youth Camp at Siddachalam and also held a picnic in Belmont Park, NY.
The JCA celebrated Paryushan Parva and Daslakshan under the spiritual guidance of Shashikant Sheth, Vikash and Bhattarak Charikirtiji. There were 24 tapshyas of 8 days or more.
Washington, DC
Mahavir Jayanti was celebrated on March 30, 1996 with a stage program followed by Swamivatsal Bhojan. The stage program of songs, dances, Garba and skits was performed by the children. About 600 people attended this program. Ayambil was performed by 30 people in March, 1996.
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Jain Education International
Childrens' Jain class graduation ceremony was held during Mahavir Jayanti. During the course of these last ten years the Sunday classes for children have grown to five levels with an appropriate curriculum designed and implemented at each level. Over 50 students are currently registered in these classes. Five students completed the entire curriculum this year and were graduated. The graduation requirements included: completion of the course work, making two presentations in class, teaching a lower level class, writing an essay on a topic, relating that topic to the self and society and passing an oral review panel who quizzed the candidate on their knowledge of Jainism and asked them about their plans for the future.
A series of talks by Hukamchandji Bharill, Dhirajlal Mehta, Saman Shrutapragya, and Acharya Shree Chandanaji were held in June, July and August, 1996.
A picnic was held in June, 1996. An ice skating party and a trip to King's Dominion Recreation Park were arranged for the children.
A special program to honor Gurudev Chitrabhanuji was held in July, 1996. A framed citation plaque signed by all members of the Society was presented to him at that time. The plaque honored Gurudev for his work in promoting Jainism in North America over the last 25 years, and his spiritual guidance to our Society since its establishment in 1980.
Gurudev Chitrabhanuji and Pramodaben held a camp for children in July, 1996. Pravin Shah held a youth camp and an camp on Preksha Dhyan by Saman Shrutapragya was held in August, 1996. All were very well attended.
The Cherryhill Jain Sangh came to visit the Washington Temple in August, 1996. Jains from central New Jersey came in October, 1996.
Pooja programs are held each month at the center or at the homes of members. Monthly bhavana programs are held at the Jain Temple from 8:30 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. on the second Friday of each month.
Paryushan Parva celebration was full of religious activities, including two series of Vyakhyanmala on Kalpasutra and on Jain Tatva by Sunandaben Vohora in September, 1996. Swapna ceremony and bhavana were held on September 14, 1996
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and Samvatsari Pratikraman on September 17, 1996. About 500 people participated in these activities. The children performed Pratikraman in English. Seventeen people stayed at the center during the Parva and were busy every day carrying out religious activities. Daslakshan Parva celebration on September 19-27, 1996 featured Vyakhyanmala by Pravin Doshi.
A Panch Tirth Yatra bus trip with 40 members was held in September, 1996 to visit the temples in Philadelphia, Cherryhill, North New Jersey, Siddachalam and New York. Washington Sangh was very well received by everyone.
The Society has joined with eleven Hindu temple organizations in the Washington Metropolitan area to form an Association of Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington. In addition to the interfaith activities, the association jointly celebrated Diwali in November, 1996 which involved about 10,000 people.
A unique new program called, "Adopt Jain Center for a Day" was recently begun to offset the annual operating expenses. Over 100 families have already pledged their support to this program. A member family adopts the Jain Center for one or more days each year to celebrate a happy occasion or to commemorate a special event, and pledges $101 or more per year for at least the next five years. On the chosen day, the family visits the center, carries out religious activities, clean or maintain the
center.
Our committee members are using Email to share information and is helping members to carry out the Society's work more efficiently. The Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington has established a Home Page on the World Wide Web our address for is:
http://www.gl.umbc.edu/-ashah3 Information available on this page includes schedules of activities, directions to the temple, phone numbers, and E-mail addresses of committee members. In addition, there are direct links to other Jain related home pages around the world.
November 1996 www.jainelibrary.org
