Jain Digest 1997 06 Vol 13 No 02

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

Page 22

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 9th BIENNIAL CONVENTION
Congress Centre. The food committee did a tremendous job in organising the feeding of 7000+ people in two hours. The food was delicious, very varied in its taste and its regional origin and catered to the different needs of respected Sadhu and Sadhvijis, older generation who abstained from eating potatoes, onions and garlic and new group of vegans. The younger Jains also had a choice of pasta and sandwiches.
It was an amazing sight to behold, everything was executed with military precision with hardly any wait.
In the evening on Friday, Ravindra Jain and party from Bollywood entertained some 2,800 listeners to Jain devotional songs for three hours. He too emphasized in his music 'the exorcising the ghosts of firquas' and called himself the follower of the Tirthankar only. Ravindraji was well received by the audience and he responded by singing a specially written song for the Convention. His words when set to his music had an electrifying effect and had definitely added to the message of this Convention. The young Jains had also organized a cruise on Lake Ontario which grew from one boatload to three. Over five hundred youths, 19 and over, had an awesome time. Simultenously there was a dandiya-raas programme at the Congress Centre for those who had the urge to participate in something more active.
The Saturday night was for the cultural programme and various Jain Sanghs chosen from some 54 centres, presented skits, dances and other varied items. Janak Khendry presented two very impressive dances on Sthulibhadra and Kosha and the other on Panchkalyanak. The evening ended with Young Jains dancing away till wee hours.
The Sunday started with Pratikraman, Yoga and Meditation and was followed by questions and answers with all Sadhujis, Sadhvijis, Bhattarakji, Guruji and Samanji on the stage fielding difficult questions from the audience. 90 minute proved to be too short a period to satisfy everyone. The final part of the morning was taken up by the closing ceremony, highlight of which was the presentation of the JAINA Awards. The JAINA Ratna Award was given to Dr. Tansukh Salgia for his excep- tional contribution to the promotion of Jainism in North America. The Acharya Sushil Kumar Ahimsa Award was given to Dr. Bruce (Balbhadra) Costain for helping second generation of Jains in maintaining their religious identity. Many other adult and young Jains received awards for their work in promoting JAINA and the cause of Jainism. (See pages 24-25 for a complete listing).
There were many other important activities which highlighted the Convention. The Youth Networking workshops proved to be successful. The marriage bureau was in great demand and had over 650 entries. For the first time ever, a blood donor clinic in was set up which was quite successful.
A Convention of many firsts, the Toronto JAINA Conven- tion was also the birthplace of programming for children be
tween the ages of six and 13. Aimed at educating and inspiring the children of the Jain community about the fundamentals of their religion, the sessions enabled the children to
understand what it meant to be a Jain, especially in North America. From rhythmic ahimsic poetry to the story of "Emily the Cow" to understanding the concept of vegetarianism, all sessions captured the interest of every child who attended. The initiative was very successful and attendance topped 120 kids on Saturday morning.
Special time slots and rooms were made available to any groups or alumnis for get-togethers. Hence there were mini sammelans of Kutchhis, East African Jains, Oswals, Gurjars, Alumnis of Mahavir Jain Vidhyalay etc.
special souvenir issue was published to commorate the occasion and help raise some funds. The souvenir contained many original articles on Jain art and architecture, Vastushastra, Agam etc. Souvenir was very much in demand. Similarly, a pin depicting hand symbol of peace was given away as a convention momento (one per family) was very much appreciated by the delegates.
This was a very uplifting JAINA Convetion. It attracted more than 7,500 delegates to Toronto, compared to only 2,500 at the 5th JAINA Convention, also held in Toronto, in 1989.
The name and work done by JAINA has become well known to all the Jains around the globe. As mentioned by outgoing President Dr. Manibhai Mehta, JAINA has been recognized by the U.S. government, as well as the government of India, as a humanitarian organization.
During the convention, JAINA elected a new executive committee under Dr. Dhiraj H. Shah, of Buffalo, as President, and launched the JAINA Bhagwan Vardhman Education Endowment Fundin honor of Gurudev Chitrabanu's 75th brithday, and collected pledges of US$75,000. JAINA also held the meetings of its' Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Presidential Advisory Coucil and JAINA Chartiable Trust.
Dr. Dhiraj Shah, in his address to the convention, presented his vision of JAINA for the next two years (see a transcript of the speech on the next page). He talked about the need to have Jain temples at each Jain community and a pathshala at each center. He emphasized the need for senior citizen housing in different regions of North America.
Ravindra Jain had composed a special song called 'Viday'or parting of friends which brought a surge of emotions in the hearts of the audience as they joined in the singing. Ravindraji said this is not a goodbye but au-revoire meaning until we meer again. We then parted with joy of successful Convention in our hearts and sadness of parting with so many friends we had made.
The Ich Biennial JAINA Convention at Toronto has reinforced the spirit of Jain unity demonstrated in San Francisco in 1991, Pittsburgh in 1993, and in Chicago in 1995.
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