Jain Digest 2001 01 Vol 17 No 01

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

Page 47

YOUNG JAINS OF AMERICA
YJA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING IN CHICAGO
REPORT ON REGIONAL CONFERENCES
South By l'avan Zaveri
The last weekend of January was a weekend full of surprises. The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl and a massive earth - quake rocked Gujarat. Same weekend the YJA Executive Board meeting took place in the Chicago, IL.
The meeting started off with confusion at the airport, the pleasure of hearing the names of the fellow board members on the airport's intercom just added to the memories.
When the group finally got together, the fun and excitement began. You could see the delight on the faces of old friends who saw each other after six months. Fourteen board members, some old and some new, came together for the progress of our organization. Within this successful meeting, we looked forward to map- ping out the programs for the rest of the year and discussing what we were looking for in the next YJA convention.
That evening we had a Mexican feast that was needed after a hard day at the airport and the bland plane food. That night allowed us to get to know each other and we stayed up all night playing games, chatting, and joking around. The next morning we started at 6 am, which may have been fine for the people from the east coast and midwest, but for those from the west coast, it was still three in the morning. A few of us were lucky enough to get hot water to shower, as for those who got up late, an icy-cold shower on a winter morning in Chicago. We started the meeting in a conference room at the Jain Center in Bartlett. We discussed a lot of issues including the pros and cons of the past six months. We also talked about the upcoming activities like the Mahavir Jayanti 2600 play. Other topics and the activities that we want to undertake over the next six months. It included Project Ahimsa as a continual North American service project, which developed immediately into the YJA-JAINA Disaster Relief Aid and Project Unity as a further effort to increase the strength of the local youth groups across the continent, spearheaded by the regional coordinators.
We amended the constitution, updated guidelines for YJA Convention 2002, and allocated directorship positions to the new board members. There was a meeting with a YJP Representative to dis- cuss their activities and ours and how to combine efforts to reach the youth. To end the meeting, we met with JAINA Vice President Bipin Parikh to discuss the upcoming JAINA Convention. Like all good things, this weekend had to come to an end. Lots of goals were accomplished, creative ideas were exchanged, and new projects were undertaken at this YJA Meeting. Each board mem- ber departed with one common goal in mind, to further the progress of this youth organization.
By Kunal Shah
The South Regional Jain Youth Conference began on a rainy Thanksgiving Thursday in Dallas, Texas. Participants from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Houston came together on Thursday afternoon joining the 12 hr Namokar Mantra Jaap at the Jain Center of North Texas. The Jaap ended at 6:30 p.m. and introductions for all the guests, followed by a bhel puri dinner. In the evening, various games followed by open mike/karaoke night.
All through it rained, the next morning, the youth came together at 9 am for prayer and yoga with Samani Akshay Pragyaji and Samani Sanmati Pragyaji. The youth recited a couple bhajans led by Ruchi Khara, Stuti Khara and Shraddha Vora with English translations. Then a panel of young professionals with diverse background shared their experiences of Jainism in the Workplace, all of whom had similar experiences. The discussion often got into newer topics including pets, vegetarianism, animal dissection etc. Yet, at the end of the discussion, one key point was that as long as you maintained faith in your religion, you would be guided correctly through life and career.
After lunch, the youth played Jain Win, Lose, or Draw / Charades where they drew out and acted out various Jain words and phrases. Then, the discussion was The Happiness Experience led by Ruchi Khara and Seema Daulat where answers were sought to what is happiness? where do we find it? why do we want it? The group realized quickly that moksha was the true, permanent happiness, though our temporary happiness often relies on material possessions. The self-exploration continued with a discussion on Touching the Spirit, led by Gabriel Figueroa, a young professional Jain from Austin, Texas, who embraced Jainism only ten years ago, and now firmly believes in it. He helped us to examine our true self, and identify the body versus the soul and relate to their interaction. A South Indian dinner with uttapam, upma, idli and medhuvada After dinner, the group did some Raas/Garba, and played other games including Steal the Rotli as everyone enjoyed the new friendships.
The next morning a break in the clouds heralded a new refreshing day, as the rain slowed. The morning started with the group prayer and yoga and added meditation on this day. It was a relaxing experience. Next was the second panel discussion where college and young professional Jains opened their lives up to scrutiny as the younger youth looked to learn from them. Topics discussed included peer pressure, alcohol, vegetarianism, parties, fraterni
JAIN DIGEST- SPRING 2001/45