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AWAKENING CALL TO ALL THE JAINS
Jago Jaino Jago
The date August 25, 2004 may not be a familiar date to you today but it is a date that has branded a black mark on our collective souls. When our grand children come of age, will ask us with deep sorrow in their hearts - "where were you?..... What did you do to prevent it?.. How did it come to that?" Instead of answering, we will close our eyes, tears will roll down our faces and we will hang our heads in eternal shame. For on that day a century old dispute was settled the old fashioned way. A third guy snatched away what the two sides were. fighting for. This was no ordinary fight. Brothers were fighting brothers for the crown jewels. Now that both sides are poorer, defeated and demoralized, they are acting like children - blaming each other. Yes. I am talking about Shri Sametshikarji (Parsnathji), Siddh Kshetra. The sacred hills where 20 of our 24 Tirthankars have attained Moksha.
As reported by THE TELEGRAPH, a century old dispute over the ownership of Parsnath Hills (Girdih) was settled when the High court of Jharkhand (formerly part of Bihar) has set aside the claims of Shevtamber and Digamber sects and vested all rights to the state. In its 83 page order, the high court vested the ownership of 16,000 acres of land comprising the hill and adjacent areas to the state and granted the state permission to cancel the agreement the Bihar government and the Kalyanji Anandji Trust sealed in 1965. A full bench headed by Chief Justice P. K. I. Balasubramanyan directed the state to appoint an administrator and form a committee, with the deputy commissioner of Girdih as chairman to supervise the transition and ensure that religious ceremonies are conducted smoothly.
"Déjà vu all over again" We have experience of how the state ownership of one of our Tirth - Kesariyaji is working out. Armed guards inside the Temple, Mahants directing pilgrims to perform non-Jain rituals, beggars crowding the hallways and bhandar proceeds earmarked to the State Treasuries. Our Tirths are not protected and encroached as in the recent case of Girnar, We are locked in a dispute for a Temple in Badrinath. Some of our Temples have been converted to Hindu Temples in the South and
some Temples have been earmarked for demolition. And who can say that the worst has passed?
At the heart of the dispute, Swetambers and Digambers are fighting for ownership of our Temples. These Teerthdhams were in existence eons before any of the sects came into existence.Each side is claiming ownership of something that was never meant to be possessed. Appeals to the Supreme court will probably be filled and infighting will continue.
Moreover, the notion of ownership is at odds with Mahavir's message of Aparigrah. Followers of Mahavir have put aside the message of Anekant and are bribing the politicians, bureaucrats and whoever stretches out his hand in order to defeat the other side. The two sides have paid enormous amount in legal fees and in bribes. Many attempts to mediate disputes have been undertaken by well meaning persons of high repute to no avail. Where do we go from here? Do we accept the loss as a price to be paid to settle our scores? Do we live with the continuing hemorrhage? Do we pass on to our next generation culture of animosity and bitterness towardseach other? Are there any lessons we can learn from this tragedy?
In their respective Temples, Swetambers worship ARIHANTS and Digambers worship SIDDHA. Never the less, all Jains recite Navkar Mantra with the same reverence. There is so little that the sects disagree on, the mountain of distrust between us is in fact seating on our souls. Over time that mountain will crush us all. It is time to dig ourselves from under it
Shri Vastupal Parikh of Toronto has written very succinctly:
Jain Education International 2010_03
"Path and "Panth" seem alike
Only a difference of Negative "" Maavir's "Path" leads to Liberation Pepole's "Panth" leads to destruction"
Sitting here thousands of miles from India we can not have much impact on what is going on there in India unless we are united. Tweanty three years ago JAINA was created to foster unity among Jains in North America by Acharya Shri Sushil Kumarji and Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji.. It was to be an organization 11 JAIN DIGEST FALL 2004
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