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A JAIN CENTER IN NORTH AMERICA
Dilip Kapasi,
President Jain Society of
Houston
N or many of us who came to the United States in the late sixties and early seventies, it was hard
to find a Jain Center in the metropolitan area we moved in. Our needs to offer prayers and get
some kind of a spiritual enlightenment through Jain values were largely unfilled. Many of us of deep Jain religious heritage and conviction satisfied these needs in our own homes for routine prayers, rituals, and occasional gatherings. These activities provided us the satisfaction we needed to remain first, the Jain, at large. Jains living in smaller towns and villages currently follow these same approaches.
However, for those of us who lived in major urban areas, our Jain population grew substantially over the years. Some of us got together more frequently and addressed our common needs while watching others like us in different metropolitan areas. Some of us went to larger halls for gathering, while others worked toward a larger goal of uniting the community and created Jain Centers. The concept of a Jain Center became more prevailing with help from people like Gurudev Chitrabhanu, Shushil Muni, and others visiting us. Our aspirations rose to conduct more planned religious activities. Even the smaller places who had gatherings in halls, went in for either merging with other religious centers, or a Jain Center as well. Over the years some sixty plus Jain Centers got built. These centers are the places to come together and perform worships, pujas, and listen to invited Jain scholars from all over the world now. Our hard work and the strength has paid off. It is not too hard now to find a local Jain Center in any major metropolitan area. The efforts that were spent included sacrifices on part of many for resource pulling including carrying out hard thinking at times. Boston Jain Center in Norwood is one such example where an old Christian Church got converted to a Jain Center.
In addition to only celebrating Paryushanas in the initial years of these Centers, now the Centers have more activities. Jain Parvas of importance to all sects of Jains are now honored in the Centers. Das Lakshanas, Mahavir Jayanti, Olis and Diwalis, Shrimd Rajchandra programs of Bhakti and Pujans, Bhaktamar Pujans per southern India's traditions, are just some of the many religious functions we now celebrate in these newly created places of Worships called Jain Centers. Adults and children get together here for these occasions. The centers invite dignitaries during the course of a year to give messages of Jain value to the members.
However, as some of the old timers who started these centers are now entering in a relatively quite phase of their life, as they are in there fifties and sixties. The constituency of these Centers is changing inevitably. The new flocks of population represent much younger generation either from India or born and raised in the USA. To expect that the Centers only do those activities that the original patrons envisioned seems to many as an undermining goal or a goal not well serving the population that is changing around us. Newer generation brings newer ideas and newness in us. Filled with vivid ideas in minds about the Center they have somewhat different tasks set in minds now, as they do not have to start from scratch as the old timers had to do.
Many centers conducts many programs today. However, the general observations indicate that the presence of youngsters is not found in many of the programs. Also, the attendances of the adults who pioneered in making of the Jain Centers some years ago are on decline as there is an unwritten lack of desire on their part to join hands with the adults of the younger generation in programs they fit right for the Centers.
28. JAIN DIGEST FALL 2004
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Jain Education Intemational 2010_03
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