Jain Digest 2005 07

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

Page 38

JAINA CONVENTION 2005 HIGHLIGHTS
and Dhrumil Purohit. The recurring theme in the discussion on non-Jains to our temples. unity was the idea that the INCLUSIVNESS and not UNIFORMITY is the key to the goal of achieving Jain unity. A special proclamation of unity was signed by monks and scholars present there. Almost 3000 people in the hall stood up and repeated the words as Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji read the preamble. Kirit Daftary and Anop Vora recited the pledge. Anop Vora, who initiated this "Declaration and Pledge" over six months ago observed many moist eyes and said "This was the most moving experience of my life and I am overwhelmed by the emotional response of the conventioneers".
Program & Activities Structure The entire program was structured around the core Convention Theme, "Extending Jain Heritage in Western Environment" and all the sessions were planned in support of the theme. The sessions were grouped into tracks with each track having specific general topic. A track consisted of sessions and workshops that allowed further deeper exploration of the topic. There were 130 sessions on religious topics, 15 sessions on theme tracks, 10 sessions on social, health,
and women's topics, 1 CME session, 3 sessions in Jain center forum, Jain cooking classes, 11 sessions early morning to invigorate the body and mind, a multi-faceted youth program of sessions and activities. As you see from the description below, the entire program balanced the interest of aspirants of all traditions, Shwetamber, Digambar, Sthänakaväsi, Terapanthi and Mumukshus of Shrimad Räjchandraji to strengthen the unity and harmony among all Jains. With so many sessions, there was a need for a large team of moderators who would manage each session. Prerana Saraiya built a team of 40 volunteers who became moderators for these sessions. To assure everyone knew what they had to do, two training sessions were held to armed them with program information. The team of Amit Jain, Himanshu Jain, Kamlesh Mehta and Nirmal Baid, managed the plenary sessions with many innovative videos and presentations.
Theme Tracks - Two tracks were scheduled to discuss topics related to the convention theme which included seven sessions and workshops. The session topics were: a) Extending Jain heritage in Western environment, b) Sharing and raising awareness of Jain philosophy, c) Jain Learning & Education: Opportunities in the western world, Bringing Together the Jain Traditions, or, not!, d) Historical and contemporary view of Jain literature, e) Jain Way of Life - Professional Lifestyle, f) Sharing best practices in running a Jain Center.
Several JAINA committee members participated in the theme tracks. Naresh Jain, Dr. Hema Pokharna shared their work in Interfaith committee and urged all centers to participate in Inter-faith groups. Dr. Kokila Doshi explained that extending Jainism in the west will have to be knowledge based compared to faith and ritual orientation in India. Yogendra Jain of JAINA Long Range Planning Committee shared JAINA's vision and findings particularly in reference to the young people turning away from religion. Prof. Jagdish Sheth explained that there is a fundamental shift in society from institution driven to the individual driven values and views. He also urged to invite more
Jain Education Intemational
The workshop sessions explored these topics and developed recommendations. It was a good learning experience not only for the attendees but also for the JAINA to take this thoughts for further enhancements on functioning of the JAINA.
Religious Tracks - There were 130 sessions in these religious tracks from fundamentals of Jainism to advance topics like Tattvartha Sutra. These sessions were offered in three languages Gujarati, Hindi and English. The sessions were grouped by tracks, each with its own major subject and session topics within it. The track subjects ranged from condensed course on fundamentals of Jainism, Advanced Religious topics, Tattvarth Sutra, Jain Way of Life by Shrimad Räjchandra, Shravakachar, Great Jain Teachers, Multi-facets of Jainism, Jain literature & Dharma, Jain history & contributions, Jain Rites & Rituals. Harendra Shah, coordinator for religious tracks had the tough job of balancing all these subjects, assigning them to speakers but he managed to deliver a great program. To assure a balance between various traditions, there was a team from each tradition who was supporting religious coordinator. To support these large number of sessions, 50+ scholars and Sadhu Sadhvis were invited to the convention. The religious speakers included our sadu-sadhvis (as listed above) and Dr. Rakeshbhai Jhaveri, Pt. Dhirubhai Mehta, Shantibhai Kothari, Dr. Hukumchand Bharill, Pramodaben Chitrabhanu, Tarlaben Doshi, Dr. Sekeharchand Jain, Dr. Snehrani Jain, Diptiben Shah, Dr. J. Upadhaya, Hemanbhai Gandhi, Amit Shah, Dr.Abhayakumar
36 JAIN DIGEST SUMMER 2005