Jain Journal 2013 07

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 54

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JAIN BHAWAN: ITS AIMS AND OBJECTS
Since the establishment of the Jain Bhawan in 1945 in the Burra Bazar area of Calcutta by eminent members of Jain Community, the Jain Bhawan has kept the stream of Jain philosophy and religion flowing steadily in eastern India for the last over fiftyeight years. The objectives of this institution are the following:
1. To establish the greatness of Jainism in the world rationally and to spread its glory in the light of new knowledge.
To develop intellectual, moral and literary pursuits in the society.
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To impart lessons on Jainism among the people of the country. To encourage research on Jain Religion and Philosophy.
To achieve these goals, the Jain Bhawan runs the following programmes in various fields.
1. School:
To spread the light of education the Bhawan runs a school, the Jain Shikshalaya, which imparts education to students in accordance with the syllabi prescribed by the West Bengal Board. Moral education forms a necessary part of the curricula followed by the school. It has on its roll about 550 students and 25 teachers.
2. Vocational and Physical Classes:
Accepting the demands of the modern times and the need to equip the students to face the world suitably, it conducts vocational and physical activity classes. Classes on traditional crafts like tailoring, stitching and embroidery and other fine arts along with Judo, Karate and Yoga are run throughout the year, not just for its own students, but for outsiders as well. They are very popular amongst the ladies of Burra Bazar of Calcutta.
3. Library:
"Education and knowledge are at the core of all round the development of an individual. Hence the pursuit of these should be the sole aim of life". Keeping this philosophy in mind a library was established on the premises of the Bhawan, with more than 10,000 books on Jainism, its literature and philosophy and about 3,000 rare manuscripts, the library is truly a treasure trove. A list of such books and manuscripts can be obtatined from the library.
4. Periodicals and Journals:
To keep the members abreast of contemporary thinking in the field of religion the library subscribes to about 100 (one hundred) quarterly, monthly and weekly periodicals from different parts of the world. These can be issued to members interested in the study of Jainism.
5. Journals:
Realising that there is a need for reasearch on Jainism and that scholarly knowledge needs to be made public, the Bhawan in its role as a research institution brings out theree periodicals: Jain Journal in English, Titthayara in Hindi and Śramana in Bengali. In 37 years of its publication, the Jain Journal has carved out a niche for itself in the field and has received universal acclaim. The Bengali journal Śramana, which is being published for thirty year, has become a prominent channel for the sbvgftr54pread of Jain philosophy in West Bengal. This is the only Journal in Bengali which deals exclusively with