Jain Spirit 1999 07 No 01

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 26

old)
COOL TO
Flainis
OR A LARGE NUMBER OF young people in our community Jainism holds little appeal. It is an outdated tradition, out o touch with the modern world. For those people whose parents know little about Jainism and did little to encourage them to learn it, Jainism seems too remote, almost irrelevant to thei lives. They know little about it, and do not have any interest in learning more. When asked, they often claim they are Hindu because to state that they are a Jain would invite furthe questioning to which they may not have answers. The little o Jainism they have seen at community events poojas o pratikramans, they find too boring and serious. In fact during the paryushan festival, many young people come in the late evening, when it is time for entertainment, and avoid the prayers altogether. One exception is young ladies, who appear to have a much greater inclination towards Jainism than young men in our community. It is also true that many young people find vegetarianism to be too boring and out of date. They do know that to be a Jain and to eat meat is not permitted, so because of their dietary preferences, they have no inclination to learn about Jainism, which may challenge their taste buds There is also a certain amount of peer pressure to eat and drink, especially in countries like Kenya where a lot of young Jains are non-vegetarians and regularly consume alcohol.
Above all, many young people see Jainism as a philosophy of rules and obligations in which they have little independence they should not question it, and simply follow it Unfortunately, they experience this behaviour in other aspects of their lives too, especially in their relationship with parents. They constantly hear donts rather than do's and see Jainism as another extension of this. Instead of trying to embrace it, they rebel against it. Little do they realise that by rebelling against it, they are assisting in the extinction of a very old tradition and lifestyle, and replacing it with modern values, many of which have little permanence.
There are no simple solutions to this predicament. However we must also not ignore it, because there is a lot of good that still prevails in our community. We need to preserve and harness it, especially among young people, who have a lot of energy and vitality and are our only hope for the future. Many of our young people are successful in their education and careers, yet continue to have a poor image of Jainism. We need to use new ways of attracting them. One of the best ways is to involve young people in various activities, where they have a say in what is done and how it is done. In this way. they are made to feel important, and their voice and beliefs are valued and encouraged rather than silenced and ignored.
All young people have a tremendous amount of energy to do something with their lives. However, the problem is that too