Jain Spirit 2001 12 No 09

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

Page 49

YAMANA
अहिंसा परमो धर्म
Children performing on stage in Sydney (with a little assistance from adults!)
the ones we were used to in the UK. This was another source of great stimulus for us. Being a small community, the Sydney Jains come from all sub-sects of Jainism, be they Digambara, Shvetambara, Sthanakvasi, Deravasi etc. The community seems to be united by its diversity. For most of our lives we had belonged to tight-knit insular Gujarati Jain communities. We had never met Jains from the Punjab or South India before.
Before coming to Sydney, our interest in singing bhajans had been minimal. Now we wished we had spent more time with our parents learning the songs they knew. While we sang indoors, the rainbow lorikeets and the sulphur-crested cockatoos sang (or rather screeched) outdoors. The formal meeting finished with the aarti (worship ceremony). There was no commercial auction-style bidding for the aarti, but rather all the children performed followed by the adults. If needed, the aarti was repeated until everyone had a chance to share in the experience. In this way, our son Veer received the blessing on a monthly basis before he was born.
"Only after all the children are finished do the adults sing."
Bhajan was followed by bhojan, a pot-luck dinner. All the families brought a dish. This was an occasion to socialise and reinforce ties within the community. Mahavir's Liberation was celebrated on Diwali. The children had spent considerable time and effort rehearsing for the programme that was put on after the pooja. This was followed by a sumptuous feast. During our time in Australia, we experienced a once-in-a-lifetime event. We are not referring to the Olympics, although Sydney
Children, Our Gurus
2000 Olympics happened as well. In a Hindu temple in Canberra, a specially commissioned statue of Bhagwan Mahavir was inaugurated. Although there are just a handful of Jain families in Canberra, the foresight and vision to achieve this must be so great. This to us was truly remarkable. The fact that people of three different faiths can stand side by side and worship under the same roof must surely say that we have more in common than we have differences.
The inauguration ceremony (Prathista) was for us quite powerful and unexpectedly emotional. Prior to the Prathista, the statue had been more like a slab of stone, yet in front of our very eyes it became imbued with holy life and significance. We were also treated with a fortnight of lectures on Jainism. Veer, who still had not been born yet, showed his appreciation with the odd kick. In Canberra, we made friends with Jains from throughout Australia.
Although we saw the Great Barrier Reef, the Blue Mountains and the rainforests of Tasmania, what we actually brought back with us was the unassuming humility and generosity of spirit that was shown to us. Jainism in Australia is thriving, thanks to the unity and vision of the Jains.
Divyen Shah is a medical doctor who lives in London with his family, Veer and Trushna.
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December 2001 February 2002 Jain Spirit
45