Jain Spirit 2002 06 No 11

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

Page 13

GLOBAL NEWS
WAS A GENIUS
with analysis drawn from the original Jain texts in Prakrit and Sanskrit as well as his own research. The Conference consisted of five separate panels, each with different approaches to the theme. The four-page abstracts and bios of speakers are available on the website: www.csupomona.edu/-jainism. The speakers and their subjects were as follows: Conference Programme
Panel 4: Towards Greater Understanding Through Ahimsa and Anekantvada chaired by Amar Salgia. The Tremendous Practicality of Anekantvada by Gabriel E. Figueroa; Non-violent Education and Parenting by Ruth Beaglehole.
Panel 1: Ahimsa and Non-violence chaired by Joseph Prabhu. Ahimsa and Non-violence: A Comparison of Religious and Cultural Values by John Cort; Ahimsa and Compassion by Kristi Wiley; Jain Response to Terrorism by Kim Skogg
Panel 5: Education about Jainism chaired by Phyllis Herman. Unifying Jain Concepts with Day-to-day Thinking and Behaviour by Pallavi Gala and Biren Mehta; Jain Education in the 21st Century by Sudhir Shah; Barefoot on the Cyber Rout: Imaging Jainism in Higher Education by Sudhamahi Regunathan; Jainism in the College Curriculum by Tara Sethia.
NEW STAMPS AND CANCELLATIONS Jain Sangh of Patna and Bihar Puravid Parishad jointly organised a national seminar on Bhagwan Mahavir in Art, Archaeology and Literature. The seminar was held at Patna, Bihar on 2-3 March 2002. The Indian Post provided a special cover depicting a photo of a damaged murti of the Jain Tirthankara. This murti was found in Lohanipur, near Patna and exhibited at Patna Museum. It is from the Mauryan period, third century BC and is the oldest Jain murti in the world. The special cancellation bears the line sketch and has a bronze Jain Dharma Chakra of 2nd century BC.
For installation (anjanshalaka pratishtha) and initiation (diksha) a special cover and special cancellation was issued at Malpura, Rajasthan on 10 February 2002. The special cover depicted a colour picture of the beautiful local Jinkushalsuri Temple and the special cancellation had the footprints of Gurudev Jinkushalsuri.
A special cover and a special cancellation were issued at New Delhi on the 70th Birthday of “Osho' Bhagwan Rajneesh (born: 11 December 1931), who was a Jain. It has an image of Osho with thousands of his disciples in the background, with his message at the back: "I want to remind you that whether I am here or not, the celebration has to continue. If I am not here, then it has to be more intense and it has to spread around the world. Celebration is my religion. Love is my message. Silence is my truth."
Panel 2: Anekantvada and Beyond chaired by Maria Heium. The Ontological and Epistemological Significance of Anekantvada by John M. Koller; Mahavir, Anekantvada and the Contemporary World by Samani Charitrapragya; Multi-dimensional Significance of Anekanta in Present-day Social Life by Kamala Jain; Beyond Anekantvada: A Jain Perspective on Tolerance by Paul Dundas.
Panel 3: Ahimsa and Anekanta in Jain Tradition chaired by Fujinaga Sin. Examples of Anekanta and Ahimsa: The Case of the Early Jains of Mathura in Art and Epigraphy by Sonia Rhie Quintanilla; Religious Dissonance and Reconciliation: The Haribhadra Story by Christopher Key Chapple; Anekanta, Ahimsa and the Question of Pluralism by Anne Vallely.
Prof. Paul Dundas, University of Edinburgh, Scotland commented: "The whole weekend was a most pleasant experience, not least because it was so efficiently organised and hosted. All papers were interesting. There were of course differences in emphasis and approach amongst speakers but I do think the listeners derived some benefit from hearing them. I was particularly impressed by the youngsters I met who took it all seriously."
Dr. Sonya Quintanilla, UC-Irvine & UCLA commented in her message after attending the Conference: "I thought you might be happy to know that yesterday at the start of my seminar at UCLA I gave a summary of what took place at the Jain conference. As a result, Bob Brown, Prof. of South and Southeast Asian Art at UCLA, decided to offer a seminar on Jain Art in Spring 2003! He agreed that Jain studies are sorely under-represented in university curricula. This is what we need: professors to take the initiative and push for the offering of courses in Jainism,"
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Mr. Satish Kumar addressing the audience
The oldest Jain statue, with cancellation
June - August 2002. Jain Spirit
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