________________
04 NEWS FEATURE
America Embraces
Editor Atul K. Shah reminisces on his summer tour
Terrorism can only be removed by peace. Consumerism and greed can be countered by simplicity and humility. Jain culture embraces these values very powerfully, and my recent editorial tour to promote Jain Spirit demonstrated that there is considerable scope for Jain culture to make a mark on the global society. During two weeks in the summer, I visited Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, where I attended the Young Jains of America Convention and finally Chicago. In each of these cities, there is a thriving Pathshala (Sunday School) where children from age 6 upwards, attend regular classes to learn about Jain culture and values. Many parents have also joined these sessions to enhance their own understanding and help answer the questions posed by their children. The teachers are doing wonderful selfless work in this new 'laboratory' of modern ways of educating Jainism. And the children look forward to their classes and love their teachers. There is a real 'peace' revolution happening here.
L.A. Construction committee meeting
JAANA SHIBIR in San Francisco
Jain Education International 2010_03
During my visits, where I stayed with host families in each city, I was able to discover the tremendous unity that existed among the Jains there. Sectarian, language or regional differences were put aside in favour of the larger goal of uniting the community and cooperating rather than competing. There is a national effort to unite through annual conferences of Pathshala teachers. It seemed as if the children in all these cities were inspiring the community to come together and stay together. A $10-million-dollar community centre extension in Los Angeles was going according to plan, and there were several committees with dedicated volunteers overseeing the whole project. In San Francisco at the YJA convention, there were fifty parent volunteers who spent the whole weekend serving the youth in many different capacities. Can you imagine the impact this had on the youth? They were very touched, and there was a clear expression of the desire by parents to encourage the youths to lead the community. This is a rarity in the modern day. The conference itself attracted 800 delegates from all over North America and was hosted at Santa Clara
San Diego, California
For Private
養家
Pandit Dhirubhai speaking to Professor Crawford
Personal Use Only
Old Glory
www.jainelibrary.org
