World of Conquerors

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: Natubhai Shah

Page 91

Ajitnath temples in Ahmedabad, the Gomatagiri temple in Indore and the new temple at Pavapuri are highly regarded as masterpieces of the Indian architectural heritage. The temples built outside India include: Mombasa and Nairobi, the Shantinatha temple at the Jain Centre in Leicester, and in the United States, temples such as those at Chicago and Los Angeles.
Literary activity has burgeoned in the twentieth century: Many scholars, ascetics and laypeople have produced literature on a wide range of subjects. The scholarly work has helped dispel the misconceptions of Jain history among both Indian and foreign scholars. The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, and the Kailas Sagar Jnaana Mandir at Koba, are the main repositories of manuscripts and collections of artefacts, established in this century, where the indexing of thousands of Jain manuscripts is near completion.
A large number of institutions, including major universities throughout India, conduct teaching and research programmes on Jainism in Prakrit and other subjects of Jain interest. Although the facilities for learning are available, the number of students taking advantage of Jain studies and research are very low, because of the lack of job opportunities after such a training.
In modern India, Jains are not only prominent in businesses but also are found in the Civil Service, the military, judiciary, police and other executive services, and Jains have also achieved high positions in politics and public life. In the sciences, Jains have outshone, both in India as well as abroad, and contributed to many areas such as nuclear energy, chemistry and physics, engineering and medicine, and academic and research fields Precise statistics about Jains' in various professions are difficult to ascertain. However, in 1992, the Jain Centre of Greater Boston published statistics for North American Jains:
Table 2.2 Statistics of North American Jains in various professions, 1992.
Medicine Engineering Management Education
14.4 % 32.1 %
4.4 % 17%
Business Finance Computers Others
16.0 %
7.5 %
3.5 % 20.4 %
These findings suggest that migrant Jains have high levels of educational and professional qualifications, and employed in highly skilled jobs.
Some monks and nuns have broken their vows and have travelled to the West for the promotion of Jainism by using vehicular transport, and the major figures who have helped in disseminating Jain values are the Revered Chitrabhanu and the late Aacaarya Sushilkumarji. They and many other saints and scholars have been very useful to the Jains abroad' in preserving their culture and traditions. A monk who remained in India, but who also broke with traditional restrictions on travelling by vehicle was the late Upaadhyaaya Amarmuni, who founded an institution in Bihar, the Veerayatan. This foundation provides facilities for the promotion of Jain values and medical and educational services to the community, and has also established a museum of Jain and other cultures, which has become a tourist attraction. He was rather revolutionary in his decision to initiate a woman as an