YJA Convention 1996 07 San Francisco CA Second

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

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JAIN TEMPLES AND THEIR HISTORY
Compiled by: The Jain Center of Detroit
Jains can be found throughout the world and as they spread out and make a home for themselves and their families they also spread Jainism. As these Jains settle down, they find they need a place to worship and to feel at peace with themselves and their communities. They decide with their friends that a temple would be a great idea and set out to build what they consider a Jain temple should be.
We, as the next generation of Jains, are expected not only to have an interest in this grand undertaking but also to be able to put in our own ideas and thoughts. How can we put in our ideas and thoughts when we have never been to some of the great Jains temples of India which our parents are using to model our temples? What can we say when they say this temple might rival the architectural beauty of Dilwara or it will be like another Palithana? What if we have never been to India with our parents as they coerce us into a jatra or temple tirth? (A tirth, for those of you who don't know, is when they lug you around from temple to temple telling you how much fun you are having.) These questions are on the mind of some of the youth in the Detroit area as we try to build a temple for ourselves and as we do, we would like to answer some of those questions.
The Jain Religion
We should start at the beginning, a good place as any to start, why are we Jains, and what is Jainism? Well, the easy answer to that is because our parents were Jains and we're too lazy to see if this is the right religion for us. For a more complete answer, we looked up what it said in the A Treatise On Jainism by Shri Jayantibhai S. Sanghvi.
"The religion which enjoins adoration and worship of Jinas or the religion which is propounded by Jinas is known as the Jain Religion. Jina means one who has conquered the internal enemies and impurities of Soul like attachment (Raga) and hatred (Dwesha) etc. He is known as Parmatma ( the great Soul), Sarvajna (Omniscient) and Sarvadarshee(Omnipotent). Such Jinas have been in existence from times immemorial. No beginning can be traced for them and hence the Jain Religion has also no beginning. It is a very ancient religion. It teaches us to become Jina and those who follow it are called Jains."
Jain Temples
Babies are expensive, need constant care, but are great joys. Temples are just like that, but they don't necessarily have a life force. Man, or woman for that matter, need a place to worship. They need a place where they can put the rest of the world aside and concentrate on their souls and enlightenment. A temple is a place where the hectic
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Jain Education Intemational