Pravin K. Shah
We Beg Forgiveness for Our Intentional and Unintentional Wrongdoing
Michchhami Dukkadam
With Warm Regards
Pravin and Arti Shah and
Members of Jaina Education Committee
JAINA Education Committee - Activity Report (September 2007)
This report summarizes the Education Committee’s activity in the following areas:
- E-Library Website and Scanning Project
- English Pratikraman - A very successful story
- Päthashälä Education Material Status
- YJA and YJP Convention Support
- Jaina Teachers Yahoo Group
E-Library Website
The E-Library website is operational. The pdf files of all 600+ books are available at the following Jaina website.
Jaina E_Library Website = http://elibrary.jaina.org (please do not type www in the front)
We will add more books continuously in the above website as we complete the scanning of more books in India. Please review the website periodically for the addition of the new books.
We are very thankful to Dr. Navindra Jain of San Jose CA who has created the website. At present a limited search capability exists in the website, however in future you will be able to search by author, publisher, topics, languages and more.
E-Books Scanning Project
In order to provide the highest quality of E-Books, the scanning work of new books is done at 300 DPI. Also every page of a book is scanned. Every book will have two pdf files; low resolution (150 DPI) file for viewing on the computer and high resolution (300 DPI) file for printing.
With the support from Shri Pratapbhai Bhogilal Shah (Mumbai), we have received about 60 books published by Shri Mahävir Jain Vidyälaya (Mumbai) and Bhogilal Laherchand Institute (Delhi). These books represent the authentic work of Pujya Shri Punya Vijayji, Shri Jambu Vijayji Mahäräj Säheb and others on Jain Ägam literature and other literary work. We have started scanning about 10,000 pages every month. As we complete the books, we will make them available on the website. We will support to convert into E-Books of any ancient and contemporary Jain publications of any institute. Please send us an e-mail with the list of your publications.
E-Library DVD Sale
The Jaina E-Library DVD set (two DVDs in a set) which contain more than 600 E-Books (pdf format) in Jainism was inaugurated at the Jaina convention. Within three months we have sold 1600 DVDs and have shipped few hundred DVDs as a complementary copy to all the requesting educational institutes. We are now left with small quantities of DVDs in stock. You can still purchase the DVD set for $5.00 + postage. We do not plan to make DVDs of the new books.
English Pratikraman - A very Successful Story
After our announcement of the English Pratikramana Book on August 30, 2007, we have sold more than 1200 books within a week of Paryushan. We have received many complementary e-mails from our youth and adults.
It was our humble attempt to bring together a simple Pratikraman ritual for the English speaking community of North America and other countries. In this ritual, we have maintained the traditional flavor of original sutras along with their essence and meaning. The Pratikraman ritual is divided into six sub-sections corresponding to each Essential. This way one will have a clear understanding of the performance of each Essential.We have also included the 4 articles related to Pratikraman and Paryushan in this book.
1. Paryushan and Das Lakshana Parva
2. Pratikraman and Six Ävashyaka (Essential Rituals)
3. Twelve Vows of Laymen (Shrävaks and Shrävikäs)
4. 108 Attributes of the Five Supreme BeingsFor English speakers, the Sutras may be difficult to pronounce without due practice. After understanding the purpose and meaning of the Pratikraman, one can either recite sutras or the explanation of the sutras. This way one can complete this ritual within 48 minutes, which is the required duration of the Sämäyika ritual.
The following link to the Jaina website has a pdf file of the English Pratikraman and you can download the entire book from the link.
http://www.jaina.org/educationcommittee/education_material/$$$PathashalaBooks/
You can buy the Pratikraman book - at $1.00 per book + postage (Minimum quantity of 5 books required). Please continue to provide your feedback for the future editions.
Fundamentals of Jainism Book (new book for Level - I students)
In the Jain Päthashälä education series books, a simple book about Jainism is needed for the children
under age 10. Parinda Shah a young Päthashälä teacher from Chicago has compiled a book of basic Jain religion keeping this age group in mind. This book is in phase one - review process. After the review we will make it available on the website for your input. We hope to publish the book by March 2008.
YJA and YJP Convention Support
Jaina Education committee takes a very active role in YJA and YJP conventions. We assist them to find the sponsor/s to fund their requirements of educational books for Jaina Education material. The next YJP convention will be held at Tampa Florida from September 28 to October 1, 2007.
The following four books will be given to attendees of the YJP convention.
JES901 - Jainism - Religion of Compassion and Ecology
JES911 - Essence of World Religions
JES921 - The Jain Book of Compassion
English Pratikraman
The total cost of the educational books is $250. If any one would like to sponsor this amount, please call me or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Your tax deductible contribution will be recognized by YJP during the convention as well as by the Jaina education committee.
YJP convention link = http://yjponline.org/convention/index.htm
Support Needed for the E-Library and Educational Project:
Our monthly expenses for the E-Library project are about $1500 to $2000 for scanning and related activities. Over the period of three years we plan to spend $100,000 on this project. By this time we will have several thousand books collected on our E-Library Website. We work with both Digambar and Shvetämbar Jain communities in India for the compilation of authentic Jain literature.
The average cost of a 400 page book is about $50. Please sponsor as many books as possible. You can request that your contribution be used to scan specific books. Please support this important project financially which will protect, preserve and disseminate our literature to any individual or institute freely. Please send your contribution to:Federation of Jaina - Education Committee
Mailing address
C/o - Pravin K. Shah
509 Carriage Woods Circle
Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
Tele - 919 859 4994
Ordering Information for Jaina Education Material
Please download the order form from the following link and fill-in your order and e-mail the form as an attachment to Dr. Pradip Shah e-mail - [email protected]. Do not make any payment with the order. We will send the invoice with your order. To buy the books in India, please review the appropriate file from the link.
http://www.jaina.org/educationcommittee/education_material/$$$PathashalaBooks/
Jaina Teachers Yahoo Group
If you are not a member of the Jaina_teacher’s Yahoo group, please sign on. This way you will get Jaina educational material information and other education related information regularly. It is a moderated group and hence you will not receive any non-educational related e-mails.
Please send an e-mail to
Subscribe -: [email protected]
Post a message: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: [email protected]
My Trip to India and Dubai
I will be in India from October 16, to November 8, 2007 and in Dubai from November 9 to 11. I will back in USA on November 12, 2007. During this time I may not be able to access E-mails regularly. My contact (brother - Vinodbhai Shah) in Ahmedabad is 011 91 79 2674 0307 (Home), 011 91 79 2656 4255 (Office), 011 91 93282 45158 Cell.
Regards
Pravin K. Shah
Jaina Education Committee
919-859-4994