18.11.2016 ►JAINA ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Federation Of Jain Associations in North America

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Jai Jinendra!

We are publishing a brief overview of our Tirthankars in serial order in our weekly JAINA Newsletter. Please visit www.jaina.org and click on Religious Topics to learn about the life of first seven Tirthankars already published and also take Dharmalabh of reading outstanding Religious articles.

Jain Milan is a great opportunity for our Youths to meet potential life partners. Jain Milan 2016 will be held from Dec 2-4, 2016 in New Jersey. Please forward this Newsletter to anyone who may be interested.

Sincerely,

Ashok Domadia
JAINA President
Chairman - JAINA BOD

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Security born of material things is a delusion. To remove this delusion, one takes the vow of non-possession and realizes the perfection of the soul.

- Bhagwan Mahavir

APARIGRAHA

Out of the three basic principles of Jainism, Aparigraha is one of them. In order to understand Aparigraha, first we should understand Parigraha. Parigraha does not only mean having a collection of things. It is the feeling of being owner of those things or attachment towards those things. Jain Darshan emphasizes the soul's internal disposition i.e. the belief towards the nature's truth on how the universe works, what real happiness is and who am I. The conduct (chaaritra) needs to be consistent with that samyag belief (darshan) and realized understanding (gyan). So, real aparigrah is only possible for samyag drishti Jain. For others who have not realized their soul's intrinsic nature and are on the path to getting there, they learn to curtail desires and possessions. For one who understands and believes in these kevali told truths, the wealth and possesssions depend on past karmas but parigrah depends on the internal disposition of possessiveness towards what are really not his soul's. However, in the worldly empirical lifestyle, one is custodian of what one owns.The parigrah can be of people, animals, belief or non-living materials. The worldly wealth creates attachment which results in greed, jealousy, selfishness, ego, hatred, violence etc and thus results in the bondage of cycle of birth and death.Non possession and non attachment are to be observed in speech, mind and deed.

Aparigraha is the first step to advance in the road of Dharma- Righteousness. An Aparigrahi is always above selfishness. He who cares for others’ well being is known as a large hearted man. A man who is Aparigrahi is selfless, out and out and he cares in the least for himself but he devotes his attention and time for others all the time. When bad time comes he never thinks of himself, he is never worried about himself but worried about others’ problems.

The history testifies to the fact that the great Aparigrahi, Jagadu Shah. Jagadu Shah gave away eatables at the time of draught to everyone for free. Samprati the emperor, Kumarpal the great king and such others were even ready for the cause of oppressed and the down trodden. Greed and miserliness always come in the way of Aparigraha.

KNOW YOUR TIRTHANKAR

CHANDRAPRABHU SWAMI

Chandraprabhu Swami is the 8th tirthankar of the Avsarpani kal. He was born to King Mahasen and Mata Lakshmana in Chandrapuri Nagri. He had 93 gandhars and he attained Nirvana at Samet Shikhar. He took 3 bhavs to attain moksh after Samyak Darshan. His topic of first sermon was Ashuchi Bhavna. Asuchi means something that is not clean or something which is not pure. Bhagwan has referred our body as Ashuchi and tries to explain us that no matter what we apply on our body it will always remain dirty. Now if we think carefully, our body contains many kinds of waste and no matter how much we clean it, it will never get clean or pure. We waste a lot of time in cleaning our body. We should concentrate on purifying and cleaning our soul by doing religious practices and following the path of Jainism.

JAIN MILAN - 2^nd TO 4^th DECEMBER 2016

We are happy to announce that the next Jain Milan in-person event will be held from December 2nd - 4th (Fri-Sun) at Embassy Suites Newark Airport, New Jersey. Over 60 Youths have already registered!

Jain Milan is an opportunity for Jain youths age 22 and older to meet in person, to make friends, to engage in networking, and to find a life partner. In the past Jain Milan sessions facilitated the interactions through Ice-breakers, interactive sessions, speed dating, mixers, meet & greet events, relationship workshops, and Garba-Raas. Though online and email communication help to a certain extent, nothing comes close to meeting potential suitor in person. Jain Milan is organized to encourage our Jain youth to meet other Jains for the purpose of matrimony and to facilitate face-to-face meeting in a comfortable, welcoming environment.

to view and Download Jain Milan 2016 flyer.

JAIN CENTER NEWS

JAIN SOCIETY OF GREATER DETROIT

Various events were organized for Diwali Celebration at temple. In Morning Snatra Puja, General Body Meeting and Swamivatsalya where more than 600 people attended Morning Diwali Celebration Event. In Evening there was Bollywood Live Music Concert which become the best part of the day with overwhelming response from more than 200 members attending.

YJP

Are you a leader who enjoys making a difference? Do you enjoy community organizing in meaningful ways? Interested in leaving behind a legacy?

Young Jain Professionals is accepting applications for the 2017 Executive Board! This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved with YJP and give back to the community. Be part of an amazing team to help Jain professionals’ network and inspire each other.

For more information, please contact your 2016 YJP Co-Chairs:
Neal Daftary -
Purvin Vakharwala -

JAIN STORY

SHALIBHADRA

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woman and her son in a small village. One day, there was a festival in the village and all the kids, including the poor boy, came together to play. After playing, everyone started to eat kheer, which they brought with them. This poor boy did not have anything with him. He felt bad and ran back to his mother. He asked her if she would make him some kheer since all the other children were eating it. His mother said that she could not make kheer and told him to eat whatever she had cooked. He started crying and insisted on having kheer. His mother could not bear to see him cry. So she…

AHIMSAK ECO-VEGAN COMMITTEE

The Ahimsak Eco-Vegan Committee encourages local activities to educate and promote elements of an ahimsak lifestyle including veganism, non-use of Styrofoam and plastic products, and other means of minimizing our environmental harm. On November 6, the Jain Center of Northern California hosted an event with a speaker, an interactive display with challenge to take a pledge, and a delicious Jain vegan lunch. Kuntal Joisher was the featured speaker, who told an audience of all ages of his commitment to veganism throughout his arduous journey to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. He had 3 attempts, including one in which the earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 almost killed him, to finally reach his goal in 2016. Outside the hall where he spoke was an informative and eye-catching display by Pranav Mehta, who spoke with pathshala students and parents, and suggested various pledges they could take. A large number opted to take some steps towards a dairy free life. And a delicious lunch was served by Pravin Turakhia and many volunteers, with pasta-dhokli, falafel salad, persimmon slices, poha, and fruit salad/kheer. Afternoon chai was made with almond and soy milk. For more details on this event and additional information, please see veganjains.com

CHILDREN'S CORNER

Please read above story of Shalibhadra to solve puzzle.

To get the answer please visit website

Down:
2) Where did King Shrenik invite to Shalibhadra?
3) Name of Shalibhadra's Brother-in-law?
5) How many sarees Bhadra Shethani bought from merchants?
7) Words that poor boy heard when he was about to eat Kheer

Across:
1) Name of Shalibhadra's Mother
4) How many wifes Shalibhadra had?
6) After playing, what did all kids start eating?