15.08.2024 - JSGD - Newsletter

Jain Society of Greater Detroit

JSGD 2024 PARYUSHAN PARV SCHEDULE

Dear Society Members,

Jai Jinendra and Pranam,

SAMANI AMAL AND KARUNA PRAGYA JI

Jai Jinendra Members & Families,

We will have lectures from Samani Amal Pragya ji and Samani Karuna Pragya Ji during the Paryushan Parv.

The morning pravachans will be in Gujrati.

The evening pravachans will be in Hindi.

There will be pravachans in English for youth and children.

JOY ELECTIONS

Jai Jinendra JOY Members & Families,

As our current year ends, we are excited to welcome in the new members and the new board for the upcoming year. Please read this email carefully as it contains many important updates for 2024-25 JOY year.

To register for the upcoming year, please fill out the membership form linked below. The registration fee is $20, which can be paid on Swapna Darshan day during Parushyan, September 1st. All current and incoming members need to fill out the form in order to be part of JOY.

JOY Membership Form 2024-2025

To apply for a position on the Executive Board please complete the following by August 25th NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM.

• Fill out the JOY Application Form linked below.

Article III: Membership

1. One must pay dues to become a member; Jain Society members must pay $20 yearly

Article V: Elections

1. One must attend 25% of Jain Study Class and 25% of JOY events in the preceding year to run for office. (This requirement is for elections occurring in Sep 2024). Going forward, i.e., for JOY and Study class from Sep 2024- Aug 2025, the requirements are changing to 60% attendance in Jain Study class and 60% in JOY events to be eligible to run for JOY board in the Sep 2025 elections.
2. Anyone elected to JOY board in Sep 2024 elections is required to attend at least 60% of Jain Study class, and 75% of JOY events held during Sep 2024-Aug 2025.

Article VI: Executive Board Meeting

1. All Executive Board members must attend 60% of Jain Study Classes and 75% JOY events in their term or they may be dropped from the committee by JOY Advisors upon EC approval.

• Submit a mandatory essay and a 2-3 minute video explaining why others should vote for you. Please upload your video and share it as a YouTube link or google drive link.
• Read the Bylaws of JOY attached below. There are some changes from last year's Bylaws, so please read them carefully.

We are very excited for the upcoming year. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Regards,
JOY Board

PROF. JITENDRABHAI B. SHAH

Dear Society Members,

Jai Jinendra & Pranam,

Jain Society of Greater Detroit
Presents Scholar Prof. Jitendrabhai B. Shah
(Former director of L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad)

Jitendrabhai is a founder of Shrut Ratnakar organization based in Ahmedabad and Delhi. He is an excellent orator and very well versed in Gujarati and Hindi. He currently hosts weekly Swadhyay of “Adhyatmakalpadrum”, a Swetamber Granth in Gujarati and “Samaysar”, a Degambar Granth in Hindi. He leads a Shibir twice a year once in Gujarati and once in Hindi on “Tattvartha Sutra” which is the only composition well accepted by all the Jains. He is invited to Shrimad Rajchandra Gyanmandir for Swadhyay of “Updeshmala”.
JSGD is fortunate to have Jitendrabhai for Swadhyay bringing to us a topic which is applicable to all of us.
જય વિયરાય સ્વાધ્યાય
અનાદિકાળના ભવ પ્રમાણમાં આ જીવે ઘણા ઘણા કર્મો બાંધ્યા છે અને હજુ પણ બાંધાંતો રહે છે. તેના કારણે સંસારમાં ભવભ્રમણ ચાલુ જ છે. પૂર્વે કરેલા પુણ્યના પ્રતાપે હવે તેને માનવ ભવ મળ્યો છે, તેમજ જૈન ધર્મ અને વીતરાગ પરમાત્મા મળ્યા છે, તેથી માનવ માનવ બની નરમાંથી નારાયણ બનવાની પ્રક્રિયાનો પ્રારંભ કરે તે જરૂરી છે. તે માટે મુખ્યત્વે ૧૩ વસ્તુઓની આવશ્યકતા છે. આ વસ્તુઓની પ્રાર્થના જયવીયરાય સૂત્રમાં કરવામાં આવી છે.
ભક્તજન પરમાત્મા પાસે પ્રાર્થના કરે છે કે હે પરમાત્મા આપના પ્રભાવથી મને આ ૧૩ વસ્તુઓ પ્રાપ્ત થાઓ. માનવ ભવ ને સફળ બનાવવા સૌથી પ્રથમ સંસારના નશ્વર અને આપાત્ રમણીય ભોગ સુખો પ્રત્યે વૈરાગ્ય ભાવ જન્મે અને તે દ્વારા જીવનમાં માનવતાના ગુણો પ્રગટે અને લોકિક પ્રગતિનો માર્ગ ખુલી જાય, ત્યારબાદ લોકોત્તર પ્રગતિ સાધવા માટે અન્ય આંતરિક ગુણોની આવશ્યકતા ની જરૂર પડે છે, તે માટેની પણ આ સૂત્રમાં પ્રાર્થના કરવામાં આવી છે. ટૂંકમાં આ સૂત્રમાં નરમાંથી નારાયણ બનવા માટેના ૧૩ ગુણોનું વર્ણન કરવામાં આવ્યુ છે. ટૂંકમાં માનવ ભવને સફળ બનાવવા માટે જીવનમાં સુખ પ્રાપ્ત કરવા, આત્મિક સુખ પ્રાપ્ત કરવા અને જીવમાંથી શિવ બનવાનો માર્ગ દર્શાવનાર સૂત્ર એટલે જયવીયરાય સૂત્ર. આ સૂત્ર ઉપર વિસ્તારથી પ્રવચનો થશે.
આ સૂત્રનો સ્વાધ્યાય દરેક આત્માર્થી જીવોને લાભદાયી બનશે. જ્ઞાનાર્જન કરવા આ સ્વાધ્યાયમાં આપ સૌ અવશ્ય લાભ લેશો તથા અન્યને પણ જોડાવા પ્રેરિત કરશો.
ધન્યવાદ
🌻🌻🌻
Jay Viyaraya Swadhyay
Our soul has gone through innumerable cycles of birth and death from the time it has come out of ‘Nigod’. During these cycles of birth and death, our soul has attracted innumerable auspicious (‘Shubh’) and inauspicious (‘Ashubh’) karmas. These karmas ensure that our journey in this world continues. Due to the merits of previous auspicious karma, the soul has now acquired a human form, as well as Jain religion and Shaashan of Vitaraga Paramatma, so it is necessary for a human being to begin the process of becoming a human and from a human to a Narayana. For this, mainly 13 virtues or qualities are required. We pray to acquire these 13 qualities or virtues through the Jay Viyaraya Sutra.
Devotees pray to God that by your influence - O God, I get these 13 virtues. In order to make this human life successful, first of all, detachment towards the mortal and temporary pleasures of the world is attained and through this the qualities of humanity are revealed in life as well as the way of worldly progress is initiated. Then other inner qualities are required to achieve human progress, for which we pray in this Sutra. In short, this sutra describes the 13 essential qualities for becoming Narayana from a human. The Jay Viyaraya Sutra is a sutra that shows the way to achieve happiness in life, to achieve spiritual happiness and to become Shiva from the soul to make our human life successful. There will be an extensive Swadhyay on this sutra which will be conducted by Shri Jitendrabhai B. Shah.
The knowledge of this sutra will be beneficial to all - irrespective of the religion they follow. We urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and gain knowledge as well as inspire others to join.

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Please follow the link to see Prof. Jitendrabhai B. Shah's profile.

JSGD & JAIN ALERT GROUP TIFFIN SERVICE

Dear Society Members,

Jai Jinendra & Pranam,

Once again this year, JSGD & Jain Alert Group of Michigan is planning to provide tiffin service during 6 days of Paryushan! Due to logistical limitations, we will only be able to provide tiffins to students studying at UFM Ann Arbor. If you would like tiffin on any of the 6 days, please sign up on the form below.
A few guidelines to keep in mind:

1. We will be dropping tiffins off to a central location near you, not necessarily directly to you. This means that you might have to pick up your tiffin from somewhere other than your apartment.

2. If you fail to pick up your tiffin on any given day, we will cancel your tiffin for all remaining days. Leaving food overnight makes it vaasi and we cannot allow that especially during Paryushan.

3. If you feel you won't be able to pick up on a specific day even though you signed up, let us know latest by the night before.

4. If you have any other restrictions, please let us know and we will try to accommodate them.

5. By filling out this form, you are committing to being responsive to messages and questions. If you sign up but do not reply to our messages of confirmation, we will cancel your order.

Registration: https://forms.gle/eaAwENCZVskLaUtPA

Please spread this message to any Jain students you know who live in Ann Arbor!

For any questions, please reach out to:

Ankit Gupta - 989-909-3329
Neeyati Shah - 810 252 3375

VOLUNTEERS FOR TIFFIN SERVICE

Dear Society Members,

Jai Jinendra & Pranam,

Once again, this year during Paryushan JSGD & Jain Alert group of Michigan will be delivering food to students studying at UFM Ann Arbor. We are looking for volunteers who can help to pack the food at temple and deliver the food to students at UFM.
Packaging of food may take about 1 hour depending on number of volunteers and total tiffins going out that day. Food packaging volunteers will need to be at temple by 11:00 am (approx.).
Delivery of food may take up to 2-3 hours depending on the number of stops and traffic. We will try to minimize the number of stops at the Ann Arbor campus. Food delivery volunteers need to be at temple by noon (approx.).
Please sign-up if you are able to provide your service to students during these auspicious days of Paryushan.

Volunteers Registration: https://forms.gle/FKz3nqTuHkqbMVieA

For any questions, please reach out to:

Ankit Gupta - 989-909-3329
Neeyati Shah - 810 252 3375

JAIN CONVENTIONS 2025 REGISTRATION

Jai Jinendra Members & Families,

Stay up-to-date with the latest Convention news by joining our WhatsApp group. Simply click the button below or scan the QR code to join.