Sudhir M. Shah
Jaina Convention
Federation of Jain Associations In North America
Exhibition - A Great Media Of Communication And Dialogue
 Sudhir M. Shah Sudhir M. Shah chairs the JAINA Exhibition Committee. He has been involved in Jain education for over 10 years and is a Jain representative of Yale University Interfaith Group. The exhibition is available on loan to any center at a nominal cost to support the JAINA exhibition projects. |
Despite its formidable history, the Jain faith has less than 10 million members, the vast majority whom reside in India. Only 1 % of the world's population is even aware of Jainism. This poses a challenge for many of us active in the interfaith activities.
Today, an estimated ten thousand Jain families live in North America. Though many go often to the temple, and some regularly attend pathshala (Jain educational classes), few truly understand and apply the principles of Jainism in their day to day lives.
Why, a philosophy that has so much to offer is understood so little? This is because Jains, the followers of Jainism, have historically remained passive and complacent both in the practice as well as in active promotion of their great philosophy. "Understanding Jain Way of Life" a 72 penal JAINA exhibition, is our attempt to address this issue.
Background and Inspiration:
As JAINA delegation was preparing to attend the Parliament of the World's Religions summit held in Barcelona, Spain, during the summer of 2004, JAINA thought that an exhibition on the introduction to Jainism could be very effective in this interfaith environment, where we were only a very small minority. A small 16 penal exhibition was constructed and displayed in Barcelona. The overwhelming success and positive feed back from that exhibition set the stage for the construction of a larger exhibition for JAINA 2005. With a strong support from JAINA Executive Committee, JAINA Exhibition committee was formed. And the exhibition was designed with the following purpose.
- to educate its viewers about the Jain philosophy and its rich, scientific, and historic background
- to expose the Jain youth to their glorious heritage
- to motivate its viewers to apply these ideologies in their every day lives
- to unite members of the Jain community
This exhibition named 'Jain Way of Life' is dedicated to the youth, who are the future of Jainism. For illustration, the structure of panels is described below.
The Essence of Jainism - in this section, the three fundamental Jain principles are shown. It is important for better understanding, that a religion be able to be simplified. This simplification may, in no way, replace the complex philosophy. It is merely a condensed form of this philosophy, and is therefore easier to practice.
Panels in this section - Essence of Jainism, Non-Violence, Anekant of the Jains, The Blind Men and the Elephant, Aparigraha Philosophy - after understanding the fundamental principles, one may now comfortably delve deeper into the Jain philosophy and attempt to understand the more complex, and abstract parts. Panels in this section -The Concept of Jina, Siddhachakra, Worship, Soul, Karma, Jain Symbols, Swastik.
Common Misconceptions - this panel addresses some of the most common misconceptions about Jainism, in an effort to correct them.
Jainism in Action - the next step is to bring the Jain philosophy from ideals and ideologies to practice, and integrate them into our daily lives. Panels in this section - Jain Conduct, Forgiveness, Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Service, Social Activism, Vegan Lifestyle, Environmentalism, Socially Responsible Investments, Yoga & Meditation.
Knowledge - it is important to remain a free thinker. For this reason, we have taken a step back, into the history of Jainism, to see where our current knowledge of the religion comes from. During the sixth century BCE, the Jain's most recent prophet, Mahavir revived the religion, and our current practices and beliefs stem directly from his teachings. However, there was no writing during his time and so his teaching were passed down orally from teacher to pupil until they were finally compiled into texts. This section includes these texts as well as acharyas, the Jain's spiritual teachers, who were particularly prolific in their work. Panels in this section - Jain Dharma Through Time, Jain Scriptures, Kalpasutra, Tattvartha Sutra, Jain Acharyas (4th Century BC - 2nd Century AD), Jain Acharyas (5th Century AD - 7th Century AD), Jain Acharyas (7th Century AD - 16th Century AD), Jain Shravaks, Jain Shravikas
Jain Contribution - Many of the things in this section are amazing because you had previously believed them to be of Western scientific origin. This brings to your attention as to how advanced and scientific the religion, and its members, truly was. We have again kept this authentic by providing quotations from the ancient Jain scriptures. Panels in this section - Religion and Science, Jain contribution to Atomic Science, Applied Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Psychology, Cosmology
Jain Temples - the next section is a slideshow of Jain temples. Jain art has been unique since its conception. This is evident in the engravings and layout of the ancient Jain temples. Panels in this section - Jain Art and Architecture, Jain Temple, Many prominent Jain temples.
JAINA - finally, the ongoing effort of JAINA is presented to increase the awareness of Jain religion.
A sample of panels from several sections is displayed to give an idea of this 'Jain Way of Life' exhibition. The entire exhibition is available on loan to any Jain center at a nominal cost to support the JAINA exhibition projects.
