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Mahavir Jayanti Celebration At the JVB Houston Center
JVB Preksha Meditation Center Houston celebrated Mahavir Jayanti on Sunday, 04/20th, with Samani Akshay Pragyaji and Vinay Pragyaji. The program began with the recitation of Navkar Mantra by Samaniji. It was followed by kids program. Kajal jain introduced the play, and the play began with the Shloka recital by JVB Gyanshala students. Hearing the children’s pronunciations of the Sanskrit mantras, one could not believe that Sanskrit is not taught in the schools that they attend, in the US.
The children of Gyanshala, enacted a superb performance of Lord Mahavir and his teachings, by playing a skit “Puniya Shravak”. Puniya Shravak was a devotee and the message that we got through this play was, practice abandonment of worldly possessions, and the importance of Samayik (maintaining equanimity for a set period of time) with a heart full of devotion. Jain scriptures say that if someone donates gold everyday and someone other performs Samayik, the one who donates gold cannot stand in comparison to the other who performs Samayik.
 | Samani Vinay Pragyaji’s pravachan awakened the thoughts on why we need to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti. It is not for one day, or for one week to remember Lord Mahavir and his teachings. It is something to just listen to the Lord’s teachings, and it is another to follow on the teachings. Our Sankalp (determination) should be to adopt a virtue and make it a part of our daily Aacharan (religious conduct). To move towards achieving permanent blissful state of one’s self, one must adopt a virtue every year. “Jiski Aaj Zaroorat” - Samaniji began by quoting the words of Acharya Mahapragyaji - the need for Lord Mahavir’s teachings to be practiced is far greater today than in any other era or time. We all understand the ecological crisis faced by our planet but do not know how to save it. Jainism teaches us to protect nature and to understand the importance of plants, worms, animals and other creatures which help to maintain the ecological balance. The Jain dharma becomes Jan dharma by removing just a matra (“ i ”) (accent). |
Can I become Mahavir? This was one of the questions posed to the participants of the “Test Your Talent” quiz.
“Yes, I can become Mahavir!...... ”, came the answer from the Darshan Team. As Lord Mahavir himself explained, that all souls are equal in their potential for infinite knowledge, power and bliss. The 4 participating teams were appropriately named, after the paths of Karma:
- Jnan Team (Knowledge),
- Darshan Team (Faith),
- Charitra Team (Conduct),
- Tap Team (Penance).
The format of the quiz was well mixed, with some easy and some tough questions - Talk on a Topic, Rapid Round Questions, Dumb Charades, and Talent Round.
