The Delegates Prepare to Leave for the Meeting

The delegation comprised of :

Accompanying the delegation were Mrs Meenaben Chandaria, Mrs Sarojben Bakulbhai Mehta, Mrs Krusha Piyush Mehta and her mother.

The delegation had started from London after having recited the Namokar Mantra. Oman delegate, Bakulbhai recited the Manglik in the hotel before departing for the meeting at the Pontifical Council offices.

The delegation had gone to the Vatican at the invitation of the President of the Pontifical Council, His Eminence, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. He along with the Deputy Chairman of the Institute of Jainology, Mr Nemu Chandaria  presided  over the meeting held in the offices of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue (PCID).

Institute's Delegates with His Eminence the Cardinal Tuaran

Father Santiago Michael with some of the Jain Delegates

In addition to the President of the Pontifical Council, PCID was represented by His Excellency the Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, Rev Monsignor Andrew Thanya Anan Vissanu, Under-Secretary  PCID and Rev Father Santiago Michael. The latter being responsible for relationship with Jains and Buddhists.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of mutual respect and friendship, members of the delegations expressed satisfaction over the cordial relations and cooperation that exist between both the Christian and Jain communities in countries where they live their day-to-day lives in proximity.

The delegations agreed that collaboration  must be strengthened at the local levels to better contribute towards the common good of the entire society. In particular, they stressed the importance of educating the younger generations to be aware of their own traditions and convictions, and to learn about and respect those of others.

There was a lively discussion to find concrete areas of convergence as the basis for mutual collaboration and in particular they focussed on  the Jain principle of  Ahimsa (non-violence)  and that of Christian ‘charity’.

Rev Monsignor Andrew Thanya Anan Vissanu  said that whilst the Jains extend the  principle of non-violence to absolute respect for all living beings, including plants and animals, Christians maintain that the man is at the centre of creation and  thus is called to respect , protect but also use God’s gifts.

Thus, whilst they  found some common elements that can motivate and sustain Jain-Catholic collaboration, recognising the differences between the two principles was equally important.

“They also recognised that these common elements, on a practical level, call upon the followers of both the traditions to promote mutual respect, truthfulness, honesty, freedom, peace, social harmony and to commit themselves to eliminate every form of violence against human beings, in particular injustice, poverty and exploitation of natural resources”.

Msgr Vissanu mentioned that the Rome meeting was a good starting point to promote understanding within the Jain community where in some cases the distinction  between Catholics and other Christian denominations is still unclear.

At end of the discussions, a joint communiqué was agreed upon  and issued. Please click here to see the full text of the communique issued jointly.

Meeting Participants in Front of a Mural showing Mahatma Gandhi Meeting H H The Pope

The Institute hosted a Jain lunch to celebrate the meeting and created an opportunity for all to get to know each other and continue the discussions informally.

Next day PCID had arranged for the delegation to attend the Sermon given by the H H The Pope.  The delegation members were provided with privileged seating in the front row  of the hall with a capacity of about 8,000. Special mention was made of the visit by the delegation to Rome and that a communiqué had been issued. Nemu Chandaria was then introduced to the Holy Father.  Mr Chandaria  then proceeded to  present H H The Pope with a set of Jain Manuscripts catalog and a special gift brought by the Oman delegate. The gifts were examined by the Holy Father and accepted gracefully.

Seems As If The Holy Father is Blessing the Manuscript Catalogs

Holy Father Examining the Gift from Oman

PCID office had kindly arranged for the delegates to visit  St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Library (where only invited guests are allowed), Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

Father Santiago Michael who is the Institute’s contact with PCID had been instrumental in arranging the meeting which had taken over nine  months to be fitted in to the busy schedule of the President of the Pontifical Council.

Father Santiago with Some of the Delegates in Front of St Peter's Basilica

His Eminence, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran had been on a two week visit to India during which he participated in a seminar on Christian– Jain dialogue in collaboration with the Catholic Church in India  and the World Fellowship of Religions at the Acharya Sushil Muni Ashram in Delhi.

The first high level Jain Catholic meeting took place in February 1995 in Rome. Contact between the Vatican and the Jain community dates back to the first inter-faith prayer meeting in Assisi, Italy in 1986. Jain delegation has since participated in other inter-faith gatherings in Assisi.

Contact details for the local Roman Catholic personnel in London were provided and delegates look forward to developing further contacts with them.

All the delegates appreciated the considerable efforts made by Nemu Chandaria in making this meeting possible and assured him of the continued support by their respective organisations for all of the Institute’s activities.

Ahimsa Day celebrates the central Jain tenet of ‘non-violence’ as a means to peace, positivity and prosperity, encouraging MPs, Lords and Ministers to discuss how current world issues can be considered from an alternative ‘compassionate’ perspective.

The focus of this year’s Ahimsa Day was Climate Change and the Contemporary World, a theme on the minds of many people around the world who are seeing first-hand the catastrophic effects of global warming. The setting was House of Commons Committee Room No 10.

Audience Arriving

Evening’s compère was Miss Avni Girish Mehta who after introducing herself requested Ms Palvi Shah to recite the auspicious Navkar mantra to start the evening.

Avni Mehta Starts the Proceedings for the Evening

Lord Dholakia, one of the most consistent supporter of the Ahimsa Day celebrations formally opened the evening to welcome the guests on behalf of the Lib-Dem Parliamentary Friends of India. He talked about his own vision of how the Jain philosophy of non violence  applies to so many facets of the politics in both Houses. He also invited the Institute to use the facilities in House of Lords to host a similar event.

Lord Dholakia Welcoming the Guests

Lord Dholakia was followed by Mr Stephen Hammond MP of the Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India and then by Mr Virendra Sharma MP representing Labour Parliamentary Friends of India. Mr Barry Gardiner MP an old friend of the Institute also wished a successful evening. Mr Gareth Thomas MP also took the opportunity to welcome many of his constituents who were present in the audience.

Mr Jaysukh Mehta, a Director of the Institute then welcomed the members of the audience on behalf of the Institute. He outlined the history of Ahimsa Day celebrations and how the Ahimsa Award had come about. He also listed the illustrious personalities who had been awarded the Ahimsa Award in the past.

Jaysukh Mehta Welcoming the Guests

Next to address the audience was the keynote speaker for the evening , Mr Phil Wynn Owen, the Director General for International Climate Change & Energy Efficiency in the Department of Energy & Climate Change [DECC]. He reminded us that even though we in the United Kingdom, contribute to less than 2% of the world’s carbon dioxide omissions, it is our duty to set an example and find ways of helping other countries, within the EU and elsewhere, to reduce their emissions and take active measures to slow down the pace of Climate Change. The inspiring speech about what we could do to make positive changes for the world of our children. Please click here for the full text of his speech.

Mr Phil Wyn Owen Starts His Address

Dr Mehool Sanghrajka, Director of Education at the Institute of Jainology responded with the Jain view on Climate Change and the Contemporary World. He reminded us of two basic premises of Lord Mahavira’s 2600 year old philosophy, perhaps the greatest environmentalist theory in our history:

• The earth is a living entity and we are interdependent. We should respect the right of all life to exist, and learn to live in harmony with it rather than exploiting it.
• The earth has enough resources for all. It is accumulation by the few that is the cause of the scarcity. We should learn to live within what we need.

• He explained that these two principles offer us all the solutions that we need to solve the problems that the world is facing, if we based our actions and thoughts on science rather than politics! Click here for the full transcript of his address.

Dr Mehool Sanghrajka Addressing the Audience

Mr Mahesh Gosrani, a Director from the Institute announced Mr Nitin Mehta MBE as the recipient of 2011 Institute of Jainology Ahimsa Award. He then read out a citation outlining the reasons for the choice of his name.  Mr Mehta’s selfless contribution to the causes of vegetarianism and compassion for animal life. As the founder of the Young Indian Vegetarians Society and an active resident of the Croydon Council, his efforts to promote Ahimsa were acknowledged by the Institute. The Board of Directors of the Institute of Jainology were unanimous in their choice of Nitin Mehta as the recipient of their prestigious award. Click here for the full transcript of the citation.

Mahesh Gosrani Reading the citationfor the Award

Nitin Mehta MBE Receiving the Award from Lady Dholakia

The memento for the Ahimsa Award 2011 was presented by lady Dholakia to Mr Nitin Mehta MBE   on behalf of the Institute.

Nitin Mehta MBE expressed his pleasure and felt humbled that his name was included along with the illustrious names like Mr Nelson Mandela on the list of the recipients of Ahimsa Awards in the past. He also delivered his own message of why he supports vegetarianism and how the ecology of the earth is being damaged by eating non vegetarian diet. His full address is appended. Click here for full text of his speech .

Dr Harshad Sanghrajka Updating the Community on the Institute's Affairs

Dr Harshad Sanghrajka then briefed the community members on the activities of the Institute over the past twelve months. Ms Palvi Shah was then invited to recite  ‘Maitri Bhavnu Pavitra Zarnu (The Sacred Stream of Amity) composed by Pujya Chitrabhanu. She started with a brief explanation of what the ’12 Contemplations’ in Jain philosophy and then the significance of the poem she was about to recite. Click here for the poem and its explanation.

Palvi Shah Reciting the Poem

The evening was brought to a close by a short vote of thanks by Dr H Sanghrajka. This year’s celebration of Ahimsa Day proved to be a great success and only if a larger venue was available many more than those standing at the rear end of the Committee Room of House of Commons could have been seated comfortably.

Keynote Speaker Having an Informal Chat

House Was packed Out

We hope that  the message of Ahimsa continues to reverberate in the House of Commons and keep its members alert to the benefits to be had by following it and also the dangers of ignoring it.

Panoramic View of the Committee Room

Mount Kailash In All Its Glory

In fact, when Gautamswami enquired of Bhagwan that all other disciples were being enlightened and he was not, Bhagwan advised him to go on pilgrimage to Ashtapadji and he would be assured of enlightenment in his present life.

Both the Jain Agams and the scriptures refer to   Ashtapadji and Maansarovar, the highest lake in the world that never freezes, with considerable reverence.

The changing landscape through the millennia that have passed, the remote location, the difficult and often hazardous access and finally international borders have kept Jains away from their principal tirth for many centuries.

In 2009, Param Pujya Bhaishree, the spiritual guide and leader of the Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, attended the inauguration   of a model of Ashtapadji in New Yorks Jinalay at Queens. This included pratmajis of the 24 tirththankars and Guru Gautamswami instructing 1500 hermits how to ascend Ashtapadji. Having heard the history of Ashtapadji was greatly inspired to undertake the pilgrimage there and had quietly been planning for it since then.

In August 2011, he led a party of 92 of his followers on this magnificent Kailash Maansarovar yatra. It was a group of mixed abilities, with ages ranging from 20 to almost 80 however all were armed with the absolute determination to follow their Guru on this quest., It is known that the original Ashtapadji was in the vicinity of Mount Kailash  and presently there is a smaller mountain next to Kailash named Ashtapadji.

This was a historic Yatra:

Firstly it was for the first time in recorded history that such a large contingent of Jains under the leadership of their Guru had undertaken such a Yatra. The group had reached Maansarovar at an altitude of 4.750m late in the evening.    The strain of a day-long ride melted away at the first sight of the serene Maansarovar and the breath-taking Kailash. The mountain shone pure and white, ethereal and enchanting, towering and yet benign.

Secondly, an Ashtaprakari puja with idols of Jain Tirthankars that took place next morning on the shores of Maansarovar, at an altitude of 4,750m followed by a ceremonial veneration of Ashtapadji Tirth had never been done previously .

This puja was conducted with five Jain idols – two of Lord Rishabhdev and one each of Lords Munisuvrat, Parsavanath, and Mahavir in a small marquee. The radiant idols were brought to the site amid rousing cheer and singing and installed by P.P. Bhaishree to the accompaniment of bhakti.  All members participated enthusiastically in each of the pujas read by Br. Vikrambhai - jal puja, chandan puja, pushp puja, dhoop puja, deep puja, akshat puja, phal puja and naivaidya puja. This was followed by aarti and mangal divo

Procession to the Puja Site

The puja was part of a three-day Aradhna Shibir which included meditation sessions and swadhyays on the significance of Ashtapadji.  Jain scriptures give pride of place to Ashtapadji. Suyagdang Sutra confirms that Lord Rishabhdev gave deshna here. Uttaraadhyayan Sutra calls Ashtapadji the pinnacle of all Jain tirths. Lord Mahavir has reiterated in Mahavir Chariyam that the yatra to Ashtapadji, if done with atmashakti, brings one liberation.

Puja In Progress

Two books in particular were referred to by Param Pujya Bhaishree in his swadhyays,  ‘Ashtapad Tirth ni Bhavyatra’ and ‘Rishabh Panchashika’ by Muni Hitvardhanvijayji both of which include vivid description of Ashtapadji in Bhagwan’s times and give references to Agams.

Maansarovar with Vivid Colours

We were at this  highest lake in the world, soaking in the spiritual vibrations of a highly revered mountain and offering our respects to Lord Rishabhdev with abiding devotion and faith. The grandeur and greatness of Ashtapadji was spiritually empowering, inspiring us to make offerings through a puja not performed for many a century.

After the Puja on Ashtapadji

Param Pujya Bhaishree then led a group of 68 followers on a three day parikrama (circumbulation) of Mt Kailash taking them up to altitudes of 6000m plus. In this arduous journey, all kinds of weathers were encountered from blizzards to hail storms to scorching hot sun and blinding rain. However, everyone returned safely, fortified by their faith and a strengthened devotion.

Pursuing spiritual practices in a conducive environment is easy. At Maansarovar, climatic changes and acclimatisation issues can make things difficult. These  problems, however, were easily overpowered by the magnetic aura of the place and the grace of our guru. All we had to do was drop our resistance and to let the atmosphere seep into our being. Soon, the gusty winds, chilly nights or low oxygen levels were not an obstacle for us.

P. P Bhaishree’s gentle presence belies his overwhelming strength which in turn made it feasible for us to enrich our spiritual moorings and to not be affected by the physical reality of our surroundings.

The external discomforts experienced at high altitudes are in fact a reality check, testing our readiness as sadhaks. As P.P Bhaishree said pertinently, the natural bounty in full evidence around us is a reflection of the wonder and joy that is within us and that is all that really matters.

We were filled with awe, at being part of this historic happening, wonder,  at being able to withstand the hostile weather without a hurdle, happiness, at the energy that seemed to possess our spirits and gratitude, for the grace that flowed from P.P. Bhaishree and the divine spirits that enveloped the place.

The spell cast by nature in the luxuriant realms of Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet endures. It was indeed a journey to the abode of the gods and a dip into the divinity of our souls enabled by our benefactor, P. P Bhaishree. In his loving care and sanctum, we nurse our spiritual dreams knowing that he enables us to understand what is truly ours

This article is being published in the earnest hope that other Jain groups will be inspired to go on a pilgrimage to this majestic tirth and  revive the significance it held during Bhagwan Mahavir’s time.  Further details of the Yatra at www.rajsaubhag.org

Rev. Sally Thomas and Mr Peter Clegg, both of whom visit the Jain Community Centre regularly and have become good friends of the Centre were also part of the ‘Yatra’.

Visitors at the Jain Centre

The visitors took part in a short meditation session and a prayer whilst at the temple.  A short talk was given on one of Jains’ most sacred pilgrimage site, Palitana. Both Rev. Sally Thomas and Mr Peter Clegg were so impressed with talk that they have decided to take part in a yatra to Palitana in 2012 with Jain Centre members.

After taking some refreshments, the group continued on its yatra visiting a further 14 places of worship. The yatra was completed by mid-afternoon.

A short talk was given on the holy centre of Palitana during the visit and were so impressed that they are now intending to go on a pilgrimage with a group of friends to Palitana around early 2012.

Rev. Spence was highly impressed with the white Marble Temple and the beautiful idols.  He said that he felt a special aura in the Temple and found the atmosphere very peaceful. His young son described the Temple as “magnificent”.  Both of them, together with many others promised to visit the Jain Centre again.

Indian Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has published a ‘Handbook for Overseas Indians’ with compilation of relevant information that an Overseas Indian may require to to investigate the processes for setting up a business in India.

The handbook has compiled/summarized from information available in official documents/circulars/ web sites of Government of Government of India, RBI, information received from various States and other reliable sources.

Whilst the publishers have taken every possible care to provide authentic information, it is intended to be used as a guide only and does not purport to be a legal document.

Institute of Jainology has uploaded this handbook to provide a convenient and quick source of information for its visitors but does not vouch for the validity or the correctness of the information.

Please click here to download The Handbook For NRIs  in PDF Format (1.4Mb)

A large number of our community members have either already obtained their certificates of being ‘Overseas Citizen of India’  or are considering the possibility of doing so seriously.

The concern faced by all is what is the status of their British Nationality especially when visiting India. Would the British Government provide any consular assistance should that become necessary or deny that assistance stating that the person concerned is considered a Indian National and not entitled to any Consular assistance. There were all kinds of interpretations going round and causing severe concerns to those who had already obtained their OCI status and stopped many from applying for it.

Mr Gopal Bhudia of Freeman Solicitors have now obtained a very clear statement from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and kindly allowed us to publicise the response for the general benefit of the community at large.   A copy of the letter is also be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page. Mr Bhudia has kindly agreed to being circulated freely.

Click here to download the the above letter in PDF Format

For further information or clarification should it be required please contact the Foreign & Commonwealth Office directly at the address shown.

Programmes were planned for two weeks commencing 20^th August, 2011.

Four sessions were delivered every day at the following times:

06.30  08.00              IOJ/102:  Atmasiddhi Shastra ~ formal course

10.30  12.00              Various subjects before Paryushan.
Kalpa Sutra and Mahavir Katha in Paryushan days

15.00  16.15              Various subjects: Amitgati Samayika verses.

18.00  20.00              Pratikramana

20.00  21.30              Stavans by the local professional group
Before Paryushan: Anandghanji Pada discussions

During Paryushan: Shravak Dharma and 12 vows.

Whilst in Nairobi, Harshadbhai was invited by Shree Visa Oshawal Community, Nairobi to attend the honouring ceremony of two tapasvis: Shantaben with 90 day fast and Kantaben with 65 day fast.  During the ceremony, an English explanation was given on the topic of Tapa: Austerity. Opportunity was taken to encourage closer relationship and unity among the various Sanghs in Kenya.

A presentation using power point slides was also delivered on Sunday, 21^st August at the Oshwal Centre Auditorium, Nairobi, on the subject of Pratikramana: its purpose and meaning and a full explanation of the Moortipoojak Pratikraman ritual was delivered.

On Tuesday, 23^rd August, in response to a request from Visa Oshwal Community, Thika, Harshadbhai spent the afternoon to deliver an open session to the youngsters where a detailed discussion came into play regarding the reality of ‘vegetarian eggs!’

After dinner at Shree Kalpeshbhai Shah’s, a couple of social visits were undertaken before the evening session at the Mahajanwadi in which the preaching of Bhagavan Mahaveer in context to contemporary living was discussed.

Mahaveer Janma Kalyanak was observed with full buzz and circumstances brought both the Sanghs together with the Parnu in the Navnat Hall on Monday, 29th.

All planned sessions were delivered on Friday, 2^nd September and the Sangh returned Harshadbhai to the Airport early on the morning of 3^rd September.

The Paryushan Parva was enjoyed by all involved in organising, attending and hosting the events.  Feedback from the Sangh is expected in few days.

It is very obvious from the program schedule above that it was very tightly filled and quite exerting. Harshadbhai was conducting session for over six hours daily. However, it is pleasing to note that his efforts bore fruit in that all the sessions were well attended and Q&A sessions were very lively. He also found time to participate on local radio discussion on Jain religion.

The chart below illustrates graphically the intensity of the programs:

Following letter was received from the Chairman of Shree Sthanakvasi Jain Sangh, Nairobi on completion of the tour by Harshadbhai.

Mr Sanjay Shah along with three musicians had arrived from Mumbai for the bhavna. Along with that he also held discourses on good living and good values.  He had also got the children interested and they were actively participating in many activities.

In one of his discourses, he narrated an unusual experience during his visit to Osaka. There is only a small but active Jain community in Osaka. They had appealed to a fish seller in their neighbourhood not to sell fish on Samvatsari day as a mark of respect for life and avoid harm to a small number of fish on that day. The fishmonger gladly obliged.

This inspired the Management Committee of Gujarat Samaj in Kaula Lumpur to do likewise. There are four non vegetarian restaurants facing the Jain Mandir which were approached with a request not to serve meat on Samvatsari day. Beyond all their expectations, three of the four restaurants remained closed on the day and the fourth one served only vegetarian food. In a truly Jain fashion, the three restaurants that remained closed were compensated for loss of business. Community members duly donated generous amounts to fund the compensation and the Sangh was left with a healthy surplus.

Emboldened and encouraged by the restaurant owners’ acceptance of the request, the Samaj went one step further and asked all their members to request at least two of their non-vegetarian friends not to eat meat on the auspicious day. Most members wrote to at least five of their friends and were overwhelmed by the response from their friends.

Nothing is impossible – one has to have faith and the confidence to make the necessary efforts to achieve the desired result. Well done Gujarat Samaj of KL. Let us hope that Jain communities worldwide would be inspired in the same manner as your Committee was.

The Gujarat Samaj is not sitting on its laurels – it now plans to request the Malaysian Government to declare Samvatsari day to be a meatless day. Further they want the Jain communities worldwide to come together and get a United Nations endorsement on Samvatsari day to be a Meatless Day.

The clarion call has been made for Jains worldwide to start working on this noble suggestion.

Gujarati Association Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Email address: info@gujaratikl.com.my Website : www.gujaratikl.com.my

EXCO:  President : Datuk Bhupatrai Shah +60193117390 Vice Presidents : Bhashkar P Chitalia +60122104395   Mahendra P Malani +60122199577

Secretary : Dipak V Damani +60123938858     Treasurer : Vijay R Sheth +60178899665

CLU is a new University formed by Claremont School of Theology (CST). Established in 1885, CST is an institution of The United Methodist Church, situated in Southern California among the prestigious Claremont Colleges. CST is a respected institution for studies of Christianity,  and Judaism and Islam have been added under the auspices of Claremont Lincoln..  The school received a $50 million donation from the Lincoln family of Arizona to start a program for world religions and in May 2011, CLU was born.  The first religion CLU chose to partner with is the Jain dharma.

CLU is a one-of-a-kind academic institution that welcomes partners from all religious and ethical traditions and they have begun their journey by partnering with the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. Over the last seven years, six Claremont students have gone to India to study the Jain dharma at ISJS. At the initiative of one of these six students, who is now pursuing her doctoral studies at Claremont, Jain studies has become an integral part of the CLU by establishment of  “ISJS at Claremont Lincoln University”. This alliance is further strengthened by a separate letter of understanding between JAINA and CLU in which JAINA has pledged its full support to the establishment of a Jain studies program.

The understanding between ISJS and CLU is very ambitious and has 20 action items in it but for now the following three will be put on fast track:

1.     Offer the first course on Jain dharma in the Fall of 2012,

2.     Holding an annual international seminar on Jain dharma at Claremont campus where Jain scholars and academics from all over the world will be invited to present research papers, and

3.     Establish distance education programs for Jain studies. This initiative is expected to be “Open Source,” meaning it will be available to anyone, anywhere and at any time.

The festivities of September 6 at Claremont were dignified and were a harbinger of great things to come in the near future. The stage was decorated with two large framed Jain art paintings, scores of Jain books donated by Jains of North America and a tall brass lamp. In attendance were President Dr. Jerry Campbell, Provost Dr. Philip Clayton, Mr. and Mrs. David Lincoln, many faculty members and invited guests of Claremont School of Theology, ISJS Director Dr. Shugan Jain, a large delegation of members of the Jain Center of Southern California headed by Rajen Dhami, three Past Presidents of JAINA Dr. Sulekh Jain, Kirit Daftary and Dilip Shah.  The auspicious event began with Manglacharn by Pramodaben Chitrabhanu. Dr. Christopher Chapple made the opening remarks; Dr. Sulekh Jain spoke of ISJS and JAINA at Claremont Lincoln University before the lamp lighting ceremony with the image of Goddess Sarswati in the background.

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb gave the Jain community a warm welcome and Rajen Dhami (Trustee of JCSC and Vice President of JAINA) noted the importance of the new initiative and presented mementos from JCSC to Mr. David Lincoln who thanked and welcomed the Jains.  ISJS alumna Amanda Pumhery spoke about the Jain symbol of the raised hand and Tim Helton talked about the art of giving.

Dr. Shugan Jain spoke next about the philosophy of ISJS and hopes for the alliance between ISJS and CLU. He presented specially created scarves for the event to President Jerry Campbell, Provost Philip Clayton, Chair of Board Mr. David Lincoln, CFO Lynn O’Leary-Archer and Brianne Donaldson Chair of Jain Exploratory Committee at Claremont Lincoln. The traditional ceremony of yoking symbolizes joining together and pairing of ISJS and Claremont of Lincoln was thus formalized.

Dr. John Cobb spoke of plurality, practice and possibilities as we go forward. Dilip Shah spoke of the future plans and marveled at the commitment of Claremont Lincoln to initiate distance learning studies of Jainism. President Dr Campbell gave a heart-warming speech and appreciation for this new beginning.

The concluding remarks were by Brianne Donaldson, special assistant to the Provost and Chair of Jain Exploratory Committee at Claremont Lincoln. Her perspective on the Goddess Sarswati image that was on the screen during the ceremony was indeed a moving experience for all present.

The Jain ceremony was followed by the convocation ceremony of CST that included Pramodaben Chitrabhanu singing Maitri Bhavnu Pavitra Jharnu.

Afterwards, all the guests and Claremont faculty were served a vegetarian lunch on the lawn where vegan menu was also provided.

For more information:

This article courtesy: Dilip V Shah,  Past President Jaina

Claremont School of Theology: www.cst.edu

Claremont Lincoln University: www.ClaremontLincoln.org.

International School of Jain Studies: www.jainstudies.org

Jain Ceremony at Claremont Lincoln University of September 6, 2011   http://vimeo.com/29288663

Yesterday, the Victoria & Albert Museum, in conjunction with Jainpedia and with support from the Jain Art Fund, held a fun day of activities, storytelling and a very creative art and craft drop in design workshop.

This event held with  dual objective of widening the awareness of Jainism through the media of JAINpedia and to promote the awareness of the rich cultural heritage held in the UK to the Jain community at large.

Several enjoyed the story-telling by Seema Anand, who has an entertaining and interactive style that keeps the audience glued to their seats. The audience moved on to the Sackler Centre and completed worksheets  which gave a brief description of  Jainism and asked people to hunt for plants and animals from not only within the JAINpedia display, but also the rest of the museum. The participants were spoilt for choice, and created some beautiful manuscripts from dung paper, lentils and various craft items.

The JAINpedia volunteers invited museum visitors to the various events, sought feedback from the attendees and carried out tours of the display. They helped children identify animals from within the Jain manuscript collection,  and at the same time told them some of the stories within the manuscripts. Children were fascinated, and adults were intrigues by the history, concepts and culture of Jainism from the tours.

A successful event, with not only more events to look forward to, but also a highly detailed multi-media website, with Jain manuscripts digitized, described, translated and explained with the aid of various contextual articles by Jain scholars like Nalini Balbir.

The JAINpedia display is on at the Victoria & Albert Museum until December 2012, and if you would like to book a tour of the display, please contact us on the below details.

The JAINpedia project has a newsletter with up-to date news and events, if you would like to sign up for it, or even sign up to be a volunteer or support us in any other manner please also contact us at the below details.

JAINpedia Contact:

Bansri Mehta

Email: info@jainpedia.org

Tel: 020 8236 1011

www.jainpedia.org