JAINA President’s Message

Jai Jinendra!

Hope you had a great start to the year 2023. On behalf of the JAINA Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, I wish you and your family a very Happy and Peaceful Year ahead and pray for everyone’s well-being. With your support, we hope to continue imbibing and spreading the Jain way of life through various means to the Jains of North America and the world.

On behalf of the JAINA Convention Committee 2023, I invite you to JAINA Convention 2023 which will be held from June 30 - July 3, 2023, in Lakeland, Florida. Please register at www.jainaconvention.org.

With your love and support, JAINA has achieved the following during the past four months:

September 2022

1. JAINA and the Jain Vegan Initiative in association with Arihanta Academy presented an online learning course 'Beyond Vegetarianism: Jain Veganism and Ahimsa in a Changing World' starting on September 25, 2022.

2. On September 17, JAINA had a successful virtual ‘Tapasya Ni Sanji’ for the Tapasvis who performed Tap during the Paryushan and Das Lakshana Parva 2022. 1000+ people had attended.

3. JAINA announced the Telehealth initiative to improve access to quality healthcare. The committee is currently inviting Physicians and Dentists from North America to join the JAINA Telehealth team to provide better healthcare to the community.

October 2022

1. JAINA and Veerayatan announced the plans/details of the proposed Rajagiri School, JAINA Vidya Mandir.

https://www.jaina.org/resource/resmgr/07102022 _enewsletter/Jaina_Vidya_Mandir.pdf

Here are the links to the ground floor plan https://www.jaina.org/resource/resmgr/07102022 _enewsletter/GROUND_FLOOR_PLAN__JAINA_VI.pdf and the first floor plan, https://www.jaina.org/resource/resmgr/07102022 _enewsletter/FIRST_FLOOR_PLAN__JAINA_VID.pdf

These will be divided into three wings: 1. Junior Wing (Blue), 2 Senior Wing (Red), 3. Administrative Wing (Green). Here’s link to the cost break-up for each wing:

https://www.jaina.org/resource/resmgr/07102022 _enewsletter/PROJECT_COST_JAINA_VIDYA_MA.pdf

2. On October 15, JAINA had its second BOD meeting of 2022. This virtual meeting was attended by 55+ attendees where the latest updates of JAINA and various committees were shared.

3. Launched JAINA Mobile App to make the JAINA Convention registration process easy. Through this App, we aim to help the community connect in a better way as well as keep you posted on the latest convention updates.

4. On the pious day of Bhagwan Mahavir Nirvan, our goal of raising $125,000 for the Gurudev Chitrabhanu Memorial Panjarapole was achieved. JAINA is immensely thankful to all the donors for their valuable contribution to this noble cause.

November 2022

1. JAINA Education Committee conducted a virtual event on November 5, 2022, where the committee showcased its past, present, and future projects. The committee also discussed about Pathshala, educational resources, interactive learning, and community reach during the event.

2. On November 16th, JAINA co-hosted the Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC along with BAPS, HAF, and AAHOA. JAINA is proud to inform you that this was the first time the Namokar Mantra was recited LIVE at a Diwali program on Capitol Hill and a Diya was lit by a JAINA President.

3. We had a great response to the Thanksgiving Meal Drive to reduce the suffering of millions of turkeys by feeding plant-based food to the less fortunate. We are grateful for each one of you who came forward to contribute to this noble cause.

December 2022

1. JAINA India Foundation undertook a project of publishing a short booklet on "Scientific Aspects of Jain Practices". This initiative, led by Dr. Bipin Doshi, aims to invoke the interest of a layman to explore Jain practices through logic & rationality, rather than rituals and tradition. We are inviting articles from scholars to contribute to this project, based on their own domain expertise and interest. Here is a link to the article submission guidelines: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.jaina.org/resource/r esmgr/12092022_enewsletter/MJV_Book_Proje ct__1_.pdf

2. I led a delegation to South Florida to investigate the feasibility of creating a three hundred home Jain senior citizen community in Orlando, and also met with a few leaders of the Jain Society of South Florida at the home of Bindesh Shah, the first V. P. of JAINA.

YJA

Recently, YJA had an ‘Earth to YJA’ campaign to educate ourselves on how taking care of the environment and practicing sustainability connects to Jainism. Work on regional retreats is in progress.

YJP

YJP had various interesting events in the past 3 months like golf, a bachata dance, a hike, and beach event, and more. Currently, elections for the 2023 Executive Board and Co-Chair positions are ongoing.

Thank you for your consistent support to make JAINA better each day.

Wishing you Peace, Love, and Happiness,

Haresh Shah