Jain Digest Editor’s Note

Om Shri Veetragay Namah

Jai Jinendra,

The past four months have been challenging for most of us. When I wrote the Editor’s Note for the February issue, Omicron had started to fade away and the promise of being able to attend public gatherings without a mask was on the horizon. Along with this feeling of relief, came the anxiety of war in Ukraine, inflation, and the roller coaster ride of the stock market. Although it was nice to be able to travel and see friends and relatives with less fear of catching COVID, the underlying current of unease of the past two years is still there for many people.

At Jain Digest, we find that one way to keep our emotional balance is to look for inspirational stories. We always find many stories in the most ordinary places; if we are willing to look. However, for the Inspiration section of the June issue, we found three Divine, extraordinary personalities!

With immense pleasure we give tribute to Pujya Acharya Shri Chandanaji for the Padma Shri award she has received from the Government of India. In the article about Chandanaji, our past JAINA President, Dilipbhai Shah, has eloquently narrated his visit to Rajgir 21 years ago and also given us information about Chandanaji’s many humanitarian projects. This article is an abridged version of the one published in Jain Avenue earlier this year.

The second person is an international phenomenon –Lata Mangeshkar. Writing about our beloved singer Lata ji was really beyond our capability. Lataji’s voice was a manifestation of the many virtues she possessed in abundance. Sanjay Bhandari has spent long hours exploring some of the important aspects of her life that exhibit these virtues which we must remember – every time we listen to her songs.

The third person we offer tribute to is a powerful, compassionate woman – Sindhutai Sapkal – who was considered as Mother Teresa of Maharashtra state in India. She was a social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India. In addition to the other 750 awards, she was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 in the Social Work category. The author, Hema Pokharna, brings to us the story of Sindhutai’s ability to overcome unimaginable pain & struggle, her compassion & devotion, her ability to forgive & be grateful, and her humility & detachment. A must read! In addition to these inspirational articles, we are fortunate to have an article by Ingrid Newkirk, the founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In her article about Ahimsa, she motivates us to be Ahimsa ambassadors by eating right, dressing right, and doing the right thing for Mother Earth.

We are also very grateful to Professor Atul K. Shah (UK) for his guidance on a regular basis and for allowing us to publish his article about a unique art exhibit by Deshna Shah, promoting compassionate self-healing.

We have several new young authors that have contributed to the magazine. In her article written in Hindi, Pallavi Bagi, a PhD student from Kolhapur, India, tells us about the difference between Tyag and Daan. Another student, Ishita Chordia, doing PhD at the University of Washington, gives us a primer on Ahimsa by using many references from Jain scriptures. A young biomedical engineer from Boston, Aarthy Shah, tells us about her transformational experience of attending Updhaan in the sanidhya of Rashtrasant Param Gurudev Shree Namaramuni Maharaj Saheb. We are also grateful to YJA for allowing us to include an article by Ananya Jain –previously published in Young Minds. Ananya gives us a very detailed day to day description of his 10-day fast during Das Lakshan.

Another new author, Archana Jain, from Sacramento, CA, tells a story about how she and her family got involved in arranging several educational events teaching many aspects of Bhaktamar Stotra and how that has changed her life’s purpose. We also have a note from Dr. Manju Jain describing the proposed 48 Dome Bhaktamar Divine Shrine. Among other articles, Savita Jain introduces us to Acharya Samrat Dr. Shiv Muni Ji Maharajsaheb, Anop Vora elaborates on the characteristics of a devotee, and Reena Shah explains the commandments of a Guru - part 2 of the article from February issue.

My sincere thanks to all authors for their timely submissions and to Reena Shah for her diligence in editing the articles. Thanks to Jayanaben Shah for designing the wonderful cover page and bringing the magazine to life by her creative design. If you would like to join our editorial team or write an article for our next issue, please write to us at: jaindigestpublication@gmail.com or call us at 310721-5947. The next issue will be published in October 2022. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

In Seva,

Dilip Parekh