People should follow Lord Mahavira, says Kidwai

Punjab Newsline Network
Wednesday, 20 February 2008

CHANDIGARH:The universal message of Ahimsa and co-existence of living beings as preached by Lord Mahavira is so relevant in today's context that if we follow it the whole of the world will become a better place to live in.

This was stated by Haryana Governor Dr. A.R. Kidwai while addressing a gathering after inaugurating an exhibition on ancient Jain Heritage on the occasion of Pushpdant Panch Kalyanatamak Pratistha Mahotsav at Digamber Jain Temple, Chandigarh Wednesday.

Dr. Kidwai said that the people following the Jain religion should know the importance of Ahimsa keeping in their mind that it is their prime responsibility to disseminate the message of Ahimsa indifferent sections of the society so as to make it a part and parcel action of their routine life.

He said that the Jain religion is one of the oldest and noblest religions of India which has a rich heritage in form of ancient monuments, idols, manuscripts and artifacts dating back the Christian era.

Recalling his association with the Jain Samaj during his tenure as Governor of Bihar, he said that he had got a number of occasions of visiting and patronizing great ancient monuments of Jainism at Vaishali. While referring to a demand of minority status to Jains in Haryana put forward by the Haryana Jain Samaj on this occasion, Dr. Kidwai assured that the matter would be taken up with the State Government for sympathetic consideration.

The Governor went around an exhibition on ancient Jain heritage put up on the occasion of Pushapdant Panchkalyanatmak Mahotsav organized by Shri Bharatvarshiya Digambar Jain Tirth Sanrakshini Mahasabha at the local Digambar Jain Mandir.

Kidwai admired the efforts of the Jain Samaj in preservation and conservation of country's proud Jain heritage by putting up such exhibitions. The Governor also sought blessings of Upadhya Shri Nayansagar Ji Maharaj during his visit to the Jain temple. A number of persons belonging to Jain Samaj and Jain Munis from the States of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi attended this religious function.

Why We Get Ignored? (I)

Most of the people, including writers, journalists, teachers, historians, publishers, film & T.V. serial producers, and even Government bodies and politicians like to ignore Jains and Jainism. They do not like to speak and write anything about us and our religion.

What are the reasons behind this? Who are responsible for it?

Until now I had been thinking that it was happening because of their lack of knowledge about Jainism and some jealousy about Jains. But now I have realized that these two reasons are not the only or main reasons of ignorance. The major reasons are from Jain side for which Jains are solely responsible.

Now let me discuss about the first reason from Jain side. After your comments on it, I will mail other reasons by next mails.

The Number Counts!

In democracy, or in any other field, the number is very important. If we are in ignorable number, why should one care about us and our religion? Even the speakers in ‘All Religion Meet’ will not speak about Jainism if there is no Jain representative on stage or in the meet.

If we are less than 0.4% (Not even half a percent!), we can not expect from others to speak and write about our great religion.

Suppose we were 4% instead of 0.4% in the total population of India. The entire scenario would be like this:

Jain community will be a major political force of India. At least 40 MPs (Member of Parliament) and 5 -6 Ministers will be from our community. Nation can see a Jain President or a Jain Prime Minister. The Chief Ministers of many states, with many other ministers will be from Jain community.

This will affect all the things in entire India. No one will ignore us.

Further, there will be more writers, journalist, IAS and IPS officers, teachers, historians, publishers, film & T.V. serial producers from Jain community. This will give a lot of exposure to our religion.

Today many Jains behave like Hindus, but in above conditions Hindus will behave like Jains.

In such condition, Jainism will spread automatically. We can use our force for upliftment of downtrodden people. We can make millions of people vegetarians. We can minimize the number of slaughter houses. We can abolish poverty from India.

Is it possible?

But is it possible for us to be 4% in Indian population?

Yes, it is possible. We can grow in numbers, but only if we wish and work in that direction. We do not have to produce more children for it.

The only way is to convert others to Jainism. Lot of people wish to adopt Jainism, but we have closed our doors. We have to open them.

There is a community named Gounder in south India. They were Jains in Past. They know it and proud fully accept this. There number is over FIVE MILLIONS! (That is more than our population). And there are lot of such big communities who were Jains in past.

We will have to reconvert all the non Jains to Jainism, who were Jains in past and were forcefully converted to other religions.

What do you think?

M.S. Chavan
http://jainblogs.tripod.com/

Jain sadhvi alleges molestation in Palitana

BHAVNAGAR: A Jain sadhvi's alleged molestation outside a dharamsala in the pilgrim town of Palitana has outraged the region's Jain community.

In a complaint registered on Monday, the 27-year-old sadhvi told the police that a man attacked her on February 9, when she had gone into the open field behind the dharamsala to attend to the nature's call. She said the man molested her and ran away when she shouted for help.

As the community threatened a major agitation, the police held an identification parade on Monday, in which the sadhvi identified a balloon-seller, Laxman Bhara, who lives near the dharamsala , as the culprit. Bhara was immediately arrested.

Palitana police inspector R J Waghela said Bhara had taken the sadhvi by surprise, pushed her to the ground and tried to gag her. But sadhvi's cries forced Bhara to flee, he said. The sadhvi had immediately informed the dharamsala caretakers about the incident. The police was called in, but the caretakers didn't want to register the complaint initially, preferring to discuss the issue among themselves first.

Maharaj Revant Vijay of the Palitana Jain temple has demanded stern action against the accused. The community's religious heads are planning a protest rally.

Jain Temple at Zira Town: a Symbol of Communal Harmony

Ferozepur, Feb 19 (ANI): Jain Swetambar Temple in Zira town in Punjab's Ferozepur District is visited by Sikhs and Hindus, besides Jains.

For the villagers, the temple is looked upon as a place of worship where one can offer prayers anytime.

"Sikhs have bonds with people of all religions, including Muslims and Hindus. Though we pray in a gurudwara, we also visit temple and mosques," said Swaran Singh, a villager.
A few Jain families in Zira look after the temple, but pilgrims and saints of various faiths and religions visit this temple.

"We have visited Gujarat, Maharastra, Saurashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab. Punjab holds a special attraction for us. One gets the true picture of love and affection here. Be it a Sikh, a Jain or a non-Jain, all meet together like brothers and sisters. Forgetting caste and religion, each one behaves like a human being. Each one here spreads love among the people considering it as a duty," said Sadhvi Priya Dharma, a Jain guru.

The temple was constructed in 1890. The paintings on the walls of the temple speak of the ancient Jain culture and history. It is named after the 23rd Tirthankra Parsavnathji Maharaj. The main idol is believed to be one of most sacred and ancient.

Vijayanand Suriji Maharaj, the first guru of the 'Mandir Margi' sect of the Swetambars was born here in 1837. He advocated the worship of idols.

Maharaj, who was also a scholar poet and a social reformer of his time, performed the holy 'partishthas' ceremony at this temple in 1896 A.D.

While the Jains make up only 0.4 per cent of the country's population, their contribution to culture and society in India have been considerable. (ANI)

A.N. Chandrakeerthi secured six gold medals

Education is a continuous process for him

MYSORE: Age is not a barrier towards gaining knowledge. For 71-year-old A.N. Chandrakeerthi, education is a continuous process. As he said, "Knowledge has no limit".

Mr. Chandrakeerthi, who bagged six gold medals in M.A. Jainology and Prakrit, is not averse towards gaining knowledge even at this ripe age.

"I pursued Jainology and Prakrit to update my knowledge on Jainism. I wanted to be well-informed about Jain philosophy," said Mr. Chandrakeerthi, a retired director of Town Planning.

The audience at the packed Crawford Hall clapped continuously when Mr. Chandrakeerthi, who took admission to the university as a regular student after 10 years of retirement, went to receive the medals from the Vice-Chancellor.

When Mr. Chandrakeerthi learnt that there were plans to close down the Department of Jainology owing to the lack of students, he took the course as a challenge and to show that people were still keen to pursue such subjects.

Efforts paid off

"My efforts paid off. Seeing my achievement, the university should encourage more students to take up Jainology," he said Mr Chandrakeerthi, who has published several books on Jainology, plans to pursue doctoral study in the subject.

Jain Temple IIT Powai Celebrating 32nd Anniversary

By: Pramod Chavan

Powai - 17 February 08 :

When we hear the name Powai our mind immediately conjures up images of a the famous IIT, tall and imposing buildings, a beautiful and self sufficient township called Hiranandani Gardens, L&T and many other such aspects which are typically Powai. This bustling suburb of Mumbai houses a population mix of all religions and corresponding to it also as many temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras etc. The Jain Mandir of Powai is celebrating its 32nd Anniversary this year so let's find out a little about this place of worship in our neighbourhood.

In the year 1972 Jain Guru Vijay Dharam happened to pass through the area of old Powai and being tired started looking around for a place to rest for a while. That was the time he spotted this Jain kutir, he rested there for some time and told the people of Jain samaj present there that there should be a Jain mandir at this place. There were some Jain-Kacchi families who had been living in Powai since more than 45 years took it upon themselves to build a Jain temple there. When the mandir was completed in 1975-76 they installed a statue of Jain Guru Shantinath and marble statues of 7 Gurus especially brought from Rajsthan. The Mandir is made of marble and its walls are adorned with the various religious places of the Jain community.

Presently the Jain Temple and Kacchi Bhavan built over a fairly large area, comprises idols of Adya Guru Shantinath Ki pramukh Pratima and also idols of Parshvnath Swami, Mahavir Swami, Neminath Swami, Vasupuj Swami, Adeshwar Swami, Munisurat Swami. The gates of the temple opens with the first rays of the sun light, early in the morning, and remains open till 12 noon, then it is closed from 12 noon till 4 in the evening and closes its gates finally at 8pm. They have the Swetambar Puja first thing in the morning and the work of the temple begins after that. After this devotees keep pouring in for their daily prayers and blessings.

Another special feature of this Jain Mandir is the four storeyed Kacchi Bhavan which was built as a result of the inspiration of the Jain-Kacchi Acharya. This Kacchi Bhavan was built 9 years back and every day there is some programme or the other for the benefit of the samaj. This Mandir and Kacchi Bhavan is open to everyone but there are some rules and regulations which have to be followed once you enter their premises. These have been laid out to protect the religious sentiments of the community. No edible items are allowed inside the temple, even when there is any programme or puja the Prasad is also supposed to be brought outside the premises and had.

About three years back this Mandir has started a Medical Trust called the Shantinath Medical Trust. All the medical services in this Trust are made available to the general public at the least cost possible. It has been formed for the poor and less fortunate who would other wise not be able to bear the high medical expenses.

In the monsoon they have a variety of programme for eight days during which a number of Jains hold fasts and don't partake anything except water. They have grand pujas in the Mandir at that time and people from all over participate in it. Besides the Mandirs Anniversary is celebrated every year in a grand way and the flag on top of the dome of the temple is changed. This is called 'Chadhava'. The Jain community attaches a lot of significance and importance to this ceremony and every year this honour is specially given to different families.

Presently more than 60 Jain families reside in Powai who enjoy the facilities, benifits and the joy of worship at this Temple but besides them families from Chandivali, Mulund, Bhandup, Sakinaka also come here for worship. When the Jain sadhus are traveling they make it a point to stop at this temple and take the blessings of their Gods. The trust of this Mandir is sending out an open invitation to one and all to come and visit the Mandir on the occasion of its 32nd Anniversary.

Pawapuri Ignored by Bihar State Government

Patna, (Bihar Times): After the protest by the Buddhists of Bodh Gaya over the state government advertisement showing 'disrespect' to Gautam Buddha it is now the Jains turn to express their strong displeasure.

The secretary of the Patna Jain Sangh, Pradip Jain, in a letter to the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, complained that though the public relation department of the state government, in its advertisement, showed Bodh Gaya and Patna Saheb Gurdwara it totally ignored Pawapuri or any other Jain shrine notiwithstanding the fact that Jainism had its origin in the state.

Apart from that the Pawapuri Jal Mandir was not included in President Pratibha Patil's itinerary, though last time when the then President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was in Bihar he visited this temple. This notwithstanding the fact that President Patil visited Nalanda and Rajgir in the vicinity of Pawapuri and Bodh Gaya and Vaishali––all places related to Buddhism––in her two-day visit to the state.

Pradip Jain urged the chief minister to give equal importance to the Jain places of historical and religious importance during the visit of the VIPs and in state government advertisement.

Jain trust moves HC over ‘trafficked’ idols

Mayura Janwalkar

Sunday, February 10, 2008 03:16 IST

MUMBAI: Ancient idols of Jain deities allegedly trafficked from Gujarat may need the attention of the Bombay High Court to reach their final destination.

Kandivali-resident Dilip Shah and Marine Drive-based Shree Patan Jain Tirth Seva Samiti (SPJTSS) moved court against another trust in Shahapur, Thane, for allegedly bringing in 61 registered idols and 16 marble idols from Patan in Gujarat to a temple in Shahapur for achieving its "wrongful goals".

The petition, a copy of which is with DNA, states that under the Archaeology and Antiquities Act, 1972, idols over 100 years cannot be shifted to another location. "The two main idols of Ghia Parshwanath and Shantinath (both Jain deities) are 2,200 years old and the other idols are over 500 years old. This is a clear violation of the law and the idols should be handed over to the Gujarat archeological department," said MP Shah, a member of the SPJTSS.

The idols were originally placed in Patan in Gujarat and were managed by the Ghiyanapada Jain Derasar Trust. The petition however alleges that the Trust allegedly in connivance with Shetrunjay Teerthdham Bhuvanbhan Manas Mandiram Trust (STBMMT), Shahpur and Abhinandanswami Jain Derasar Trust, Sion, sent the deities into Maharashtra stating that more devotees would visit the temples in Shahapur. "They have also built two new temples for the installation of these deities," Shah said.

Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice SA Bobade heard the petition on Friday and directed the STBMMT to file their reply to the petition in one week.

The petitioner had first filed a police complaint in July 2005 and brought the incident to the notice of the Archeological Survey of India and authorities in Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai. On February 5, the Archeological department of Gandhinagar directed the STBMMT to restore the idols in Patan, however, no action has been taken yet.

Neha Jain triumphs on 2nd edition of 'Nat Geo Junior Hunt'

Indiantelevision.com Team
(11 February 2008 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel (NGC) has announced that 14-year old Neha Jain from Kolkata triumphed on the second edition of Nat Geo Junior Hunt.

The channel says that the event saw around 400,000 children participating from over four hundred schools across 10 cities in India.

In addition to giving the winner a chance to host Nat Geo Junior shows for three months this year, the channel has also established Nat Geo Junior Fund for the winner's future education along with a bouquet of prizes from the partners of the hunt – Max New York Life and Parle-G.

Nat Geo Junior Hunt is the broadcaster's endeavour to extend its popular children's block on-ground, to provide an intelligent platform for kids, where they get to showcase their talent through a fun-filled and learning experience. A multi-faceted programming block for kids on NGC, Nat Geo Junior is very popular amongst kids and well appreciated by both teachers and parents for its fun and educational format.

Four finalists reached the finale after a host of rounds designed to asses their creativity, adaptability and abilities based on the multiple intelligence theory in alignment to the channel's "Think again" philosophy.

These scientifically designed rounds included aptitude tests, games, puzzles, debates, thinking-out-of-the-box challenges and an outdoor adventure camp in Sithlakhet, Uttaranchal.

All four finalists went through extensive grooming sessions with the British Council and the winner was selected by their experienced trainers.


NGC South Asia MD Nikhil Mirchandani says, "Nat Geo Junior was envisioned as a kid who is curious, adventurous, articulate, energetic and smart; in short, an all rounder and that is what we saw in this year's winner.

Now, the excitement begins, as we groom this bright kid as a host on the channel with his own show in true think-again style.

Max New York Life director of marketing, product and corporate affairs Debashis Sarkar said, "We are pleased to have partnered with National Geographic Channel for the second edition of Nat Geo Junior Hunt - a unique quest, which has unravelled the young bright sparks from our country.

"We at Max New York Life understand the importance of securing a child's future and parents who want to be absolutely sure about a secure future for their children."

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Jain Ramayana Hunting Hindu Sentiments?

New Delhi, Jan 25: A history book in the Delhi University for its BA (Hons) second year course has hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community with its controversial content.

The DU book has included portions defaming and denigrating the characters of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita. The book has projected the entire episode as fallacious, capricious, imaginary and fake.

The chapter 'Three hundred Ramayanas' written by Shri A.K. Ramanujan has denigrated Sri Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita and projected the entire episode as false.

The chapter starts with a query that how many Ramayanas are there, and then a story is cited wherein Hanuman is described as 'henchman' of Lord Ram and then again as a 'tiny monkey'.

Derogatory words like 'henchman' and 'tiny monkey' about Lord Hanuman are appalling.

The author narrates how Jains treat Ram, Ravan and Sita. He also digs out a theory that according to this thought Sita was even daughter of Ravan and that it was Lakshman who actually killed Ravan and not Ram.

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Students remain devoted to faith

Marlesse Marino

Even though college students may move away from home, they do not have to move away from religion.

Religious leaders at some Boston-area colleges claim they have seen an increase in college students' participation.

Tufts University chaplain the Rev. David O'Leary said he has noticed student attendance at religious services climbing in recent years.

"There has always been a very active religious community at Tufts," O'Leary said. "There has been a steady increase [of student attendance] - every year our numbers are up for all services."

He said Tufts has seen a dramatic increase in the Muslim community since the Tufts University Interfaith Center opened last semester because members now have a "proper place to worship."

O'Leary attributes the annual growth of student participation in spiritual organizations to a sense of belonging.

"It is a way of identity," he said. "People are away from home so they gravitate towards what they know best -- like religions or spiritual paths -- to feel connected."

Brother Lawrence Whitney, the university chaplain for community life at Marsh Chapel, said BU's administration has given the religious department a lot of freedom to communicate with students and sponsor religious events.

"I don't think the university as a whole is actively promoting religious life, but I think it is welcoming religious life among students," he said.

Whitney said Marsh Chapel service attendance among groups such as evangelical Christians has fluctuated and declined in past years but has since returned to higher levels. He said though Marsh Chapel is home to more than 13 religious organizations that serve diverse religious and spiritual communities, they do not keep statistics on attendance at ceremonies.

BU School of Medicine student Jainy Savla, a practicing Jain and member of the BU chapter of Jains In Voice and Action, said she accredits her increased participation in Jainism to her exposure to different cultures.

"I've also made it a point to learn about other religions," she said. "I've met so many interesting people. It makes the subject of religion more interesting to talk and learn about."

Savla said she noticed an increase in practicing Jains on campus in the past few years and attributes the rise to widely promoted events on campus.

BU College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Kelsey Shelton worships outside the university and said she has also found a community in her religion.

"There are about 25 of us that get together frequently to pray and just hang out," she said. "We have definitely become like family and they are even closer to me than my own family."

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Politicians use marriage party to malign opposition

ATHANI: Even though the dates for Assembly elections in the State are not yet declared, political activities in Athani taluk are gearing up.

The politicians are using every platform including ceremonies like marriages for their political gains.

Former MLA Shahajahan Dongergoan and his followers of Congress, who participated in a marriage ceremony at Aigali Cross of the taluk recently, distributed newspaper cuttings of a report published against the BJP. The said style of campaign surprised everybody present there.

Congress activists of Kagwad Assembly constituency, who want to field KLES chairman Prabhakar Kore from the segment, have already started campaigning to put pressure on Congress leaders.

They have already submitted memoranda to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and KPCC president Mallikarjun Kharge stating that the Congress could win the seat if Kore was fielded as the segment was dominated by Lingayats and Jains. Kore belongs to Lingayat community.

Raju Kage from BJP had won the seat in the last election. The BJP may give ticket again to Kage this time also. Kage is also a Lingayat.

Using the ‘caste calculations’ of Congress and BJP, former MLA Mohan Shah of JDS, who belongs to Jain community, had asked his party supremo H D Deve Gowda to give him the ticket.

He claimed that he can break the Jains and Lingayats votes to win the poll. Shah is state general secretary of JDS.

Jaina E-Library Project Accomplishment....

Pravin Shah <education@jaina.org> :

Jaina E-Library Project Accomplishment  

Jain Ägam Granth Mälä Series of Late Muni Shri Punya Vijayji and Shri Jambu Vijayji

During my recent visit to India, I visited Muni Shri Jambu Vijayji (near Shankheswar Tirtha) and reviewed with him Jaina E-library project and showed him the two DVDs consisting of more than 600 e-books.  Most of the 600 books were scanned by the trust associated with Digambar Ächärya Shri Suvidhi Sägarji Mahäräj.  After the review, Muni Shri Jambuvijayji asked if Jaina is willing to create e-books of all the Ägam literature work that was pioneered under Late Muni Shri Punya Vijayji Mahäräj Säheb.  We agreed and made the arrangement to scan more than 20,000 pages of our ancient Jain literature prepared under the leadership of Late Muni Shri Punya Vijayji and then Muni Shri Jambu Vijayji Mahäräj Säheb.

 

Many learned scholars worked under the leadership of these two Munis in the compilation and publication of our most authentic literary treasure.  The partial list of such scholars are; Muni Shri Dharmachandvijay, Late Pundit Shri Bechardas Doshi, Late Pundit Shri Amrutlal Bhojak, Late Pundit Shri Dalsukh Malvania, Dr. Sagarmal Jain, Dr. Nagin Shah, Late Dr. Harivallabh Bhayani, Pundit Rupendra Pagariya, Pundit Suresh Sisodiya, Dr. V M Kulkarni, and Dr. Vasudevsharan Agrawal.

 

The complete Scholarly Works (listed at the end of this e-mail) of these two Munis were published under Jain Ägam Granth Mälä Series by Shri Mahävir Jain Vidyälaya - Mumbai, Shri Bhogilal Laherchand Institute-Delhi and other institutes.  Shri Pratapbhai Bhogilal of Mumbai already took the responsibility to collect all these books from various institutes and delivered them for scanning in Ahmedabad.

Both Munis Shri Punyavijayji and Shri Jambuvijayji have worked almost all their life in the compilation and publication of our ancient Jain Ägam literature.  The Education Committee of Jaina is very proud to announce that the project is now complete and all the books are now available in the form of E-Books on the Jaina website at the following temporary link:  There are 38 books consisting of more than 20,000 pages.  The pdf file size of most of the books is between 5.0 to 15.0 MB.  Hence please do not open the file on the website but first down-load the file (right click the file) on your local computer and then open it to view.

http://www.jaina.org/educationcommittee/education_material/$Punyavijayji_Jambuvijayji/

 

E-Library Website
Later on, the above 38 E-Books will be migrated from temporary folder to the following Jaina eLibrary website.  The E-Library website is operational and the pdf files of all 600+ books scanned by the trust of Digambar Ächärya Shri Sudhividhi Sagarji trust are available at this website.  However the website requires some modification before we can upload the new material.

 

Jaina E-Library Website = http://elibrary.jaina.org  (please do not type www in the front)

 

Visiting Other Ächäryas, Scholars, and Dignitaries
During my trip to India, I also visited Ächärya Shri Yugbhushana M.S. (Mumbai), Panyäs Shri Nandighosh Vijayji (Mumbai), Ächärya Shri Jayaghosh Suriji (Mumbai), Ächärya Shri Shilachandra M.S. (Ahmedabad), Muni Shri Bhuvanchandra Suriji of  Payachandagachha (Mandal), Ächärya Hemchandra Suriji (Abu), Muni Shri Ajay Sagarji M.S (Shri Mahavir Aradhana Kendra, Koba), Shri Atmanandaji (Shrimad Rajchandra Adhyatmik Kendra, Koba), Dr. Madhusudan Dhanky, Dr. Naginbhai Shah, Prof Dr. Bansidhar Bhatt, Dr. Bipinbhai Doshi, Dr. Kumarpal Desai, Dr. Purnimaben Mehta (Gujarat Vidyapeeth), and Shri Chandrakant Kadia.  Without any exception all of them have appreciated the effort initiated by the Jaina Education Committee and will provide full support to carry out our mission of E-Library project.

 

I also visited Sheth Shri Shrenikbhai Kasturbhai and reviewed the project with him.  He totally supported our e-library project as long as we restrict ourselves to scan the printed books.  He will help us to acquire any books we need for the e-library project.

 

Funding of Scanning Project
The entire e-Library project is funded through contribution.  Jaina does not collect any membership dues from the users of E-Library.  At present we spend more than $2000 per month for our E-Library related activities.  We have planned to spend $100,000 over the period of three years to create a good Jain E-Library.  This will provide a great resource center to academicians and other scholars, Päthashälä teachers, students and any other person interested in Jain religion.

Please support this important project financially which will protect, preserve and disseminate our literature to any individual or institute freely.  Since all Jaina education committee members pay their own administrative and traveling expenses, all your contribution is used in support of the eLibrary project.

Please send your contribution (tax deductible in USA) to:

                  Federation of Jaina – Education Committee
                  C/o – Pravin K. Shah
                  509 Carriage Woods Circle
                  Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
                  Tele – 919 859 4994

 

Scanning Work
In order to provide the highest quality of E-Books, the scanning work of all new books managed by the Jaina Education committee is done at 300 DPI.  Also every page of a book is scanned.  The complete scanning process is defined at the end of this e-mail.  This process is developed in cooperation with Shree Mahävir Jain Ärädhanä Kendra (Muni Shri Ajay Sägarji Mahäräj and Ketan Shah) – Kobä Ahmedabad.  Without the support of this institute we could not have made any progress in this project.  Hats off to Shree Mahävir Jain Ärädhanä Kendra, and in particular to Pujya Muni Shri Ajay Sägarji Mahäräj, Ketan Shah, Sudesh Shah, M/s Arihant Graphics Team and others.

 

We have also received all the literary work of Upädhyäy Shri Amarmuni (Guruji of Ächärya Shri  Chandanäji - Veeräyatan) to convert into E-books.  Mr. Rajeshbhai Shah (Atmadharma.com) of UK has send all E-Books of Pujya Shri Kanjiswami's (Songadha) literature to put on the Jaina website.

 

Due to our oversight, if we have put any of your commercial copyrighted material on the website, please let us know and we will immediately remove it.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions in the area of the selection of books for scanning, scanning spec and the process.

 

Ordering Information of Jaina Päthashälä Education Material
We request all Päthashälä coordinators to send their yearly order of Päthashälä books as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that Education Committee sells $30,000 books every year and all the committee members are volunteers.  It takes 4 to 6 weeks to receive the books.

 

Please down-load the order form from the following link and fill-in your order and e-mail the form as an attachment to Pradipbhai's e-mail – pradipks1@comcast.net or education@jaina.org.  Do not make any payment with the order.  We will send the invoice with your order. To buy the books in India, please download the appropriate form from the link.

 

http://www.jaina.org/educationcommittee/education_material/$$$PathashalaBooks/

 

Thank you

Pravin K. Shah, Chairperson
Jaina Education Committee
education@jaina.org
919-859-4994

 

List of Books Published under Late Muni Shri Punya Vijayji and Shri Jambu Vijayji:

Viyah_pannati_suttam Part-1

Viyah_pannati_suttam Part-2

Viyah_pannati_suttam Part-3

Nayadhamma_kahao

Suyagdang_sutra

Dasveyaliya_suttam, Uttarjzhayanaim, Avassay_suttam

Sthanang_sutra Part-1

Sthanang_sutra Part-2

Sthanang_sutra Part-3

Painnay Suttai Part-1

Painnay Suttai Part-2

Painnay Suttai Part-3

Nandisutt And Anuogddaraim

Pannavana Suttam Part-1

Pannavana Suttam Part-2

Anuyogdwar_sutra Part-1

Anuyogdwar_sutra Part-2

Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-1

Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-2

Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-3

Panch_sutrakam with Tika

Aendra Stuti Chaturvinshika Sah Swo Vivran

Siddhahem_sabdanushasana Sah swopagya (San) Laghuvrutti

Mahapacchakkhan Painniyam

Divsagar_pannatti Painnayam

Tandulveyaliya Painnayam

Samvayang_sutram

Stree Nirvan Kevalibhukti Prakarane

Thanangsuttam And Samvayangsuttam Part-3

Ayarang_suttam (Acharang_sutra)

Mahanisiha Suya Khandham

Nandisuttam

Dasakalia_suttam

Sutrakrutang_sutra Vol-1

Jaisalmer Ke Prachin Jain Granthbhandaron ki Suchi

Hastlikhit Granthsuchi Part-1

Hastlikhit Granthsuchi Part-2

Hastlikhit Granthsuchi Part-3

Scanning Process of Jaina eLibrary Book Project
Scanning work is done in India using the following processing steps.  This process is developed in cooperation with Shree Mahävir Jain Ärädhanä Kendra (SMJAK) – Kobä Ahmedabad.

 

Step 1 - Scanning of Book with 300 DPI setting using Plustek Optic Book Scanner 3600 - Corporate Edition and Save each page in JPEG Format.

 

Step 2 – Using Photoshop CS2 version program, edit each page of jpg file including cleaning and centering of each page.

 

Step 3 - Using Irfan View program, convert each page of JPG file into the TIF Format with 2 levels of numbering automatically.  Also fix the Page Size because this is an option available in Irfan View program.

 

Note : A separate program is being developed for step 2 and 3 work for more easy, accuracy and functionality by SMJAK.

 

Step 4 - Replacing all Black and White photos of the tif formatted books with Original Color Photos and/or Gray Scale photos taken from step 2 using Photoshop CS2 version program.

 

Step 5 - Make 300 DPI Pdf file using Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Professional program.

(For this using create pdf file from multiple files menu adding all the tif files from the folder for generating 300 dpi pdf)

 

Step 6 - Renaming Pages in PDF File (e.g. A-1 to A-6, B-1 to B-259, B-259a to B-259-h etc.) as per book partitions.  Preface section is one partition, Main text is another partition, Index and appendix may be third and fourth partition etc.

(The prefix A, B, and suffix a, b etc.. are  not actually printed in the book. They are added to maintain uniqueness and order of page numbering.)

 

Step 7 – Manual Data Entry of Table of Contents with indentation in MS-Word file.  Care is taken that there is no error while doing manual entry. (.doc file).  Use Arial font for English, Unicode Mangal font for Hindi, and Unicode Shruti font for Gujarati languages.

 

Step 8 - Setting Bookmarks & Sub Bookmarks in the 300 DPI Pdf file using the data from doc file generated in step-7 process (copy paste approach).

 

Step 9 – Create a Catalogue Document in MS-Word which includes Book title, author, publisher, language etc as per decided norms. (.doc file)

 

Step 10 - Optimize the pdf document from 300 DPI to 150 DPI using Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Professional.

 

Settings – Downsample – Bicubic down sampling to 150 Pixels/Inch. For images above 225 pixels/inch.  Compression – JBIG2, Quality – Lossless.

 

Step 11 – Send all data to Jaina Education Committee for review and for uploading to the Jaina website. Step 12 – Make changes if any received from review committee. 

 

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