International School for Jain Studies (A Division of Amar Prerana Trust) Fortnightly Newsletter Vol#06 | Issue#9| No.02 | September 2023
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Dear Reader, Jai Jinendra!! The supreme festival of Paryushan has just been observe d by Jains with lot of religiosity, fasting, learning more about soul and ways to enhance its freedom from karmic bondage. The festival ends with Jains celebrating the day of forgiveness as it is the most potent form of cleansing one’s soul of karmic bondage and tainted emotions like anger. Jain tradition celebrates the festival of forgiveness annually at a social level as well where they cleanse their conscience and pledge not to repeat their mistakes. It brings peace and equanimity towards every living being. Fasting and self-restraint during the festival imply that desires and passions cause harm to the soul are also weakened to enhance spiritual and worldly wellness. The greatest forgiveness is sought by individuals form their own soul to have caused its bondage and make efforts to culminate the desires and passions through external & internal penance. International School for Jain Studies ‘ISJS’ pleads Micchami Dukkadam from its alumni/faculty, readers and associates for hurts caused to you. Keeping in view the great tradition, ISJS promotes Jain values through various introductory and advanced programs in Jainism. The 10-day online winter program is one such program that familiarizes newcomers with nonviolence, pluralism, and ethical behaviour. The Bhagwan Mahavir Prakrit Fellowship program by ISJS initiates the participants into the language of Jain scriptures so that they can study and explore ancient wisdom. ISJS calls for papers for publication in our research journal ISJS-Transactions which publishes research papers on Jain philosophy, history, culture, philology and allied subjects. The link to previous issues can be found on our website. 2
10-day Online Program on Winter IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 3 ISJS is all set to begin the 10-day ONLINE winter program on Jainism from December 28, 2023. Besides lectures by subject experts on various aspects of Jain doctrine, history and way of life. In this program, participants will get an opportunity to interact online with a Jain ascetic and a Jain householder family as well. Program dates: December 28, 2023 - January 6, 2024 Last date for application is November 20, 2023. To know more visit: https://www.isjs.in/courses/winter-program/ Click here for announcement poster
The 8th lecture of the online monthly lecture series was delivered on “Print and its Defenders: 19th Century Jain Debates on the Ethics of Printing” by Prof. John E. Cort, Emeritus Professor at Asian and Comparative Religions, Denison University, USA on September 16, 2023. The session was chaired by Prof. G. C. Tripathi, an Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, awardee, the Certificate of Honour by the President of India (2005). The next lecture in the series will be announced soon. MONTHLY LECTURE SERIES ON JAINOLOGY 4 ACTIVITIES Dr. Shrinetra Pandey Chairs a Seminar Session on Jainology Vardhaman Education and Research Institute and Hirachand Nemchand Jain Chair, University of Pune jointly organized a two-day seminar on ‘Various Dimensions of Jainology’ on September 30 and October 1, 2023 at Vardhaman Pratishthan, SB Road, Pune. Dr. Shrinetra Pandey, Director (Acting), ISJS chaired a session in the seminar where six participants presented their papers discussing their views on different possibilities of Jain studies around the world.
4th Bhagwan Mahavira Prakrit Fellowship Completes One Month The 4th Bhagwan Mahavira Prakrit Fellowship program by ISJS has completed its first month successfully. The participants gleefully look forward to the coming months where they will go through monthly exams and many more activities. The participants are learning the first three chapters of the 12th-century text of Prakrit grammar ‘Siddha-hemshabdanushasan’ by Hemachandra simultaneously. The evaluation will be based on participants’ performance in their monthly exams, final exams, and viva voce. The program is designed to prepare scholars of Prakrit who can teach Prakrit grammar and literature to future generations in English. Till now, nine participants have benefitted from this program. 5
Bhagwan Naminath Fellowship Six candidates from different parts of the country have been selected for the Bhagwan Naminath Fellowship program for research and writing skills. The participants are from different backgrounds having Jainism as a common interest among them. ISJS offers this eight-week intensive and unique residential training program that aims to develop a cadre of Englishspeaking Indian scholars, who will be well-equipped with research methodologies, and written and oral presentation skills to engage in academic discussions, research and teaching Jain philosophy and its relevance today in the global academic environment. The program starts from October 16, 2023. Apart from experienced faculty members from India and abroad, the program offers free boarding, lodging, classroom and library facilities associated with the program. On successful completion of the program, the participants will get a certificate from ISJS and Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, USA. 6
7 ISJS invites research papers for its upcoming issues. The journal is open for scholars/researchers/faculty members for their research papers on various aspects of Jainology, viz. philosophy, philology, culture, religion, history, archaeology, art and architecture, science, and many more. Research papers can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected]. Find guidelines before sending the abstract and research paper across Check out the recent issue Flick through the previous issues ISJS PUBLICATION Call for Papers: ISJS-Transactions Book Review of the recent ISJS Publication ‘Jain Business Engagement and Ethics: An Overview’ is published in iGLOBAL News on September 21, 2023. The book is reviewed by Arihant Kothari. The book was released early in 2023 which was edited by Dr. Shugan C. Jain, Prof. Prakash C. Jain and Dr. Malay R. Patel. Click here to read the review Review of ‘Jain Business Engagement and Ethics’ in iGLOBAL
In this section, ISJS invites original articles, and write-ups from Jain professionals, teachers, and practitioners. You can send your articles/write-ups/opinions to us at [email protected]. In this issue, we have an article in English titled “Uniting on Kshamavani Day” by Ms. Dhruti Ghiya Rathi, a New Jerseybased MBA, SAP and FJAS professional, and guest lecturer for Jainism at VCU University. The write-up wishes to bring all sects under one umbrella by celebrating the day of Kshamavani or Samvatsari on one common day. The facts and the views expressed in the article are those of the author only. The email address of the author is [email protected]. A reader may send his/her questions or comments to the author directly. To read the write-up Click here SPEAK UP 8 JOIN ISJS’S WHATSAPP GROUP ISJS has created a WhatsApp group to update its global members with new activities/ initiative of ISJS. ISJS posts all its activities and reminder messages in this group. To join the group, Click here
International School for Jain Studies (A Division of Amar Prerana Trust) C/o Firodia Hostel, 844, BCC Road Shivaji Nagar, Pune — 411004 (MH) E-mail: [email protected] | Web: www.isjs.in Click here for subscription & previous issues