July Newsletter

14th Residential Summer Schools Successfully Conducted

The fourteenth International Summer School for Jain Studies (ISSJS), which began on June 12, successfully came to an end on July 29. This year, the ISSJS conducted five programmes which included Four-Week (4W) Jain Studies program for UG and PG students, Six-Week (6W) Jain Studies program for faculty and researchers, three-week Jain Yoga program for MA students and Teaching for Peace (TFP) program for high school teachers. A three-week religious studies program for High School Teachers of Uberoi Teachers Training Institute (UTTI) was also held on the occasion.

The 4W & 6W Jain Studies Program

With Sh. Nirmal Jain Sethi and Prof. MNP Tiwari at Vallabh Smarak Campus, Alipur, Delhi

With Samani Chaitanya Pragya and Samani Him Pragya at Vallabh Smarak Campus, Alipur, Delhi

The 4W Jain studies program is designed to provide a basic knowledge of Jainism to the participants. The main purpose of this program is to cater to the needs of third and fourth year undergraduate students, graduate students, degree holders, PhD candidates, professors and faculties in Religion, Philosophy, South Asian Studies and Anthropology, Sociology and other related subjects (History, Art, Music, Public Health, Bio-ethics, Education, Management etc.) who desire to learn about Jainism as part of their higher education. This program is available to students registered with universities as undergraduate or graduate student. The program enables the participants to earn equivalent to 3 credit units from Mangalayatan University.

The 2018 program was attended by 8 participants from USA, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. The program began on June 12 and ended on July 9. Based on their statement of purpose provided to the ISJS, the participants were asked to prepare an essay / paper for group discussions. During the program, the participants also visited Jaipur (Rajasthan); Trilok Teerth at Badagaon, and Hastinapur (UP).

The 6W program is designed as advanced studies in Jainism for serious and motivated Graduate and PhD students, Post Doctoral scholars and full-time teaching-cum-research faculty involved in Religion, Philosophy, South Asian Studies and Anthropology, Sociology and other related subjects (History, Art, Music, Public Health, Bio-ethics, Education, Management etc.). This program is available to researchers and faculties affiliated to any university. The program is equivalent to 4 credit units from Mangalayatan University.

This year, the program was attended by 9 participants from USA, Czech-republic, Ukraine and India. The program began on June 12 and ended on July 20. Based on their Statement of Purpose, the participants were asked to prepare an essay / paper for group discussions. Each participant presented his/her essay and the essays were exposed to a great deal of discussion. Besides these presentations and discussions, the programme had a week-long self-research period for candidates to undertake research on a topic of their choice. After the completion of the research, they submitted their research article to ISJS and also presented their papers. During the program, they also visited Jaipur (Rajasthan); Trilok Teerth at Badagaon and Hastinapur (UP).

Three-Week Jain Yoga Program

With Prof. Christopher K Chapple and Ac. Pragya Sagar ji at Shri Parshwanath Digamber Jain Mandir, Green Park, Delhi

At Ahimsa Sthal, New Delhi

The three-week Jain Yoga program is designed for the Master of Arts students in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Los Angeles, California, USA. The program provides deep study of the Yoga tradition from multiple perspectives. It helps students to explore Yoga's rich history, its relationship to religion and spirituality, and immerse themselves in Yogic philosophy. Students study primary classical texts, learn the Sanskrit language, explore the health benefits of physical practice, and look at the placement of modern Yoga in today's world. The program meets the needs of Yoga students and teachers who are seeking to enhance their knowledge in both theory and application.

This year the program was attended by 12 participants from the USA. The program began on July 1 and ended on July 21. During the program, the participants also visited Trilok Teerth at Badagaon, Hastinapur, Haridwar, Jaipur and Jain Vishwa Bharati Institute at Ladnun.

Three-Week Uberoi Teacher Training Institute (UTTI) Program in India

With Jain Sadhus and Sadhvi at Sushil Muni Ashram, New Delhi

With Trustees of Uberoi Foundation, Registrar of CIHTS at CIHTS, Sarnath

The UTTI program is designed basically for the High School teachers of USA. This program provides the opportunity to study about the four main Indic religions, namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. For this program Uberoi Foundation supported the textbook volume on Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism published by I.B. Tauris and edited by Uberoi grantee Prof. Veena Howard of California State University, Fresno, USA.

This year the program was attended by 14 participants from USA. The program began on July 4 and ended on July 25. During the program, the participants visited Jain Mandir Vallabh Smarak, Delhi; Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Dev Sanskriti University, Haridwar and Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath.

Three-Week Teaching for Peace Program

With Dr. Abhay Firodia at Firodia Hostel, Pune

With Dr. Shugan C Jain & Smt. Uma Jain at Firodia Hostel, Pune

This three-week program introduced the participants to the power of ahimsa. Because the most meaningful learning often comes from experience, this program turns India into a classroom where participants immerse in a lifestyle of ahimsa for the duration of the program. During the program, the participants got an opportunity to reflect on the relevance of ahimsa to their lives and collaborate with other educators on bringing ahimsa into their lives, the classroom, and on a larger scale, the world. The program is equivalent to 3 credit units from Mangalayatan University.

This year the program was attended by 16 participants from Zimbabwe, Australia, Singapore and USA. The program began on July 8 and ended on July 29. During the program, the participants also visited Jain Bharati Mrigawati Vidyalaya and Hira Lal Jain School at Delhi; Mahaveer Public School and Bhagawan Mahavira Vikalang Sahayata Samiti at Jaipur; Taj Mahal at Agra; Gandhi Museum, Anubhuti School 1 and Anubhuti School 2 at Jalgaon; Ajanta Caves; Bhartiya Jain Sanghatana and Firodia Hostel at Pune.

At Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon

At Hira Lal Jain School, Delhi

Highlights of this year’s summer schools

Participants came from USA, Australia, Ukraine, UK, Czech-republic, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Singapore. All the participants were busy from 06:45AM till 5:00PM in yoga, puja, academic lectures and discussions-presentations in the afternoon. All participants, faculty members and visitors from the community had reminiscence of gurukul of yesteryears.
Highlights of the Summer School were lecture by Prof. S. R. Bhatt, Father Stanislaus Alla, Prof. G. C. Tripathi and Dr. Y. P. Anand on ahimsa in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Gandhi respectively; reading Jain texts like Tattvarathsutra and Ratnakarand Shravakachar by 4W and 6W participants. Dr. Prriya Jain and her husband Mr. Pradeep Jain took extra pains to host almost all participants to their home to show the magic of Faith Based Healing.
For better cohesion of participants, ISJS also nominated dedicated coordinator for each group to look after the comforts and learning of the participants. Similarly, Smt. Uma Jain, a trustee of ISJS, hosted each group separately to enjoy family interaction over High Tea.
There were two groups of 5 participants; each group were sponsored by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharamapur and Shri Bharatvarshiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha, Delhi respectively. It is hoped that such sponsorships will increase next year and association with these bodies will grow.

Testimonials: Summer School Participant

The students of 2018 International School for Jain Studies (4W and 6W programs) were very fortunate to have been in the company of well-known scholars of Jain Philosophy, Jain Theology, Jain Society and Ritual practice throughout their stay in Alipur and during the fieldtrips, as well. The lectures were well-organized, skilfully bringing students from simpler concepts to more complex ideas about Jain logic over the course of the program.

The field trips were also very beneficial. It was highly impactful to visit Jain charitable concerns, such as the bird hospital in Delhi to the Jaipur Foot Clinic. The ability to visit both Shwetambar and Digambar facilities truly enhanced our understanding of Jainism as a whole. The trip to Hastinapur was a great favourite, as we were able to walk through a model of the loka in the form of a skyscraper and to witness another abhishekam away from Alipur.

Dr. Shugan Jain’s leadership was unwaveringly kind. He was patient with questions and frequently provided invaluable assistance in finding resources to students - such as helping me find interview subjects in both Jaipur and Alipur for my final research project. The visit to his home was a treat as students received warm hospitality and welcome. Dr. Jain’s tremendous efforts in organizing this program will benefit my students in the United States for many years to come.

~Dr. Elisa Eastwood Pulido
Adjunct Professor
Brigham Young University, Salt Lake Center, USA

Belgaum Survey Report Completed

Cover page of Belgaum Sociological Survey Report

The Belgaum sociological survey report has been completed this month, and is available online at the ISJS website. Based on a sample of 376 respondents in Belgaum district and their 1,855 family members, the report highlights the socio-economic characteristics (Education, Occupation, and Income), population profile, Community problems and the Jain values and way of life. Responses of 370 Jain youth were also integrated in the report.

Agriculture was found to be the dominant (14.72%) occupation in Belgaum district followed by business (11.48%) and others working in service sector (10.57%). Majority of respondents (73%) reported their monthly income less than Rs. 25,000, while only 10% of them had a monthly income of Rs. 100,000 or more. The maximum size of the land holding among the Jain population in the district was in the range of 5 acres or below. About 88% of them lived in their own houses.

As per our survey, 88% of Jain population was found to be educated, while 24.74% was still engaged in studies as students. Females in the Belgaum district fared better (75.41%) than their male counterparts (60.48%) with graduate and above educational qualifications. Predictably, the languages of education were found to be Kannada (61.08%) followed by English and Hindi.

The Belgaum survey result reported crisis in the practice of Jain way of life, especially related to food and dietary habits. Our survey reports the consumption of liquor not being favoured by youth population (77.84%). The same was found to be true for non-vegetarianism, with 93.24% saying no to it. However, a large number of our respondents (84.04%) found adherence to food consumption after sunset as impractical in today's time. Click Here for Full Report

Editors: Dr. Shrinetra Pandey & Mr. Sushil Jana

E-mail: isjs.india@gmail.com ; Website: www.isjs.in

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