Jain Center of Ameria Youth Organization JIVA NY
By Riddhi Doshi
On Saturday, October 7, 2006, over twenty young Jains set out on the first ever Jain Center of America camping trip. These young adults, ranging from ages fifteen to thirty, all met at the Jain Center of America temple, located in Queens, New York, from where they began their trip.
The first stop on the way to the campsite (which was located in Branchville, New Jersey) took them to Siddhachalam, a religious ground founded in the 1970s by Shri Sushilmuniji. At this retreat ground, the group prayed together, by doing Chaityavandan, a sequential series of prayers. Many stavans, or religious hymns, were recited and everyone sang together. Before they left the main temple for the dining hall, the young Jains had the opportunity of conversing with the visiting Sadhviji Shubhamji, a very well known and esteemed nun from Rajasthan, India. She provided inspirational words and commented on the motivation shown by our youth-led group.
After a wonderful lunch provided by Siddhachalam, we moved on to the campsite which was approximately a half hour away from Siddhachalam. From Saturday afternoon to Monday morning the group had a phenomenal time camping. In addition to camping mainstays like hiking, volleyball, cards and frisbee, the friends cooked all sorts of strictly Jain food (no meat, fish poultry, eggs or root vegetables). The highlights of the evenings were the vegan s’mores roasted over a campfire.
In an effort to further everyone’s learning, we participated in a sophisticated debate about the role of Jain philosophy in regards to war, the draft, and political intervention. One of the principle tenets of Jainism is anekantvad, meaning multiplicity of viewpoints. To exhibit this notion, the group was divided into two groups. One group defended the idea of purposeful conflict while the other argued against conflict and violence for any reason. Both sides agreed that violence is to be minimized and avoided by any means possible, but differences arose about the way to affect that outcome. In Jainism, Ahimsa (nonviolence) is the foremost tenet. So it was difficult to argue in favor of war, but political viewpoints and social arguments emerged. The dichotomy of viewpoints illustrated the idea of anekantvad and a debriefing discussion allowed us to better understand how multiple viewpoints can be a powerful value.
The 2006 camping trip was by far a major success. The youth were able to connect with each other and had a great religious experience.
On Saturday, October 7, 2006, over twenty young Jains set out on the first ever Jain Center of America camping trip. These young adults, ranging from ages fifteen to thirty, all met at the Jain Center of America temple, located in Queens, New York, from where they began their trip.
The first stop on the way to the campsite (which was located in Branchville, New Jersey) took them to Siddhachalam, a religious ground founded in the 1970s by Shri Sushilmuniji. At this retreat ground, the group prayed together, by doing Chaityavandan, a sequential series of prayers. Many stavans, or religious hymns, were recited and everyone sang together. Before they left the main temple for the dining hall, the young Jains had the opportunity of conversing with the visiting Sadhviji Shubhamji, a very well known and esteemed nun from Rajasthan, India. She provided inspirational words and commented on the motivation shown by our youth-led group.
After a wonderful lunch provided by Siddhachalam, we moved on to the campsite which was approximately a half hour away from Siddhachalam. From Saturday afternoon to Monday morning the group had a phenomenal time camping. In addition to camping mainstays like hiking, volleyball, cards and frisbee, the friends cooked all sorts of strictly Jain food (no meat, fish poultry, eggs or root vegetables). The highlights of the evenings were the vegan s’mores roasted over a campfire.
In an effort to further everyone’s learning, we participated in a sophisticated debate about the role of Jain philosophy in regards to war, the draft, and political intervention. One of the principle tenets of Jainism is anekantvad, meaning multiplicity of viewpoints. To exhibit this notion, the group was divided into two groups. One group defended the idea of purposeful conflict while the other argued against conflict and violence for any reason. Both sides agreed that violence is to be minimized and avoided by any means possible, but differences arose about the way to affect that outcome. In Jainism, Ahimsa (nonviolence) is the foremost tenet. So it was difficult to argue in favor of war, but political viewpoints and social arguments emerged. The dichotomy of viewpoints illustrated the idea of anekantvad and a debriefing discussion allowed us to better understand how multiple viewpoints can be a powerful value.
The 2006 camping trip was by far a major success. The youth were able to connect with each other and had a great religious experience.
Labels: ahimsa, camping, dialogue, draft, jainism, political intervention, war
posted by Rori @ 11:54 AM
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