Namokar Mantra Namokar Mantra Namo Arihantanam I bow in reverence to Arihants Namo Siddhanam I bow in reverence to Siddhas Namo Ayariyanam I bow in reverence to Acharyas Namo Uvajjhayanam I bow in reverence to all Upadhyayas Namo Loye Savva Sahunam I bow in reverence to all Sadhus Eso Panch Namukkaro This five-fold salutation Savva Pavappanasano Destroys all sins Mangalanam Cha Savvesim And amongst all auspicious things Padhamam Havai Mangalam Is the most auspicious one In memory of Vikas Parikh, 1993-2010 Inspire. Connect. Do The Jain Thing. 1 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org Table of Contents INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME LETTERS ................. 3 HOTEL MAP .................................................................. 9 CONVENTION SCHEDULE ........................................... 10 SESSION DESCRIPTIONS AND SPEAKER BIOS Keynote Speakers ............................................................ 12 High school/College Sessions ........................................... 14 JNF Keynote ................................................................... 51 JNF Sessions .................................................................. 52 LEARNING CENTER The Logo for Inspire. Connect. Do the Jain Thing. .................. 67 Jain Symbolism ................................................................ 68 Jain Way of Life .............................................................. 70 Young Minds Articles ....................................................... 71 Jain Recipes ................................................................... 74 ESSAY COMPETITION WINNERS ................................ 78 INTRODUCING YJA BOARD / CHCC ............................ 82 SPECIAL THANKS ....................................................... 92 ATTENDEE DIRECTORY .............................................. 94 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Jain Centers in North America ......................................... 108 Vegan Restaurants ........................................................ 112 DONORS AND ADS .................................................... 118 NOTES & REFLECTION LETTER ............................... 154 2 YJA CONVENTION 2010 | New Brunswick Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org Welcome Letters Welcome Chairpersons July 2010 Naman Jain Shardule Shah Tejas Kadia Mayha Parikh Dear Young Jains of America Convention Attendees, Distinguished Guests and Supporters, [email protected] Committee Chairs Jai Jinendra! It is our pleasure to welcome you to YJA Convention 2010: Inspire. Connect. Finance/Fundraising Do the Jain Thing. The 9th biennial convention is made possible by the dedication of the Ajay Dagli Dhaval Shah entire North American Jain community. Because of our collective efforts, we will in- [email protected] spire Jain youth through dialogue with passionate speakers and panelists who have a deep Hospitality understanding of Jainism. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to connect Sonia Shah and share their thoughts with each other on a variety of subjects. Attendees will leave the Prerak Adhuria [email protected] convention ready to Do the Jain Thing by applying Jain principles to their everyday lives. JNF Vruddhi Choksy This convention represents an opportunity for Jain youth to take a stand toward spiritual Apurvi Mehta [email protected] prosperity. We have passed through more than a generation since the inception of the first North American dherasar in 1973. Today, we stand at a crossroads. Those who immi- Daytime Programming Priyanka Arun Shah grated to North America during the 1970s and 1980s are now seeing Jain values passed to Shital Shah their grandchildren. However, for Jainism to flourish in 2010 and beyond, we must endow Ami Maru [email protected] today’s Jain youth with the resources to become the leaders of tomorrow. Public Relations Salonee Shah ‘Inspire. Connect. Do the Jain Thing.’ is more than just this convention’s theme. It is a call Sneha Parikh [email protected] to all Jain youth and their families to get more involved with their local Jain communities. Inspire other youth by joining or becoming a volunteer for your local Pathshala program. Registration Sumeet Bhandari Connect with other Jains by participating in cultural or service activities. Ultimately, doing Nirav Bhavsar the Jain thing by becoming more involved at your dherasar will lead to greater interaction Nirav Patadia [email protected] with other Jain centers across North America. This will help strengthen YJA and JAINA as Security international organizations carrying Jain dharma into the future. Paras Shah Nikhil Bumb [email protected] In addition, for the benefit of future generations of Jains, we respectfully call on the leader- ship of all North American dherasars to put aside partisan and personal disagreements and Site Priyanka P. Shah work toward bringing together local Jain communities. Prachi Shah [email protected] YJA is blessed to have the unified backing of 10,000 North American Jain youth and the Social Programming Sumeet Bhandari support of the entire Jain community. Without you, this weekend would not have been Priyanka Jain possible. We hope that in our preparation, we did not harm any living being and if we did, Suhani Shah [email protected] Micchchami Dukkadam. Souvenirs Arti Shah Let us strengthen our community and ourselves by furthering the Jain ideals of ahimsa Riddhi Jhaveri (non-violence), aparigraha (non-possessiveness) and anekantvada (multiplicity of view- [email protected] points). Members-at-Large Apurva Patel Sheenika Shah -Sincerely, Jay Bhankaria Rushabh Jhaveri Your 2009-2010 YJA Board and Cherry Hill Convention Committee [email protected] Inspire. Connect. Do The Jain Thing. 3 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org YJA INFORMATION AND ELECTIONS Jai Jinendra! Young Jains of America (YJA) is a non-profit organization parented by the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA). YJA consists of Jain youth ages 14-29 across North America. Our mission is to represent young Jains and promote understanding of Jain heritage, faith, and philosophy. OBJECTIVES • Raise awareness of Jain ideals and principles • Prepare Jain youth to become the successful leaders of tomorrow • Instill a sense of pride among Jain youth about their heritage • Develop friendships among young Jains and strengthen local Jain youth groups YJA CONVENTION HISTORY July 1991 – YJA is born! July 2002 – 5th convention in Mahwah, NJ July 1994 – 1st convention in Chicago, IL July 2004 – 6th convention in Bay Area, CA July 1996 – 2nd convention in San Francisco, CA July 2006 – 7th convention in Stamford, CT July 1998 – 3rd convention in Houston, TX July 2008 – 8th convention in Chicago, IL July 2000 – 4th convention in Los Angeles, CA Today – 9th convention in New Brunswick, NJ YJA EXECUTIVE BOARD AND ELECTIONS The YJA executive board is comprised of sixteen individuals: two co-chairs, eight director positions, and six regional coordinators. The board meets twice annually (August and January). • 2 Co-Chairs • 8 Directors: Education, Events, Finance, Fundraising, Information Technology, Project Development, Publications, Public Relations • 6 Regional Coordinators: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, South, West Want to help put together exciting retreats, spiritually fulfilling events at your local dherasar, charity drives and many other unique ideas? Then JOIN the YJA Board! The Executive Board provides a fo- rum to make wonderful friendships and build networking opportunities. The experience of serving on the YJA board will help you no matter your profession or field of study. You will learn to work within short deadlines, communicate with others and develop projects with limited resources. However, the most important thing is that YJA is a great way to give back to our community that has given us so much! For more information on joining the YJA board and the elections process, look out for information dur- ing the convention, visit www.yja.org or e-mail [email protected]! Elections begin in July and board applications can be submitted until mid-August. 4 YJA CONVENTION 2010 | New Brunswick Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org Welcome Letters Welcome To all convention attendees, dignitaries and guests, Jai Jinendra! Cherry Hill Jain Sangh (CHJS) is proud to sponsor YJA Convention 2010! We are thrilled to be welcoming attendees and guests from the United States, Canada, India, UK and Australia. In Oc- tober 2009, YJA and CHJS made a firm commitment to support and improve each other’s organizations. From October through today, we have been able to support YJA financially, with volunteer support and in many other respects including sponsoring the 2010 YJA Fundraising Garba. In return, YJA has brought an increased energy to CHJS activities, particularly amongst youth. Our sangh’s members are very excited to participate in this biennial event. We hope that this is the begin- ning of a lasting partnership between our sangh and YJA. YJA needs the support of all North American Jain sanghs and we urge all other Jain sanghs to partner with YJA. Through our partnership, we are con- fident in YJA’s ability to help bring Jainism to the next generation with a combination of spiritual, social and service activities. CHJS just celebrated its 20th anniversary with our 20th Anniversary Panchanika Mahotsav celebration, which took place from May