How would US be if Bush was a Jain?

[Guest guest]

How would US be if Bush was a Jain?

RAJA BOSE

 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, MAY 07, 2004 09:36:33 PM ]

 

 

AHMEDABAD: How would the US be if Bush was a Jain? What is an ABCJ?

What would a Jain do if all his friends in the US ate meat? Should a

Jain invest in companies that produce non-Jain products? If these

questions baffle you, they have also left the young generation of

Jains across the world perplexed.

 

 

 

And they are now planning to meet at a world convention in the US to

take a hard look at Jainism in the contemporary world.

 

 

 

When about 900 Jain youth, all between 14 and 29 years, meet in

California in July under the aegis of the Young Jains of America

(YJA), the youth arm of the Federation of Jain Associations in North

America (JAINA), they will start by asking `Y Jain?' — the theme of

the convention — or "Why should we practice Jainism at all?"

 

 

 

"The purpose of the convention is to incorporate the philosophical

tenets of Jainism into our everyday lives. This convention's theme

focuses on applications of philosophical ideals," says Nitin

Talsania, a JAINA member in New Jersey.

 

 

 

So the young Jains will ask themselves: "We work hard to get a good

job.We work hard in our job to move ahead and make more money. We

make more money… for what? Is this truly happiness?"

 

 

 

They would like to discuss what they would do if they had to dissect

an animal in a science class. They will explore issues that confront

them daily — homosexuality, interracial dating, gender roles, peer

pressure and the concept of American Born Confused Jain (ABCJ).

 

 

 

"When any community leaves its shores for a foreign land, there is

bound to be conflict of ideas. A child there finds his friends go

out and have hamburgers and go fishing while he learns different

values at home. There is a need to explore Jainism in the new

millennium to assert one's identity," says Ahmedabad-based Umang

Hutheesing.

 

 

 

"The soul-searching that an American born Jain does is exciting. Our

parents were even more confused about Jainism when they were our age

because they were not encouraged to `find their place.'

 

 

 

They were expected to go to the temple and recite a few mantras. The

youth today wish to look at Jainism both philosophically and

practically. "The ABCJ has an artful way of combining Eastern

thought and the Western way of life," says Dhrumil Purohit, who is

based in the US and will participate in the convention.