www.jainworld.com                                                                             www.jainworld.com

                ===================================================================================

  CONFERENCE   AND   EVENTS

 ACHARYA MAHAPRAGYA'S AHIMSA YATRA REACHES KISHANGARH IN RAJASTHAN
Ahimsa Yatra of Acharya Mahapragya reached Kishangarh, Rajasthan in the third week of the month. Hundreds of marble factories are here in this city. Thousand of people from every caste & creed welcomed this tour of Ahimsa Yatra. There were various decorative gates welcoming the Yatra. On reaching the destination, the procession turned out in the huge crowd gathered to listen the discourse. Acharya Mahapragya addressing the crowd said, �Raw stones come from outside in Kishangarh�s factories to get refined. A stone if not refined can not be useful in building a house or in any type of construction. There are various factories to refine these stones, but is there any factory for reformation of a man? So it is essential for the man himself to refine his instincts such as attachment, hatred, greed, anger etc. Reformation of such instincts will automatically save a man from indulgence in violence. Like a reformed stone, a reformed man becomes valuable for society. Non-violence means refinement.� These thoughts were expressed by Acharya Mahapragya in K. D. Jain High School. Various administrative officers of the district & well-known person of the city attended the lecture. Yuvacharya Shree Mahashramanjee said in the lecture, �A person whose behavior is in accordance to religion on or spirituality will be pure & pious which will be on the theory of non-violence. A person who knows to forgive everybody can be a great man. Sadhvi Pramukha Kanakprabhajee said, �It is necessary to ponder over the causes of unnecessary violence to establish a non-violence based society.� - News Source: Shri Prakash Barmecha, Terapanth Media Information Centre, E-Mail: terapanthtimes@yahoo.com 

ACHARYA HEMCHANDRA MEMORIAL LECTURE AT NEW DELHI
Bhogilal Lehrichand Institute of Indology organised the lecture series - Acharya Hemchandra Memorial Lectures on 27th November 2004 at India International Centre, New Delhi. The most outstanding scholar of Jain and Prakrit languages, Professor W B. Bollee - the former professor of South Asian Institute, Heidelberg, Germany, was the invited speaker and awardee of Acharya Hemchandra Suri Award. The function was presided over by H. E. Heimo Richter, Ambassador, F. R. of Germany. Prominent speakers were Dr. L. M. Singhvi and Professor Namwar Singh. Prof. W. B. Bollee's paper Physical Aspects of Some Mahapurushas was highly appreciated by numerous indologists who attended the function. The Hemhandra Suri award which comprises of Rs. 51,000/-, a gold plated idol of Acharya Hemchanda Suri, and a shawl, was presented by Prof. L. M. Singhvi. The other recipients of the awards during previous years were scholars like: Prof. H. C. Bhayani, Prof. M K. Dhaky, Prof. V. M. Kulkarni, Prof. A M. Ghatge, Prof. S.R. Banerjee, Pt. Laxman Bhai Bhojak, Dr. G. V. Tagore and Dr. Nagin J. Shah. 

RELEASE OF STAMP ON JAIN INDUSTRIALIST WALCHAND HIRACHAND
To mark the 121st birth anniversary of visionary Jain industrialist Walchand Hirachand, Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh released a Rs.5 postage stamp On 23rd Nov. 2004 at New Delhi. Prime Minister described him as a pioneer of India's automobile, shipping and aircraft manufacturing sectors. Industrialists like Hirachand were "no cronies, fixers or lobbyists" nor did they seek subsidies or favours, Manmohan Singh said, adding that they became business leaders because of their great adventurism, entrepreneurship and hard work. He said that Walchand Hirachand was a dreamer, a visionary, a great builder, a great leader of industry. Above all, he was a patriot, and in his own way, he was an inspiring leader of our struggle for freedom. The seeds of his entrepreneurship were sown in 1919 when he acquired a ship, S.S. Loyalty, from the Maharaja of Gwalior and set up Scindia Steam Ship. The founding day of the company is celebrated as National Maritime Day. Hirachand started building his empire with a small project for the railways in 1920. He also established companies like Hindustan Shipyard Ltd and Hindustan Aircraft in 1940 to make aircraft, which was acquired later by the government and renamed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The group's flagship, Hindustan Construction Company, was set up in 1926, while in the year India got its independence, the first set of indigenously built cars rolled out from Hirachand's Premier Automobiles. He was also among the first to venture into food processing and set up Ravalgaon Sugar Farm Ltd and used modern techniques to produce sugar.

Hirachand, who died on 8th April 1953, was also instrumental in setting up industry lobbies such as the Indian Merchants Chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Maharashtra Chambers of Commerce. He had established many religious, Educational and charitable institutions, Jain Boarding, Hostels etc. Among those present at the event were former Prime minister Chandra Shekhar, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, IT Minister of State Shakeel Ahmed and former ministers, Arun Shourie and Pramod Mahajan. Courtesy: Sudhir Jain, Universal Cables Ltd., SATNA (M.P.) 485 005

NATIONAL SEMINAR ON JAIN SANSKRIT LITERATURE
Department of Sanskrit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U. P.) is organising a three day National Seminar on Jain Sanskrit Literatures - Different Types & Aspects in the second week of February 2005. Interested scholars are invited to contribute their papers and participate in this seminar. Contact; Prof. S. P. Sharma, Chairman, Deptt. of Sanskrit, A.M.U. Aligarh Ph. (Res.) 0571-2743713 

NON-VIOLENT COMMUNICATION TRAINING WORKSHOP BY HEMA & MANDA POKHARNA, CHICAGO
Drs. Hema and Manda Pokharna from Chicago bring Nonviolent Communications to Bangalore, India, with an intensive training session. The nine-day workshop is led by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, who is the Director of the Center of Nonviolent Communication, and by other certified trainers, including Hema and Manda Pokharna. Hema and Manda travel around the world teaching NVC, whose vision is a world where all people have their needs met and resolve conflicts peacefully. In this vision, people are trained using NVC to create and participate in networks of worldwide life-serving systems in economics, education, justice, healthcare, and peacekeeping. Training empowers participants to create life-serving systems within themselves and with others. About hundred participants from south Asia and other places throughout the world attended the programme. No tuition or accommodation fee was charged for the session which, took place from Dec. 13 to Dec. 22, 2004. For details, please visit www.cnvc.org or contact Hema or Manda Pokharna, E-Mail : ahinsa@mdiaccess.net 

36TH WORLD VEGETARIAN CONGRESS HELD AT BRAZIL
The 36th IVU World Vegetarian Congress organised by International Vegetarian Union (IVU) at Brazil has come and gone. The final tally was about 500 in residence, representing a record breaking number of 32 different countries. The most frequently heard comment was: "this is the best food ever" (100% vegan of course), and many said that the location was the best ever too - the Costao do Santinho was in an idylic spot on Santa Catarina Island where the tree-covered mountains meet the sea. It has glorious beaches, an amazing variety of wildlife along the woodland trails and facilities of a very high standard in the resort itself. Add to that a tantalising choice of up to five lectures and two cookery demos at every session (in a mixture of English, Portuguese and Spanish), plus dance and fashion shows in the evenings, and there really was something for everyone.

The 2004 Congress already shows signs of having a much wider impact than just one week in Florianopolis. Until the last few years Latin America was rather a 'dead' region for IVU and this was the first time that anything on this scale had been attempted there. It was always going to be a gamble, but the IVU International Council provided as much support as it could, both practical and financial. The Council then, crucially, stood back and allowed the Brazilians space to run their own show - the result is that all the vegetarian leaders in Latin America will have gained enormous strength and confidence from the stunning achievement that was Florianopolis 2004. Even if you couldn't be there in person you can still share a virtual experience of the Congress - simply go to www.ivu.org/congress/2004 where you'll find texts and photos of lectures, recipes and photos from cookery demonstrations, hundreds more photos of every aspect of the Congress including the stalls, the resort, dancing, food, people, wildlife, tours and the complete cruelty-free veg-fashion shows.

DIKSHA CEREMONY
1. Shri Gambhir Mal Jain, aged 50 years, belonging to Malpura in Rajasthan was initiated in Digambar sect with the blessings of Muni Shri Shrut Nandi Ji maharaj at Nivai (M.P.). 

2. Lata Bahan, wife of late Shri Haresh Kumar Fateh Chand Sanghvi from Surendra Nagar (Gujarat) was initiated to Jain Shwetambar Sthanakwasi Ajaramar sect on the 12th December, 2004 in the holy presence of Guru Shri Bhav Chandra Ji Swami