COMPASSION INSPIRATION EDUCATION DEVOTION
YOUNG TRANSFORMATION GENERATION
Essays by Pathshala Students in North America Beginning with the February 2023 issue, the Jain Digest Editorial Team has started a new series of articles – essays written by the Pathshala students in North America. Many Jain Centers in USA and Canada have been conducting Pathshala classes for several years. Many volunteers provide selfless service to the Jain communities by teaching the students about Jain principles, values, rituals, culture, Indian languages, etc. Essay competitions are held to motivate the students to stimulate their thinking and analytical skills about what they have learned in Pathshala. As a continuation of our effort to showcase the winning entries from one Jain Center in each issue of Jain Digest; in this issue we bring you essays from Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago.. We hope that you will enjoy reading these essays and be pleased with the talent these students exhibit. We would love to hear from you. Write us note at jaindigestpublication@gmail.com I have been studying Jainism for 5 years now, but some concepts about Jainism make me so curious, as they are extraordinary and spark a little doubt in my mind.
JSMC Essay Competition 2021 Level 3 Students - Age 8 to 9 years Topic: If you were granted three wishes… Deeva Kamdar - 1st Place Deeva is level 4 Päthashälä Student at JSMC. She is very enthusiastic and attentive. At the age of 8 yrs., she was the youngest JSMC Päthashälä student participating in JAINA ACADEMIC BOWL at a national level. She also participates in Stuti and speech competitions securing first place. She has learned two Pratikraman Sutras, Bhaktämar, Ajit-Shanti stotra, Brahat Shanti, and many stutis. During Paryushan and Äyambil Parva she also observes Ekäsanu and Äyambil. Some would ask for worldly gains, some would ask for superpowers, some would ask for a longer life and some would ask for buckets and buckets of candy.
So, my first wish would be to meet Mahavir Bhagwan and see if it is possible for me to have Keval-Jnän. I would ask Mahavir swami a really hard question and see if he answers it. If he does answer, then I can clear all my doubts from him. I would ask him if Näraki is real. Also, if it is true that Neil Armstrong actually did not set foot on the Moon. As Jainism says he just set foot on a rock (that is one big rock) and that the real moon is a Dev-vimana. I would ask him a few more geographical questions: Is the Earth really flat? Is it true that there are 2 Suns? My next wish would be to bring back the 14 Purvas from Drashtiväda Ägam. I remember my brother telling me the story about how Bhadrabähu swami refused to teach his chief disciple Sthulibhadra Swami the last 4 Purvas because he misused the knowledge and scared his sisters when they came to meet him by turning into a Lion. I do not think that it is fair that because of Sthulibhadra swami, no one else can learn the 14 Purvas. My last and final wish is to get the power of being able to understand, talk, write, and read Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, and Gujrati. I have realized that it will be hard for me to go further in my journey of learning sutras or anything in Jainism without knowing all these languages. So, these are my three wishes and the reasoning why I would want them. I would only use all these powers for my spiritual gain because worldly desires are not true happiness. Fame in life does not get you anywhere because, in your next life, you will be a nobody again. So, the only way to achieve infinite bliss is to attain moksha, which is what I will work toward with these three boons. Thank you.
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