Jain Society of Capital District New York

Rasik Chudgar, 81 of Saint Johns, FL and formerly of Latham, NY passed away on January 24, 2023 after having lived a full and joyous life. He had undergone cardiac bypass surgery and passed away after surgery while recovering in the ICU.

He was born in Baroda, Gujarat, India and studied Organic Chemistry in India earning a PhD in Organic Chemistry and Azo Dyes. He came to the United States in 1971 shortly after his marriage and began a life for the next 51 years in this country. He lived in New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, before moving to Latham, NY for over 30 years before finally living, the last 12 years in Florida. He spent the majority of his career at BASF in Rennsselaer, NY retiring in 1999. He has written scholarly articles and chapters in chemistry textbooks during his career.

He was pre-deceased by his wife of 25 years, Veena (Shah) Chudgar, his parents and by two brothers and two sisters. He is survived by a son, Siren Chudgar, daughter Rachana (Chudgar) Zaveri, daughter-in-law Jennifer (Moran) Chudgar and son-in-law Minesh Zaveri. He also is survived by his beloved grandchildren, Vishay Chudgar, Riya Zaveri, Shaan Chudgar, Karina Zaveri and Dilan Zaveri. He is also loved by many nieces, nephews and extended family throughout the world in many different countries including a large family in India.

He was very devoted to his faith of Jainism and its’ teachings. He spent many years leading a small Jain group contingent in the Albany, NY area and then doing the same in his new home of Jacksonville, FL. He was active in the Jacksonville Jain Association and Gujarati Samaj Seniors Group of Jacksonville.

People who knew him best will say he was a man of very few words, but the words he spoke were always worth listening to. May he rest in peace! Om Shanti Om.

Funeral Services and Viewing will take place on Sunday, January 29, 2023 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home at 11801 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32223. (904) 288-0025.

Jain Society of Capital District New York updated their address.

Maun Ekadashi
The festival of Maun Ekadashi (also known as Maun Agyaras) is an auspicious Jain festival that falls on the 11th day of the month Magshar (Magshar Sud 11).
According to the English calendar, this year it falls on the 14th December 2021.
A person who worships this day of Ekadashi with all the rites and rituals every year for a period of 11 years and 11 months is said to achieve salvation.
Significance of Maun Ekadashi :
On this day of Ekadashi -
1) Shri Aranath (18th Tirthankar of the Jains) renounced the world and became a monk.
2) Shri Mallinath (19th Tirthankar of the Jains) was born, renounced the world and attained Kevalgyan (Liberation).
3) Shri Neminath (22nd Tirthankar of the Jains) attained Kevalgyan.
Thus, 5 Kalyanaks of the three Tirthankars are celebrated on this day. There are also Chauvishis in other kshetras, namely Bharatkshetra and Airavatkshetra which also had 5 Kalyanaks. So, 5 kalyanaks in 5 Bharatkshetras comes up to 25 Kalyanaks (5 X 5) and 25 Kaylanaks in the 5 Airavtkshetras. Hence, 50 Kalyanaks in all the kshetras for the past, present and future chauvishis gives us 150 Kalyanaks.
By fasting for one day,we get benefit of 150 fasts
On this day the following rites are done :
- A fast is observed in Paushadha with keeping silence
- Kayotsarga of 12 Logassa
- 12 Khamasanas
- 12 Swastiks and 20 Navakarvalis of the J*p Pad
'Aum Rhim Shrim Mallinath Sarvagnaya Namh'. The Birth, Diksha and Omniscience Kalyanakas of Shri Mallinath, the Diksha Kalyanaka of Shri Aranath and the Omniscience Kalyanaka of Shri Naminath had happened, So total five Kalyanakas are celebrated on this day.
Shri Arnath-Dixa
Shri Malli Nath-Janma/Dixa/Keval Gyan
Shri Nami Nath-Keval Gyan
5 Kalyank No 1 Day
5 Bharat kshetra Na 75
5 Airavat kshetra Na 75
That way 150 Kalyank at 1 Day
Whatever dharmik kriya you do, you get results of 150times
Even by atleast doing 1 Navkarsi/ Chovihar, 15000 years of Narak Years are reduced.
जय श्री आदिनाथ...🙏🏻
जय श्री शत्रुजंय...

Bhagwan Shree Mahaveer Nirvaan Kalyanak Pooja & Bhakti!

Brahmacharya is a word with a very wide scope. It means maintaining physical purity by assuming the strict aspect of celibacy. (Brahma) means soul, which is chaste, enlightened, eternal, and blissful. To become fully engrossed in soul is Brahmacharya - celibacy. The vow of chastity is an ornament of a man and a woman both; it is a garland woven by auspicious virtues and is a gateway to heaven. Chastity is the most precious jewel of a lady. "The impenetrable fence which protects a woman is her virtue of celibacy; no other fence can safeguard her as well."

Observance of chastity keeps the body healthy and free from sickness; and it develops the mind i.e., sharpens the intelligence. All people honor a chaste person in this world. Non-observance of chastity sometimes makes one suffers from many types of miseries in this world; also, he or she is destined to go to hell in the next birth. An unchaste person always lives awe-stricken lest his/her immoral deeds should come to the limelight.

The root of self-restraint or abstention from sensual pleasures is good conduct. Both, self-restraint and good conduct are dependent on chastity. The persons who realize the need and glory of celibacy in human life come to know the significance of self-restraint and good conduct very well. The capability of sustaining the life force in the body is celibacy. It alone generates vitality, radiance, and luster in the body.

Source: JAINA Newsletter.

DAY 9: UTTAM AAKINCHAY

He, who abandons the evil thought of attachment to worldly objects, can alone give up possessions. Assuredly, the non-appearance of attachment and other passions in Ahimsa, and their appearance in Himsa.

Not to have the least (Parigraha) attachment is known as Akinchanya (non-attachment).

Historically ten external possessions are listed in our scriptures: ‘land, house, silver, gold, wealth, grain, female servants, male servants, garments and utensils’. Remaining unattached from these helps control our desires and leads to an influx of Punya karmas. While, remaining unattached from our internal attachments: false belief, anger, pride, deceit, greed, laughter, liking, disliking, lamentation, fear, and celibacy lead to its purification.

A man took resort in a forest renouncing all worldly attachments. At that time he owned no possessions except a cloth piece. In daytime he used to wrap it round his body to clothe it, and at night he would spread it on the ground to make a bed to sleep in. In the forest there lived many rats, which nibbled his cloth. The man thought of protecting his cloth from the rats anyhow. With this idea he tamed a cat. Milk was needed to feed the cat. So the man had to tame a cow as well. But grass (fodder) was required for the cow. Now to employ a cowherd became essential for this job. A house was then needed for the cowherd. As soon as the house was built, a maidservant was engaged to look after the house. The maidservant expressed her desire to keep her kith and kin along with her. The man built separate houses for every one of them.

Thus, in some days the forest was filled with the hustle and bustle of the city, yet his troubles went on increasing by leaps and bounds. The underlying idea is that by and by even a petty attachment assumes large dimensions in the long
run. Therefore, it is most essential to get rid of attachments at the initial stage. Every man should think that he has certainly to depart from this world one day, leaving behind land, house, gold, sons, wife and relations ? in fact leaving even his body. Hence, why all this mad strife for worldly attachments.

DAY 8: UTTAM TYAG
To acknowledge the non-self as different from self and then to become non-attached to all worldly objects or to discard the non-self is renunciation. The word renunciation means to cast aside, to give up, to get rid of, to discard, and to leave.
In this world it is not what we take up but what we give up, that makes us rich.’
Renunciation has been assigned a great significance in the path of salvation propounded by the omniscient Lord Jinendra. Uttam Tyag means abstention from the greed of worldly possessions and the virtue of freedom from attachments.
Every living creature is an aspirant for happiness. This happiness is an outcome of renunciation. When a thing is fully and whole-heartedly given in charity to others, it is called renunciation. If someone desires a return in exchange for a thing donated or wants to get it back after once giving it to others as charity; or donates something to others after getting his name inscribed on it, it is not called renunciation. Only that can be called as giving, which is given to the poor. All other giving is of the nature of barter.
Renunciation affords peace. It is a psychological truth. Only a large-hearted and liberal-minded person can donate. The more a donor renounces worldly possession, the greater is the number of ripples of happiness that arise in his heart. One necessarily need not to be financially rich to be a donor. A affluent persons need to follow the practice of giving charities forever in life. If rain, water in a river goes on accumulating and there is no outlet i.e., the river does not supply water to the fields and oceans; it will be flooded. Its water overflowing both of its banks will create havoc all around resulting in the ruin of crops and vast costly properties. Many innocent lives will meet an untimely death. The Sun has been illuminating the whole world ever since the Earth came into existence by casting its numerous dazzling rays that give both light and warmth to one and all. If the Sun does not shed its luminous rays, no living creature, no vegetation, and no plant will survive on the Earth. Likewise if out of selfishness, a man adopts the tendency of accumulating wealth, the financial disparities in the world will go on increasing and create an economic and social crisis, which may result in bloodshed. Hence, such a worshiper of mammon will be called a traitor and a bloodsucker of the poor.
Renunciation lends greatness to a man. Lord Bahubali followed the path of renunciation and attained his cherished goal. He conquered the kingdom of the sovereign king Bharat and returned it to him thereafter without a hitch. How great was the feeling of renunciation in his outlook on life! He was the noble soul, who laid down the foundation of this grand Indian tradition of returning a kingdom after once conquering it; which has become an immortal heritage of Indian culture to the coming generations. Lord Ram also won over Lanka after defeating Ravan, and then he renounced it by crowning Vibhishan the king of Lanka. In the modern age also we see that our worthy Prime Minister of India, Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri won the war against Pakistan but soon after returned the vast territory of Pakistan conquered by our jawans. Likewise, in Bangla-Pakistan war, Bangladesh triumphed as a result of the open support and huge military aid of India; but India handed over Bangladesh to her people. First, to conquer against the evil and then to return the conquered land to her people has been the noble tradition of this land; for we are the staunch followers of the religion of renunciation.
A man devoted to renunciation should regularly give charity humbly and affectionately using auspicious words. First of all he should give ‘abhay daan’ i.e., save the lives of all living beings in danger; doing so vanquishes the miseries related to the other world.
Besides, one should give ‘Shastra Dana’ as well i.e., he should distribute among the people sacred books and scriptures, which impart and spread religious knowledge. He should make free distribution of medicines also which cure living beings of all bodily diseases, and destroy all physical ailments root and branch.
Giving food to the Hungary and the poor i.e., ‘ahar daan’ brings peace and prosperity in its return. As a rule these are four types of charities (four-fold renunciation) practiced from times immemorial. In other words putting an end to vicious thoughts practices renunciation. In short, the virtue of renunciation consists in doing all this.
We can conquer the world through love, friendship, and a spirit of renunciation. Rightly has it been said; “A generous mind never enjoys its possessions so much as when others are made partakers of them.”

DAY 6: UTTAM SANYAM
The word Sanyam has various meanings like check, restraint, control, prevention and mental concentration. Uttama Sanyam i.e., Supreme self-restraint is the sixth virtue to be cultivated by a man to counteract the four passions (Kashayas) i.e., anger, pride, deceit and greed.
There was a king. He was absorbed in sensuous pleasures day in and day out. The king owned a vast and beautiful orchard cm flower garden, in which multicolored flowers and fruits of the supreme variety grew and bloomed forever. The king led such a luxurious life that in order to satisfy his whimsical demand numerous flowers of different varieties were brought daily to make a flower bed for him. The king deemed himself very happy and delighted by sleeping in this bed.
One evening, the royal gardener's wife brought flowers to adorn the king's bed. As soon as she had spread the bed with fragrant flowers, she began to think, 'how lovely the flower bed looks! God knows what bliss the king experiences by sleeping on it.' While pondering thus in her mind, she decided to sleep for five minutes only in that charming flower bed and feel the pleasure of it. She knew that the king was likely to come into the palace after a long time. Thinking this she lay down in the bed. She was dead tired of the whole day's work. As soon as she lay in bed, she fell in sound sleep. When at nightfall the king came into his royal bedroom and found the gardener's wife sound asleep in his flowerbed, his eyes becoming bloodshot with rage. The king instantly pulled her from the bed catching hold of her ponytail, hurled her violently on the ground and beat her black and blue with a stick. But there was no sign of pain and sorrow on her face; rather she began to laugh loudly. When the king ordered her to make clear the reason of her laughing, the lady gardener replied, "Your majesty! I am laughing at the idea that when I had to bear so many hunter strokes simply for sleeping in this flower bed for five minutes only, what will be your fate, who sleeps in this flower bed every night? Why not you discard all these transitory worldly enjoyments and observe self-restraint in life?"
On hearing these eye opener words from the gardener's wife, the king thought in his mind what a great lesson this poor woman had taught him. Therefore, soon after this incident the king renounced all royal grandeur and got initiated to monkshood.
A man should not wait for an appropriate time to observe self-restraint. He should not think that he would practice self-restraint at a later stage of life; because death keeps no calendar.

DAY 5: UTTAM SATYA
The word 'satya' (truth) has been derived by the addition of the suffix 'yat' with the root 'sat' (satya) are prevalent in common use; e.g. truthful, real, genuine, honest, loyal, non-deceitful or truth speaking.

Once a Jain monk was preaching 'Dharma' to laymen. A thief who listened to the preaching requested the monk to give him a vow. The monk said, 'You leave your business of stealing. The thief said that it was the only means for his livelihood and refused to leave it. Then the monk said, 'you take the vow of talking the Truth.' The thief agreed. One day, the thief started to steal in the palace. On the way, the guard asked him 'Who are you and where are you going?' 'I am a thief, I am going to the palace to steal', the thief said. A person who is entering the palace to steal, how can he tell this with such courage? He might be related to the king. Thinking in this line, the guard allowed the thief to enter the palace. The thief stole the ornaments in the palace and left it. Next day, when a search was made to find out the thief, this very thief was caught in a forest with all the ornaments. When he told me with courage, that the ornaments belonged to the palace and he had stolen them. Looking at the courage and the manner in which the thief told the truth, the soldiers of the palace, with a notion that he must be a relative of the palace, did not arrest him. Looking at himself, the thief thought his escape was only due to the Truth. So, he knew the importance of the truth and afterwards, not only he left his wrong path but also he took up to the right path and in due course became a liberated soul.

Truthfulness is the important virtue of the soul and the associated word ‘Uttam’ means the involvement of right faith, enlightenment - Samyak Darshan.

To worship this day, one should refrain from harsh words and condemnation. One should speak only the truth because it is the jewel and one becomes happy with it. If one has the impression of a person lying once, then the faith disappears.

(source: jainheritagecenters.com)

अक्षय तृतीया की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं!