More than 2,000 celebrate Diwali at Jain Society
The Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago recently celebrated Dipawali Parva at the Bartlett temple.
Diwali is the most important festival in India. For the Jains, it is the second most after the Paryusana Parva. For Jains Diwali marks the anniversary of Lord Mahavir's moksha. Mahavir attained moksha on this day in 527 B.C. (and also of the achievement of total knowledge and omniscience by his chief follower, Gautama Indrabhuti). The festival falls on the last day of the month of Ashvina, the end of the year as per Indian calendar.
The celebration starts in the early morning of the previous day, for it was then that Lord Mahavira commenced His last sermon which lasted till late in the night of Diwali. It is narrated that the 18 kings of northern India who were in His audience decided that the light of their master's knowledge would be kept alive symbolically by lighting of the lamps. Hence it is called Dipawali, (dipa means lamp), or Diwali.
Lord Mahavir is the 24th and last Tirthankara of the Jain religion. According to Jain philosophy, all Tirthankaras were born as human beings but they have attained a state of perfection or enlightenment through meditation and self-realization. Tirthankaras are also known as Arihants or Jinas.
On this occasion, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago invited a respected vidhikar, Shri Narendra Nandu, from Mumbai, India, who performed various rituals and poojans. As well, the newly inaugurated temple was reopened after the marble floor was done, and a special ceremony was conducted with a ritual of 18 Abhishek.
About 40 JSMC Education Center students performed the play, "Jain History." More than 2,000 visitors prayed in this new temple facility during this weekend.
Along with "Mahavir Nirvan Ladoo" and "Samadhi maran mala," the Jain Society was also fortunate to celebrate the "Varsi-tap" Parana of Ms. Ami Parekh who performed yearlong fasting. This rigorous fast entails a whole year of "tap" - eating no food on alternate days.
Jainism is a religion and a way of life. Founded in 1970, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago provides educational, religious and community activities in its newly expanded and renovated facility on 15.4 acres in Bartlett.
The Bartlett facility, built in 1992, is the first significant Jain Temple of North America and is the center for all religious and educational activity in the Midwest. It has a membership of more than 1,500 families, the largest of all Jain Centers in North America.