Ahimsa Day celebrates the central Jain tenet of ‘non-violence’ as a means to peace, positivity and prosperity, encouraging MPs, Lords and Ministers to discuss how current world issues can be considered from an alternative ‘compassionate’ perspective.

The focus of this year’s Ahimsa Day was Climate Change and the Contemporary World, a theme on the minds of many people around the world who are seeing first-hand the catastrophic effects of global warming.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Mr Phil Wynn Owen, the Director General for International Climate Change & Energy Efficiency in the Department of Energy & Climate Change [DECC]. He reminded us that even though we in the United Kingdom, contribute to less than 2% of the world’s carbon dioxide omissions, it is our duty to set an example and find ways of helping other countries, within the EU and elsewhere, to reduce their emissions and take active measures to slow down the pace of Climate Change.

The inspiring speech about what we could do to make positive changes for the world of our children was followed by Dr Mehool Sanghrajka, Director of Education at the Institute of Jainology, who responded with the Jain view on Climate Change and the Contemporary World. He reminded us of two basic premises of Lord Mahavira’s 2500 year old philosophy, perhaps the greatest environmentalist theory in our history:

• The earth is a living entity and we are interdependent. We should respect the right of all life to exist, and learn to live in harmony with it rather than exploiting it.
• The earth has enough resources for all. It is accumulation by the few that is the cause of the scarcity. We should learn to live within what we need.

He explained that these two principles offer us all the solutions that we need to solve the problems that the world is facing, if we based our actions and thoughts on science rather than politics!
The evening’s programme ended with the presentation of the Ahimsa Award for 2011 to Mr Nitin Mehta of Croydon UK, for his selfless contribution to the causes of vegetarianism and compassion for animal life. As the founder of the Young Indian Vegetarians Society and an active resident of the Croydon Council, the Board of the Institute of Jainology were unanimous in their decision of awarding Nitin Mehta’s efforts in promoting Ahimsa in this way. The award was presented by Lady Dholakia on behalf of the Institute.

The celebrations of this year’s Ahimsa was another great success, and with an open invitation to hold a future Ahimsa Day at the House of Lords, we hope that we can continue to spread the message of Ahimsa even further!

Drop-in Design

Make your own manuscript

10.30–17.00, Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre

Pick up a design challenge, hunt for ideas in the galleries, and then create your own fantastic manuscript using eco-friendly paper and lentils. 

Jain Storytelling

11.00, 13.00 & 15.00

South Asia Gallery

Join storyteller Seema Anand for an interactive tale about animals!

Jain Family Tours

12.00, 14.00 and 16.00

South Asia Gallery

The V&A is home to a world renowned collection of Jain manuscripts and objects. Join a free guided tour especially for families by Jainpedia volunteers.

This day of free events is presented by the V&A in partnership with Jainpedia and supported by the Jain Art Fund

Find out more at http://www.vam.ac.uk/families

An estimated 6000 people attended the event, with many coming in to see us at the colourful JAINpedia stall. Raising awareness of the commendable project was one of our objectives, and achieved substantially, with hundreds signing up for the future JAINpedia e-newsletter.

The Institute of Jainology team, as always stood out in the orange JAINpedia t-shirts, and talked to people about the project objectives, achieved milestones and showed people screenshots of the upcoming comprehensive and well – designed JAINpedia website. All were impressed at how much would be viewable on the site from digitized manuscripts zoomable to the minutest details, to ample information about Jainism through related articles, written by scholars and experts from around the world.

Further to this, young university students were encouraged to spend some time during their holidays, volunteering for JAINpedia events and website work; several signing up just to know more about their own culture.

A fruitful day for the project and much fun for the team. A full article of the event can be found on the Institute of Jainology Site soon.

This cultural gathering is the biggest event in the Oshwal Calendar, with an outdoor stage event and several stalls of food and activities. The Institute of Jainology, will be there showcasing their various publications and activities from the past year, including the JAINpedia project and its achievements. The ‘Mela’ opens at 12.00pm and closes at 8.00pm. Come and see us at Stall B31 and see what is happening at JAINpedia including some screenshots of the upcoming authoritative and elaborate website.

Nick Barnard, curator of the Jainpedia display  at the V&A began the day with a presentation on Jain manuscript iconography, style and behind the scenes stories of Jain manuscripts not on display at the museum.

Thereafter, Mike Wheeler, the senior paper conservator explained the analysis of pigments in manuscripts and identifying any damage to them. The visitors were most fascinated when he showed this to them practically allowing them to see the raw mineral pigments.

The afternoon was commented to be the highlight of the day, with 15 visitors going to the Shikharbandhi Temple in Potters Bar. Arshna Sanghrajka gave an inspirational tour of the temple and its grounds, including a clear account of Jain principles and worship.  The beauty of the temple was appreciated immensely.

 A positively received event in general; ‘I enjoyed the visit to the Potters Bar temple and access to manuscripts in Storage’ (Inside Outing event visitor)

DATE: Thursday 16 June 2011
TIME:  10.00am to 5.30pm
MEETING PLACE: Hochhauser Auditorium in the Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes day in two parts

In the morning you’ll take a closer look at some of the rare Jain manuscripts held in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. You will learn how conservation has enabled their digitisation and public display.

The Śvetāmbara temple at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, the first Shikharbandhi Jain temple to be built in Europe. Image taken from the Learn Jainism website, used by courtesy of OAUK.

In the afternoon you will begin the second part of the event. You will be taken to visit the first Jain Śvetāmbara temple in Europe, in Potters Bar, not far from London. Completed in August 2005, this spectacular building uses 1300 tonnes of pink sandstone and 500 tonnes of Indian marble. The individual pieces were carved in India and then assembled on site by Indian craftsmen.

Visitors will be treated to a personal tour of the temple and its extensive grounds, and then to tea.

Organised in collaboration with the Institute of Jainology and supported by the V&A Jain Art Fund, this event is available at the special rate of £30 per person.

To book and pay for your place online, please click on the button at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/1108/

You have just less than a week to book so you’ll need to hurry!

• story-telling sessions by highly acclaimed story-teller Seema Anand
• hourly tours of the JAINpedia display
• a drop-in craft workshop for children organised by the British Library
• a beautiful dance recital in the Bharat Natyam dance form, performed by founders of the Prakruti Dance School.

Here is the programme for the day:

Look out for our volunteers in their bright orange JAINpedia t-shirts and they can help you find your way to any of the above activities.

Join us for a fun-filled day for you and your family – we look forward to celebrating Mahavir Jayanti with all of you!

The IoJ recently published the book Jain Tales, with original artwork by Kamini Gupta, and text by Colin Hynson. The book has been designed for young readers, giving them an insight into the Jain religion, ethics and principles through stories that illustrate the Jain teachings. The launch of this book adds to the entry-level book, Discover Jainism, which is part of the English religious education curriculum.

We look forward to seeing more of you at the next event at the British Library on 15th April 2011. This event will be held to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, a Jain festival celebrating the birth of Mahavira. Look out for more details of this FREE event!

We’d just like to remind you that there are special Diwali events this weekend at the V&A in South Kensington, London.

You can:

• see rangoli demonstrations both days
• take part in a JAINpedia digital treasure hunt on Sunday
• listen to the storyteller and watch the dancers bring the tales to life on Sunday.

All the events are free, though they will be popular!

And of course you can marvel at the beautiful exhibits in the free display of Jain manuscripts in the Nehru Gallery.

Enjoy!