Mahavir Janma Kalyanak

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Thursday 29th March 2018
2617 years ago, the last Tirthankar of our current cycle, Mahavir Bhagwan, was born. His teachings have been instrumental in propagating the knowledge of Jainism in our time and forthcoming times to come. This day also holds special relevance for us as it was also on this day in 1934 that Pujya Gurudev’s parivartan took place. The cultural team have been busy organising two events prior and just after the actual day. 
With Mahavir Janma Kalyanak around the corner, our Pathshala children have been busy preparing a fun and interactive story telling of some important events in Mahavir Bhagwan’s life. All are welcome to come and watch the story unfold, and be inspired by our younger generation to learn more about Mahavir Bhagwan for ourselves. Please come along and show your support for our bright Pathshala kids. The programme will be as follows:
Sunday 25th March 2018
08.30 – 09:30: Pujya Gurudev’s CD Pravachan

09.30 – 10.30: Jinendra Pujan 

10.30 – 11.30: Pathshala children’s story telling
As there is a four day holiday the day after MJK, we will be holding our main programme for the celebrations as follows:
Friday 30th March 2018
08.15 – 09:15: Pujya Gurudev’s CD Pravachan

09.15 – 10.30: Jinendra Maha-Abhishek (boys over 8 years most welcome) & Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Pujan 

10.30 – 11.30: Gyaan Goshti – Religious discussion

In Balbodh Part 2, under Lesson 7 on the life of Bhagwan Mahavir, the following are listed as some of Mahavir Bhagwan’s important teachings:  
1. All souls are equal, nobody is lesser or greater

2. God is not the creator nor the destroyer of things in this universe – he only knows them.

3. Telling lies and intention of telling lies are sins.

4. Theft and intention of theft are sins.

5. A greedy person is always unhappy.
During this event, we will be exploring together these teachings, giving all the opportunity to explore their meaning and applicability in our lives. You are invited to prepare a short passage (no more than 4 or 5 minutes), related to any one of these teachings, which you will share with your Sadharmis during the event. You can prepare this in any language you are comfortable with. In the passage you prepare, you should aim to share your thoughts in relation to the following questions:    
1. How can you apply this principle in your everyday life, and what would be the benefits of doing so?

2. What obstacles prevent you from applying this principle in your life, and how could you overcome those obstacles?

3. What are examples of behaviours/conduct (think of obvious and more obscure examples also) that people engage in that go against this principle?

4. What evidence do you see in the world around you that supports this principle?
Everyone is welcome to attend the event, but if you would specifically like to be a participant in the discussions as per above, please put your name forward by emailing events@mahavirjaintemple.com. Please advise which topic you would prefer to talk on in your email. All ages are welcome to take part.