Jains Thrive in Chicagoland despite Cultural Clash

Jains believe in nonviolence, to the point of not harming any sentient being, through action or even thought. These Jain beliefs seemingly clash with some of the most powerful forces in American culture. Yet Jains are finding ways to adapt and even thrive here in the U.S. 

They’re passing these beliefs on to the next generation during their holiest holiday this week, called Paryushan at their temple in Bartlett.

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Tiny religious sect thrives in Chicagoland despite cultural clash

Peace to All Beings: Veggie Soup for the Chicken's Soul

This award winning book, Peace to All Beings, is about working to protect the environment, to promote world peace, to end world hunger and human rights abuses, to liberate animals from suffering, and to raise planetary consciousness. They are all deeply interconnected, and none can go very far forward without the others. All find their common ground in the ethics of nonviolence, compassion, and reverence for all life. Peace to All Beings reveals the root cause behind the violence and war now being waged against the earth, the animals, and people. 

"Vegan" Turns 70

The Vegan Society, the world's first, was born in November 1944. At that same time, Donald Watson (the Vegan Society's Founder) organized a London meeting of six like-minded 'non-dairy vegetarians' at which it was decided to form a new society and adopt a new name to describe themselves: "Vegan" derived from VEGetariAN. It was a Sunday, with sunshine, and a blue sky, an auspicious day for the birth of an idealistic new movement.

So 2014 is a special year. It marks the 70th anniversary of the coining of the word "vegan" by Donald Watson in 1944 and founding The Vegan Society.

The Big V has come a long way in 70 years. "Vegan" is now a household word. Celebrities and politicians promote it. There are hundreds of vegan cookbooks, foods in ordinary grocery stores and restaurants labeled specifically vegan, and 2 whole generations of people that are vegan since birth.

Let us take this 70th birthday milestone as a time to gather our energy and prayers to help all people go to the next level. There has been a great job in communicating the benefits of eating vegan food, but many people still do not see the connection between vegan eating and living a life dedicated to nonviolence and non-domination. It is so much more than just a choice of what to eat. It is the next step in the rising of human consciousness to a vastly more mature level. 

Let us pray and hold in our hearts a vision of all people hearing the 70 year old word “Vegan” and smiling as they glimpse what it means in all its richness and wonder. It is a miracle waiting to happen for all of life on earth. 

May there come a time when all animals are happy and free.

Jains Connecting Traditional and Contemporary Living

The ancient Indian religion of Jainism, a close relative of Buddhism, has an adherence to nonviolence that forbids eating meat, encourages days of fasting and places value on the smallest of insects.

Now younger Jains, who resist the elaborate rituals of their parents, which include meditating 48 minutes a day and presenting statues of idols with flowers, rice and a saffron-and-sandalwood paste, are trying to reinterpret the traditions of their religion for 21st-century American life. They are expanding the definition of nonviolence to encompass environmentalism, animal rights and corporate business ethics, volunteering alongside other faiths, learning to lobby through political internships and youth groups, and veganism. 

Veganism--a step beyond the vegetarianism that the faith requires--is on the rise among young U.S.-born Jains, but younger Jains find it otherwise difficult to follow traditional rituals, with modern life and its excesses. 

Jains believe, for example, that even microbes in the air and water are sacred life and any action that impacts other living things--such as driving or using electricity--can add to bad karma. Yet many Jains are top doctors, lawyers and businesspeople, who use computers, cellphones and drive cars — and so they are increasingly seeking a compromise between their faith and practicality.

For the most part, elder Jains support the modified approach to 21st-century American life, but some worry their children will miss a deeper understanding without completing rituals that are so detailed that some Jains carry a small booklet with illustrated instructions. For instance, worshippers must shower, remove their shoes and change into loose-fitting, clean garments before approaching statues of 24 idols and must don a white mask to avoid breathing or spitting on the marble figures.

The faith’s Western evolution is being talked about openly and with greater urgency now that the small expatriate community that arrived in the 1960s has established itself by having a national umbrella organization, youth groups and more than 100 temples, including an enormous one south of Los Angeles.