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The 9th Annual Young Jain Professionals convention was held in Los Angeles, CA on October 15 and 16. The convention began with an impressive recitation of the Navkar Mantra by Ameet Shah and an introduction of the YJP Executive Board. Next morning began with a meditation session. Then came a presentation, Discovering the Gift of the Wound. by Aqueela Sherrillswho began by sharing his life story as a gang member in his teenage years and the journey that led him to dedicate his life to end gang violence. Next, participants had a choice of three different sessions: 1) Passion & Purpose: Mind, Body, and Soul, 2) Aparigraha, or 3) Human Rights/Labor Rights. Then came a trip to the Los Angeles temple. Inside the temple, attendees were able to view a mini temple that the British had built in 1904. This intricately carved two story teak temple, a replica of a temple in Palitana, had been made for the 1904-1905 World’s Fair held in St. Louis. After the World’s Fair, the temple ended up on display in a casino in Las Vegas for decades. Eventually, the Jain Center of Southern California was able to acquire the temple and was recently able to put it on display. This was followed by team building activities, where participants got a chance to interact with each other. Next morning, starting with a meditation session participants had the option of choosing among three different topics: 1) Higher Consciousness in Marriage, 2) Living in the Now, or 3) Jain Rituals. In Higher Consc conveyed to the audience that we all create stories in our lives and relate to them as if that is who we are, thereby, repeating old patterns in our lives. We can, however, make the choice to step away from old stories and change them, thereby creating new patterns for ourselves. In Jain Rituals, Ashok Sanghavi educated the audience on purpose and meaning behind various Jain rituals. Participants got a chance to learn about how these rituals can serve as a source of spirituality. In Contemporary Issues in Jainism, Jain priest Jayesh Khona led a discussion on controversial topics, such as gender roles in Jainism, marrying non-Jains, etc. A highly spirited discussion ensued on premarital sex and abortion. Then there was a session on Anekantavada. In this session, Dr. Anil Singhvi focused on the application of the principle of Anekantavada (non-one-endedness) for effective communication. He identified characteristics of bad communication and then shared secrets to effective communication. These secrets include the following: 1) Finding the truth in what the other person is saying, 2) Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, 3) Asking gentle probing questions to learn more about what the other person is thinking or feeling, 4) Expressing feelings with “I feel” statements instead of “you” statements, and 5) Finding something genuinely positive to say to the other person, even when angry.
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