Classroom Internet Exchange
Letters from India

Here are some of the topics covered by our students in Mumbai, India :

Jainism

Just like the Muslims have a fasting month, Christians have Lent, so too in Jainism there is a religious week called "Paryushan". It started on Wed 19th August (1998) and will end on the 8th day "Samvasari" which falls on 26th August. Both days are school holidays because our school has a large number of Gujarati children who are Jain by religion.

Very strict Jainism is practiced during this one week when Jains don't even eat green vegetables like ladies fingers, french beans, etc. They only have dried beans, pulses, etc.

Some people fast - meaning drinking only boiled water from sunrise to sunset and the fast is broken the next morning after sunrise.

Jainism's main message is of non-violence - in speech, thought or deed.

Here are some letters from the children on Jainism.

Bharti Shah

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Dear Friends,

I am going to tell about Jainism followed mainly in India. It is also followed by some people in north america ,europe etc .

We have twentyfour thirthankar (saints). Our first thirthankar is Rushabdev Swami and 24th thirthankar is Mahavir Swami.

This religion is very difficult. All Jains are vegetarians. Some strict Jains do not eat even onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, etc (all that grows underground). Many don't eat tomatoes, brinjals, watermelon because they have seeds in them. (The belief is that you kill potential life by eating the seeds.)

We have two types of castes in Jains : Dera-vasi and Stanak-vasi. Dera-vasi go to Derasar (Jain temple) where they pray to the idol of thirthankar. Stanak-vasi goes to Apasrah or Stanak (which is a big empty hall, no idols) where there are only Jain sadhus/sadhvis (priests) who preach about God. We both are Stanak-vasi.

Your friends Sagar and Chintan (both boys)

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Dear friends,

We are Jains. We want to tell you about Jainism.

We must drink boiled water. We are vegetarians. We do not eat fish, chicken, eggs, meat and other non-veg food. We cannot eat garlic, onion, potatoes, etc. We also don't eat carrots. Some don't eat watermelon because there are many seeds in it.

There are 24 tirthankar. Our lord is MAHAVIR Bhagvan. He is the 24th tirthankar.

There are two main groups. One is DERAVASHI and STHANAKWASI. In DARAVASHI we go to Derasar (temple with idols) which is where we worship. STHANAKWASI worship in Apashra. In Derasar there are many idols (of the 24 tirthankars). [Note : all the idols are identical - you can tell them apart by a small animal panel below each idol - a particular animal is associated to each of the 24 tirthankars.] In Apashra there is big hall.

There are famous places like PALITHANA, GIRNAR and SAMET SHIKHAR which are Jain holy pilgrimage places [temples located on top of mountains] in India.

Your Friends FENIL and KARTIK (both boys)

Raksha Bandhan Day

We celebrated Raksha-Bandhan on Friday, 7th August. This is a day for brothers and sisters to reaffirm their love and affection for each other. The rakhi can be tied to supportive male friends also who are considered as close as real brothers. It is a festive occasion with brothers and sisters dressing up for the occasion and having a special family lunch or dinner together.

Bharti Shah

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Dear Friends,

One of our INDIAN festivals is Raksha Bandhan. It is celebrated in INDIA with great joy.

On the day of Raksha Bandhan, sisters tie Rakhi on the brother's wrist. Brothers take oath, that they will help their sisters whenever in need.

Rakhi is something like a friendship-band and some decoration is done on it.

There is a metal plate and on the plate diya (a small clay vessel with a flame) is kept. Some sweets too are kept. The sister will move the plate in a circle 3 to 4 times in front of her brother, so that the God will keep her brother safe.

The sisters do 'Arties' and 'Poojas' and put some sweet in the brother's mouth. The sister will make a Tilak (a red dot) on her brother's forehead. The brothers thank their sisters and give some gifts.

Your Friends Monil and Vaibhav (both boys)

Mrs Bharti Shah is Co-ordinator of the Computer Centre.
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Revised: February 02, 1999.