Jainism with its philosophies and vast literature since antiquity has provided rich knowledge on varied subjects related to Languages, Writing, Biology, Physics, Math, Astronomy, Sculpture and Art, Memory Utilization, and more.
The present number of Jains worldwide is comparable to the population of the Jews, and yet, the impact of our contributions to world knowledge is unrecognized and not well presented to the current generation and scholars.
Presently, this information is scattered in many different scriptures and books by various Jain thinkers and many Western and Indian scholars. A single point reference for the contributions of Jains is lacking and needs to be fulfilled.
Worldwide scholars belonging to the Jain and non-Jain communities are invited to contribute papers in their area of expertise highlighting the Jain contributions in the respective field and assist in bridging this important gap with valuable information.
Below is the suggested list of identified topics:
• Jainism and Physics
• Jainism and Biology
• Jainism Philosophy
• Jain contributions to Art, Sculpture and Architecture
• Jainism and Indus Valley Civilization
• Contribution by the Jains to the development, growth and poetry of languages like Kannada, Tamil etc.
• Role played by Jains during natural calamities like earthquake, famine, draught, floods etc.
• Jains’ role during the freedom struggle of India
• Jainism Knowledge and Scientific Aspects of Sahastravadhan.
• Jainism Abroad from Ancient times - Sri Lanka and other locations • Jain Donors- Bhama Shah and other examples and some recent donors as well.
• Jainism Concept of Time Calculations
• Women in Jainism
• Yoga and Meditation in Jainism and its comparison with other literature
• Spreading of Jain Philosophy around the world
• Humanitarian missions by Jains - A. in India B. in USA C. Africa D. Rest of the world.
• Role played by Jains during natural calamities like earthquake, famine, draught and floods etc.
• Jainism and Botany
• Jainism and Mathematics
• Jainism and Environmental Protection
• Any other related topics.
Papers are invited from Jains and Non-Jains worldwide.
• Scholars to restrict to max two topics
• Content to be based on authentic references and not on hearsay • All received responses will be reviewed and edited by a team of respected scholars for content and non-duplication of subject matter
FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR SCHOLARS
• Word Limit Range: 1500-2000
• Font: Arial 11pt
• Images: Minimum 300 dpi
• Notes: To be indicated as references
DELIVERABLE
The goal is to edit all the relevant articles and publish them on the electronic platform (Issuu) in 2025, as well as a world-class book form with support from the Jain Donors.
WHY CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROJECT?
Contributing to a Significant Work: This will be a comprehensive collection of Jain contributions to world knowledge and a great point of reference for future thinkers, curious minds, and researchers, It will also serve as a great knowledge bank for our Jain community.
JAINA-Academic Liaison Committee under JAINA (Federation of Jain Associations in North America) facilitates critical and rational understanding of Jain studies, and research facilities in the Jain community. It has established Jain chairs in several prestigious universities across North America. Combined efforts of JAINA- -ALC and Scholars in this unique and niche work in preserving the valuable and vast amount of Jain knowledge will be highly appreciated by the present and future Jain community.
TIMELINE FROM SCHOLARS
15th August 2024 - Intent to Contribute
15th October 2024 (Initial Paper),
30th November 2024 (Final Paper)
SUBMISSION OF INTENT TO CONTRIBUTE AND PAPERS email to Sulekh Jain - [email protected], Nitin Shah - [email protected], Anil Jain - [email protected] and Dhruti Rathi - [email protected]
