Jains celebrate Tirthankar's birthday

The 23rd Tirthankar Bhagwan Parasvnath was commemorated on his birthday by members of Jain International Organisation (JIO) on Wednesday at Azad Maidan. The event saw more than 30,000 people in attendance, most of whom were Jains, involved in the grand bhakti sangeet and collective Maha Arti.

"Parasvnath Janam Kalyanak is the biggest celebration for Jains in the city, of Mahavir Janam Kalyanak. There are more Jain devotees and maximum Jain temples in Bhagwan Parasvnath's name. More than 25,000 lamps are being lit to pray to him," said Vijay Joshi, an attendee.

Besides the cultural significance of the day, JIO also announced its mediclaim policy for more than 2 lakh members. "The one-year claim covers everyone from 0-80 years old, and we have got members to take up this policy as a community. With our numbers, we have received the claims at a nominal rate; it includes pregnancy cover, terrorism cover as well as accidental death cover, wherein the family of the person who has died in an accident will receive Rs10 lakh even if their claim is of Rs2 lakh," said Dr Bharat Parmar, one of the directors of JIO.

With more than 9 lakh members in the organisation, JIO is trying to bring all sects of Jainism under one umbrella. "Today, 72 members will take oath as directors and we have 24 divisions in our organisation, ranging from doctors to lawyers to media persons. With today's event we are trying to live by what Parasvnath taught us and are trying to take the route of health as a community collective. His teachings are still relevant, even though he existed 700 years before Mahavir Bhagwan, the last Tirthankar," said Hemant Shah, founder-director of JIO.