Jain center

A Jain center of the kind most American Jains belong to: an independent society, a member of JAINA (the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, which has no authority over it), whose building houses Shvetambara and Digambara shrines side by side, with a hall used by Sthanakvasi members and for lectures. There are perhaps sixty to a hundred such congregations, mostly of Gujarati and Marwari families, from a few dozen families to Chicago's 1,800. There are no resident clergy: Jain monks and nuns walk everywhere and don't come to America, so members do the puja themselves, bathed and in puja clothes, take darshan through the day, and wave the lamps at the evening aarti; a hired pujari keeps the shrines, and scholars are brought from India for Paryushana. The weekend is the busy time: pathshala for the children, a sung puja and a talk, and a community lunch a family sponsors. Paryushana, eight days in late summer, is the peak of the year: daily discourses, fasting, the reading of Mahavir's birth and his mother's fourteen dreams, which outgrows the building, and Samvatsari's three-hour pratikraman and the asking of forgiveness. Money comes from honours more than offerings: the boli, auctions of the right to do each rite; fixed-price sponsorships of pujas, lamps and meals; and pledges. Dues are nominal, and a life membership ($301 at one center) brings the vote and the way to trusteeship. An elected executive committee and a board of trustees run it, and keeping the sects in balance is part of their work. The kitchen is strictly Jain: no meat, eggs, onion, garlic or root vegetables, and for many in Paryushana nothing after sunset, which the game can only ask of every meal, so it is discouraged rather than forbidden. Shoes and leather stay outside. Digambara-only and Sthanakvasi-only centers are rare variants. Much of this rests on a few large centers' own booklets, and is less certain than usual.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Jainism
Its words	Jain center, Jain temple, derasar; the president leads the puja; the pravachan; Sunday; the Agamas
Worship	image focus, chanted, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on floor
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	jain; full observance; fasts light
Leans	conservative on moral questions, neutral on economic ones
Polity	congregational; leaders come by none; property local
Leaders	none leader, unpaid, trained by none; marriage any
Belonging	moderate commitment, none discipline, admitted by board
Giving	tithing not emphasised; collected by boxes, pledges; also rentals
Way of life	alcohol abstinence, dress modest, sabbath relaxed, meat vegetarian, eggs forbidden, onion and garlic forbidden, root vegetables forbidden, eating after sunset discouraged

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Every day	7:00 am to 7:30 pm	Darshan and puja (open hours: people come when they like, one by one, 5% as often in a day as to a main service, and stay 30 minutes; visitors who don't belong come too, 0.1 times a week's newcomers each day; it plays quickly)	the laity	expected
Sunday	10:30 am	Sunday at the derasar (in Gujarati, then swamivatsalya, free to all, 60 minutes)	the laity	expected
Every day	10:30 am	Vyakhyan (paryushana discourse, in Gujarati, short, and plays quickly: people come 50% as often as to a main service)	the laity	seasonal
Every day	8:00 pm	Aarti and mangal divo (short, and plays quickly: people come 5% as often as to a main service)	the laity	expected

Leader: none needed: the laity lead every service, so no president is missed.
Swamivatsalya: after the puja on Sunday, free to all: everyone there eats, visitors too, and nobody is asked for a donation. A household sponsors each, members taking turns, giving its cost and a fifth more; with none, the congregation pays. It needs a stove and a cook from the volunteers for each 40 there (the sponsors cook too); those it can't feed go without (−0.02), and when it can't be held, or is dropped, its regulars miss it (−0.04).
Its kitchen: without eggs, onion and garlic, or root vegetables: meals cost 1.16× as much; no bake sale.
Its table: vegetarian: meals cost 0.85× as much.

Rites

Snatra puja (on request, +0.02 to those there, $101 from the household, asked for 0.5 times a year by a household, 90 minutes): A sung rite re-enacting the gods' bathing of a newborn tirthankara on Mount Meru: a small image is set on a stand and bathed from pots of water and milk while the sponsoring family and the singers chant. A family sponsors it for a birthday, an anniversary, or in someone's memory, at the center's set rate.
Pujan (on request, +0.03 to those there, $501 from the household, asked for 0.06 times a year by a household, 180 minutes): A long sponsored puja at a Jain center (a Shanti Snatra, a Siddhachakra pujan, a Bhaktamar pujan, or at a Digambara shrine a vidhan around a drawn mandala), led by a ritual specialist, a vidhikar, with singers and many offerings. A family sponsors one for a new house, a recovery, a wedding, or in someone's memory, at the center's set rate, and the sangh comes.
Prarthana sabha (on request, +0.02 to those there): The prayer meeting for a Jain who has died. The body is cremated at a crematorium with the Navkar mantra recited; afterwards the family and the sangh gather at the Jain center to chant, sing bhajans of detachment, hear a talk on the impermanence of things, and remember the one who died. The family often sponsors a day's meals in their memory.

Joining

Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 8 weeks.
Joining age: 18.
Kinds of belonging: life members (votes, may hold office, $301 once); members (votes); received by its board.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the donation, by boxes, and pledges. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service.
Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
Pledges: a pledge drive each November for the year to come: a household with a member pledges with a chance of 0.9 × its engagement (a household of regulars, 0.3), about three quarters of what it could give, paid monthly from January and falling behind as it grows unhappy.
The box at open hours: each visit puts about $2 in it.
Rites asked for: households book 2 rites at the prices it lists, from $101 to $501 (below), members half as often again as regulars; the fees go to the sponsorships line, in place of a flat stipend.
Life members: a one-time fee of $301, paid with a chance of 0.15 × the household's engagement each month; until it's paid, they don't vote.
Renting space: its congregations are known for it, so tenants pay 15% more.
Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
Owed above: nothing.

The staff and who decides

Clergy: there's none to come: it has no clergy, and the laity lead its worship.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Pathshala coordinator (unpaid; from the members; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Visiting scholar ($4,000–$12,000; leads worship)
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Jain center secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Pujari (shrine attendant) ($22,000–$36,000 + $6,000 benefits, full time; slows the building's wear)
- Cook ($22,000–$38,000; keeps the kitchen)
- Jain center manager ($40,000–$70,000 + $12,000 benefits, full time; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once); cares for 30 more)
Its boards: the executive committee (deciding, over everything); the board of trustees (deciding, over the money).
Renovations: The executive committee votes.
New construction: The members vote.
Who votes: life members, members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Bhojanshala, Jiv daya, Paryushana scholars' committee, Young Jains chapter.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Boli, Mahavir Jayanti procession, Pathshala dinner.
Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Car wash, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Receptions with Jain food.
Outreach: invitation Sunday (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A bidding war, Leather at the door, Milk in the temple, No visa for the scholar, The notice by the shrine, Two traditions, one hall.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required Jin shrineThe tirthankaras are worshipped in marble images in the derasar, where members do puja with water, sandalwood, flowers and rice.
required Shoe rackShoes, and anything of leather, stay outside.
required kitchenThe Jain center asks every Jain center for one.
expected HundiOfferings go into the box before the shrines.
expected Incense burnerIncense is one of the eight offerings of the puja, burned before the image.
expected Temple bellThe bell rings at the aarti and the mangal divo.
expected changing roomOnly those bathed and in clean puja clothes may enter the sanctum: the clothes are kept and changed into here.
discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in their seasons, the diyas and dreams of trishala are worth up to ±0.027 (missing them, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
The pravachan lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the president's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
The daily services move no one's satisfaction: no offering, sermon, or welcome; people come one by one, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five.
Open hours: a visit counts a quarter as much as a main service: the building and its worship room, and, for visitors, whether anyone welcomed them. People come at the hour that suits them, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five; a visiting household that comes only to open hours takes six visits, not three, to settle in.

How each pravachan lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Sanctity of Life+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Ahimsa+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Many-Sidedness+0.015
Michchhami Dukkadam+0.015
Non-Possession+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Kalpa Sutra+0.015
The Ten Virtues+0.015
Care for Creation-0.02
Healing for All-0.02
Welcome the Stranger-0.02
Social Justice Call-0.03
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+0.333
Floor sheets	0
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	0
Liturgical furniture
Columbarium niches	+0.333
Incense burner	+0.5	expected Incense is one of the eight offerings of the puja, burned before the image.
Jin shrine	+1	required The tirthankaras are worshipped in marble images in the derasar, where members do puja with water, sandalwood, flowers and rice.
Lectern	no fit
Pulpit	no fit
Music
Drum kit	-1	discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	-1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Pipe organ	-0.333	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	-1
Temple bell	+0.5	expected The bell rings at the aarti and the mangal divo.
Upright piano	-1	discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Decor
Banner	0
Diyas	no fit
Dreams of Trishala	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+0.333
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Samavasarana	0
Shikhara	0
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	+0.333
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Head scarves	0
Hundi	+0.5	expected Offerings go into the box before the shrines.
Pangat mats	0
Pillar	+0.333
Projection screen	0
Puja clothes lockers	0
Shoe rack	+0.5	required Shoes, and anything of leather, stay outside.
Vestment cabinet	+0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit

Variants

Chosen when you found the Jain center:

Digambara jinalaya: its own services: Sunday at the derasar, sunday at 10:30 am; Abhishek and puja, every day at 7:00 am; Darshan, every day at 8:00 am; Aarti, every day at 8:00 pm; Pravachan, every day at 10:30 am; its own calendar
Sthanakvasi sthanak: its own services: Samayik and swadhyay, sunday at 10:30 am; Pratikraman, every day at sunset; Vyakhyan, every day at 10:30 am; its own focus, expression; its own symbols

Sources

About JAINA (link)
Jainism in the United States, Wikipedia (link)
About Us, Jain Center of America (Queens) (link)
Paryushan Mahaparva 2015 booklet, Jain Center of America (link)
Paryushana and Das Lakshana 2026 booklet, Jain Center of America (link)
About Us and Events, Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago (link)
Jain Center of Northern California (link)
Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington, 2022 elections nomination form (link)
Paryushana, Wikipedia (link)
Jain vegetarianism, Wikipedia (link)
Jainworld, level 1, lesson 4 (link)
International Digamber Jain Organization, Jainpedia (link)