Jain Center of Greater Boston:
Pratishta Mahotsav at the Jain Center of Greater Boston
June 7-9, 2002
A collection of photographs from the Pratishtha Mahotsav ceremony.
Research by Clare Giles, Photographs by Zach Sisisky
The Jain Center of Greater Boston was established through the hard work of Jain immigrant families from India living in the Boston area. The center is housed in a former church and was inaugurated with the murti sthapana ceremony (establishing of the shrine) in 1981. The Jain Center of Greater Boston was the first Jain temple in North America.
As the community grew, members expressed the need to bring marble murtis to the temple from India. Murtis or icons at Jain temples are of the Tirthankaras or 24 teachers, including Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and having a marble murti in each temple is part of the Jain tradition.
The Jain Center of Greater Boston held an open meeting after which it drew blindly to choose the two designs for the new murtis. The first was of Lord Adinath in the Pravachan mode who was the first Tirthankara and the second was Lord Mahavira in the meditation mode who was the last Tirthankara. The temple members also voted to elevate the existing murti of Parshvanath (not marble) to the position of Mulnayak, and be placed in the center of the two new murtis at the temple. In addition to the new murtis a Namokar Mantra Shila (a marble tablet with a sacred mantra inscribed on it) was commissioned to be made in India and brought to the temple. The Pratima Implementation Committee discussed the chosen designs with Jain scholars the vendor they had selected in Jaipur, India. When complete and inspected via photographs sent over email, the murtis were shipped to Boston and opened at the temple in May.
The Pratishtha Mahotsav means to establish the life (jina) into the image or murti inside the temple for the spiritual growth of the temple's visitors. The murtis are not looked on as gods but as guiding ideals or teachers that are worshipped and used to focus meditation or progress on the spiritual path. Participating in ritual worship of the murtis shows respect for the Tirthankaras and their achievement of enlightenment, as well as for showing the path of purity and liberation to all their followers. Before they are established, the murtis must be purified through rituals. Then the murti is placed on the vedi, or sacred stand, inside the temple.
At the Jain Center of Greater Boston, the ceremony lasted for three days, during which abhishek pujan, or the ritual bathing of the murtis, was performed daily to ensure the sanctity of the murtis and the temple. The three day ritual consists of Madhyam vidhi, or a series of rituals that establish the murtis so that daily bathing is no longer required and that the murti embraces the jina of the Tirthankaras. Rituals took place all day for each day of the Pratishta, and were widely attended by Jains from all over New England and New York. Many scholars of Jainism and Jain leaders were in attendance and invited to speak. The celebration of this historic event for the Jain Center of Greater Boston also included community meals and a cultural show on Saturday night.
For more information, please see the Jain Center of Greater Boston's website.
Jain Center of Greater Boston Profile
Article from the Boston Globe on the Pratishta Mahotsav at the Jain Center of Greater Boston.
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