Ayambil Oli is considered very auspicious, efficacious, and as one of the most important festivals in Jainism. The festival is also considered to be ‘shashwathi’ – meaning the festival is eternal, existing in all time cycles of past, present & future. Ayambil is one of the external or Bahya Tap falling within Rasparityag – giving up attachment for taste. Jains consider the austerity of Ayambil as a way to purify the body and mind, encourage spiritual growth and practice self-restraint. By observing Ayambil, one can experience various health benefits and live in harmony with the environment.

There are around 6000 languages that are prevalent in world today whereas In India alone there are around 450 languages as per Ethnolouge. Few of these languages are spoken by millions of people whereas few others are not so popular. It is believed that at the root of many of these Indian languages, including many foreign languages is either Sanskrit or Prakrit.

“In school, I too believed the Round Earth Theory like everyone else,” laughs 35-year-old Gaurav Jain over the phone from Delhi, India. “Because I had to pass exams!” A chartered accountant by trade, Jain comes off as your average working professional—he spends his spare time organising vegan potlucks and working with local NGOs to rehabilitate injured animals.

The concept of preksha dhyan can be considered as one of the major breakthroughs of this century in the field of biomedical sciences. The world of today is full of tensions and people are facing various health issues, both physical and mental. The scope and application of preksha dhyan for treatment of a large number of diseases and disorders is undoubtedly great and already significant achievements have been in this direction.

The relationship between nutrition and health is frequently misunderstood and ignored until either we ourselves experience health issues or we see a loved one experience health issues. We often believe that we are experts on food choices and that we are immune to lifestyle diseases. I, too, was completely ignorant regarding the importance of nutrition. That changed when my daughter started facing severe food and environmental allergies, eczema, and asthma soon after her birth.

Over the next few months, community activist Ajay Jain Bhutoria and his team plan to reach out to Congressmen and lawmakers at the State level, along with policy makers, non-profit bodies, academics and think tanks with its action plan to seek their support for the 'digital detox' movement.