H. Jay Dinshah

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Horn Jay Dinshah (November 2, 1933, to June 8, 2000) was president of the American Vegan Society and editor of its publication, Ahimsa magazine (1960-2000).

Dinshah was born in New Jersey, United States. His father was a United States citizen who was born in India and whose ethnicity was Parsi, and his mother was a United States citizen whose family was of German ancestry. Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society^[1] early in 1960 and later that year married the English-born Freya Smith, whose parents were active in the Vegan Society (of England), who contributed to the early growth of the American Vegan Society, and who is president of the American Vegan Society today. The American Vegan Society is headquartered at Malaga, New Jersey, on a family-owned parcel of land which they call "Suncrest", or "the Suncrest Educreational Center". The center is characterized by vegan publishing and outreach, vegan archiving, spiritual inspiration, providing people with an experience of vegan living, vegan food preparation demonstrations, maintenance of a small vegan garden, and extensive networking.

The two children of Jay and Freya Dinshah are Daniel and Anne.

A lifelong vegetarian, in 1957, Jay Dinshah became vegan. After its founding, Dinshah served the American Vegan Society as its president, and as an editor of its publication, Ahimsa magazine (1960-2000)

Ahimsa was a quarterly publication that explored compassionate living ("Ahimsa" meaning "dynamic harmlessness") as a philosophy, practical aspects of vegan living, and personal and cultural resources for vegans. They include vegan menus and recipes, and news about food. The American Vegan Society continues to publish a quarterly periodical, now titled "The American Vegan, with the subheading "Ahimsa lights the way." The American Vegan Society is now run by Freya Dinshah, Jay Dinshah's widow, and an AVS Board of close comrades in vegan living and outreach, nearly all of whom live within a short driving distance of Suncrest.

The American Vegan Society, follows views similar to Natural Hygienists but enhances them with Jainist attitudes of ahimsa and the elimination of all animal products and clothing apparel.

Jay was co-organiser of the 23rd World Vegetarian Congress in 1975, held in Orono, Maine, which was hosted by the [North American Vegetarian Society]] (NAVS) and sponsored by the International Vegetarian Union (IVU). From this event, the American Vegan Society and the North American Vegetarian Society were formed, and a movement to found and develop modern vegetarian organizations in North America was born, tapping the energies, insights, and resources of parallel movements throughout Europe and India.

Dinshah died in 2000 aged 66, reputedly of a chronic heart ailment unrelated to diet. The International Vegetarian Union memorialized Jay Dinshah in their IVU News issue of October 2000^[2]

That same year, he was posthumously awarded the prestigious (among global or international vegetarians) Mankar Memorial Award ^[3] during the 2000 World Vegetarian Congress, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Positions Held in Vegetarian Organizations

• International Vegetarian Union (IVU), Executive Vice-President
• The Vegan Society (England), Vice-President
• North American Vegetarian Society, Founder and President, 1974-1979
• American Natural Hygiene Society, Acting Executive Director, 1983
• Vegetarian Union of North America, first President, 1987-1989
• Better Eating Coalition (various vegetarian and vegan groups) - late 1990s.

Publications by H. Jay Dinshah

• Out of the Jungle, 1967, 1995
• Here's Harmlessness, 1964, 1993 - (an anthology edited by Jay Dinshah)
• Health Can be Harmless
• Song of India
• Numerous magazine articles (>250) and other writings

References

External links

• http://www.AmericanVegan.org
• http://www.VegSource.com
• http://www.vegsource.com/articles/dinshah.htm
• http://www.ivu.org/people/politics/dinshah.html International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
• http://www.vegsource.com/articles/dinshah_inquirer.htm The Philadelphia Inquirer
• 23rd World Vegetarian Congress
• North American Vegetarian Society
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayastha - deemed of the Kayastha caste, prized in India over the Brahmins
• "The Life of a Karma-Yogi", "research and preparation by the Staff of Ahimsa Magazine", published by The American Vegan Society, 1973