"Veganism is not a diet. Veganism is not a lifestyle. Veganism is, and must be, a social justice movement, in solidarity with other social justice movements. There is no more time for nonsense." -- WinforAnimals.org

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Jonathan Dickstein, PhD interviews Mercer University professor Vasile Stanescu, PhD about his research and work on effective animal liberation and his new online course for Arihanta Institute's Vegan Studies Initiative: "Debunking the Myth of Sustainable & Humane Animal Agriculture."

Episode Highlights:

• Path to Veganism: Dr. Stanescu shares his journey to veganism and his dedication to animal studies.
• Exposing Myths: A critical examination of the false claims of "humane" and "sustainable" animal agriculture, including marketing terms like "free-range," "pasture-raised," "local," and "family-owned."
• Empowering Resistance: Strategies for recognizing and resisting misleading narratives in animal agriculture.

Join us for an enlightening discussion on the realities of animal agriculture and how to advocate for true sustainability.

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Learn More:

• Course 1015 | Debunking the Myth of Sustainable and Humane Animal Agriculture
• WinForAnimals.org | Vasile Stanescu Website
• Vegan Studies Initiative @ Arihanta Institute | Courses, Speaker Series, Research & More!
• Arihanta Institute | Ancient Wisdom Modern Living

Copyright 2024 Arihanta Institute

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Pratik Bhansali and Vinita Dugad from the Jain Vegan Initiative. They discuss their backgrounds as Jains advocating for veganism and sustainable lifestyles within the Jain community.

Episode Highlights:

1. Backgrounds in Advocacy: Vinita and Pratik share their journey as Jains promoting veganism and sustainability.
2. New Course Overview: Insights into their new course, "Reimagining Sustainability: Jain Environmental Advocacy," which focuses on sustainable living principles.
3. Practical Sustainability: Practical advice on how Jains and non-Jains can adopt more environmentally sustainable lifestyles, emphasizing the urgency for both individual and collective action to ensure a better future for all life forms.

Join us for an inspiring discussion on integrating Jain principles with contemporary environmental challenges.

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Guests:

Pratik Bhansali is a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He thinks taking a stand against any form of discrimination is something that forms basic decency. This stand should encompass all animals – humans and non-humans, and being a vegan is a mere logical consequence of this stand. He also sees the interconnections between all forms of oppression and their links with animals and their rights.

Vinita Dugad embarked on her sustainable lifestyle journey at a young age when she recognized that the excessive and long-lasting impact of our consumption patterns is convenience driven. Through her observation of human behaviour in relation to the environment, she realized that societal pressures to conform are a major hurdle in making sustainable choices. She emphasizes that previous generations hold plenty of valuable solutions and innovation is not always necessary. As she noticed that many solutions being promoted prioritize profits, making them unaffordable for the majority, Vinita founded Ecomo, a startup dedicated to addressing this, while also raising awareness about greenwashing practices. She also has a keen interest in exploring how the hospitality and tourism sectors can step in to foster environmental responsibility.

Host: Christopher Miller, PhD, Professor at Arihanta Institute

Christopher Jain Miller is the co-founder, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Jain and Yoga Studies at Arihanta Institute. He completed his PhD in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis and is also a Visiting Researcher at the University of Zürich's Asien-Orient-Institut and Visiting Professor at Claremont School of Theology where he co-developed and co-runs a remotely available Masters Degree Program focusing on Engaged Jain Studies. His current research focuses on Engaged Jainism and Modern Yoga, and he is the author of a number of articles and book chapters concerned with Jainism and the practice of modern yoga. Christopher is the author of

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, we speak to Arihanta Institute's Professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD. Dr. Bohanec discusses his journey into Jain Studies, influenced by his broader practice of yoga, his study of Sanskrit, and his academic exploration of dharma traditions.

Episode Highlights:

1. Path to Jain Studies: Dr. Bohanec shares his academic and personal journey, highlighting the pivotal role of yoga and Sanskrit in his studies. The significance of Sanskrit in Jain Studies and Yoga Studies is examined, emphasizing its academic and practical applications.
2. Courses at Arihanta Institute: Insights into the graduate and certificate-level courses Dr. Bohanec teaches, offering a comprehensive look at the curriculum.
3. Publications Preview: A sneak peek into Professor Bohanec's new book, Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics, and his co-edited volume Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Approaches to the Study of Jain Social Engagement.

Join us for an enriching discussion that explores the intersection of language, philosophy, and spiritual practice in Jain Studies.

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Guest: Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD, Assistant Professor at Arihanta Institute

Cogen Bohanec currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Sanskrit and Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute where he teaches various courses on Jain philosophy and its applications. In addition, he is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Claremont School of Theology (CST) where he teaches Sanskrit and Gujarati, and he has taught numerous classes on South Asian Culture & Religions and Sanskrit language at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley. Dr. Bohanec specializes in the Jain and Hindu traditions, comparative dharma traditions, philosophy of religion, theo-ethics (virtue ethics, and environmental and animal ethics in particular), and Sanskrit language and literature, and has numerous publications in those areas, particularly in the fields of Jain and Hindu Studies amongst other disciplines. He has a PhD in “Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion” with an emphasis in Hindu Studies from GTU, where his research emphasized ancient Indian languages, literature, and philosophical systems. He also holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at GTU where his research primarily involved translations of Pāli Buddhist scriptures in conversation with the philology of the Hindu Upaniṣads. He is the author of “Bhakti Ethics, Emotions and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics” (Lexington, 2024), an interdisciplinary study that frames traditional Hindu themes of ecotheology, ecofeminist theology, feminist care ethics, within a framework of virtue ethics in conversation with a bhakti-based psychology of emotions. Currently he is largely engaged in publication and research on various aspects of the Jain tradition, emphasizing translations and analyses of Jain Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Gujarati texts, but is also publishing academic works on various topics within the Hindu tradition.

Host: Christopher Miller, PhD, Professor at Arihanta Institute

Christopher Jain Miller is the co-founder, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Jain and Yoga Studies at Arihanta Institute. He completed his PhD in the study of Religion at the University of...