In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Anna Halafoff, Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies at Deakin University, Australia. Their discussion delves into the Buddhist philosophy of compassion—its ethical, contemplative, and social dimensions—with a particular focus on the Dzogchen tradition’s distinctive approach to rest, (non)action, and compassionate responsibility.

Together, Professor Miller and Dr. Halafoff discuss how meditative practices cultivate resilience and empathy in both personal and collective contexts. They further consider how Buddhist ethics of interdependence can inform global engagement, ecological responsibility, and compassionate coexistence in today’s interconnected world. Listen for inspiration on how to cultivate compassion for oneself and others using Buddhist teachings and techniques.

Course Spotlight — 2022 | Buddhism, (Non)Action & Compassionate Responsibility — available for self-study on Monday, December 1, 2025.

This course invites learners to explore Buddhist understandings of compassion through the lens of Dzogchen Buddhism’s teachings on rest and (non)action. Students will examine how awareness and spaciousness form the foundation for compassionate responsiveness, while engaging with accessible practices and readings provided throughout the course.

Offered by the Compassion Studies Initiative (CSI@AI) at Arihanta Institute, this course is made possible through the generous support of the Uberoi Foundation.

👉🏽✨ Pre-register now and unlock unlimited access to 60+ courses with a 14-day free trial through Arihanta Institute’s Course Membership! Join a global community of lifelong learners dedicated to positive change and a more compassionate, purposeful life.

Start your free trial!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• 2022 | Buddhism, (Non)Action & Compassionate Responsibility
• The Compassion Studies Initiative is supported by a grant from the Uberoi Foundation.
• Course Membership - Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

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Dr. Anna Halafoff is Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies at Deakin University. Her research expertise includes spirituality, Buddhism, religious diversity, interreligious relations, and social cohesion. She currently leads major projects on Buddhism in Australia: Belonging, Wellbeing, and Social Engagement and Spirituality in Australia: Wellness, Wellbeing, and Risks.

Dr. Halafoff is the author of Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity (Bloomsbury, 2021) and Religious Diversity in Australia: Living Well with Difference (Bloomsbury, 2024). A qualified yoga and meditation teacher with over 35 years of practice, she draws from both scholarly and experiential perspectives to deepen understanding of Buddhist compassion, rest, and ethical action.

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

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Devinder Pal Singh, an expert in Sikh studies. Their discussion explores the central role of compassion in the Sikh dharmic tradition, from its theological underpinnings to its real-world applications.

Dr. Singh introduces listeners to the foundational principles of Sikhi that shape compassionate living, such as seva (selfless service) and the ethic of oneness that honors the divine presence in all beings. He highlights how Sikh teachings inspire not only inner transformation but also active forms of service, including the institution of langar (free community kitchens), ecological care, and the defense of social justice.

The conversation also emphasizes how acts of forgiveness, service, and balancing of temporal and spiritual responsibilities invite practitioners to live in ways that uplift humanity and protect the natural world. Together, Professor Miller and Dr. Singh illuminate how the Sikh tradition envisions compassion as both an inward disposition and an outward call to action—encouraging all to serve others and stand against injustice.

Course Spotlight — 2023 | Sikh Teachings and Practices of Compassion — available for self-study on Monday, November 3, 2025.

This course, offered by the Compassion Studies Initiative (CSI@AI) at Arihanta Institute and made possible through the generous support of the Uberoi Foundation, explores how the Sikh tradition fosters both personal transformation and social responsibility through compassion.

👉🏽✨ Pre-register now and unlock unlimited access to 50+ courses with a 14-day free trial to Arihanta's Institute's Course Membership! Join a global community of lifelong learners dedicated to positive change and a more compassionate, purposeful life.

Start your free trial!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Course 2023 | Sikh Teachings and Practices of Compassion
• The Compassion Studies Initiative is supported by a grant from the Uberoi Foundation.
• Arihanta Institute | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living
• Subscribe to the Arihanta Institute Newsletter

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Dr. Devinder Pal Singh is a teacher-researcher with over 35 years of experience in education and advocacy on scientific, environmental and religious issues. He, a Founder-Director of the Center for Understanding Sikhism in Ontario, Canada, specializes in writing on scientific and theological topics. He has authored 24 books and published over 1000 articles in the fields of Science, Environment and Sikhism. He is the Editorial Advisory Board Member for prominent journals like The Sikh Review, Kolkata, India, and Studies in Sikhism and Comparative Religion, New Delhi, India.

With over two dozen invited talks and more than 100 TV and YouTube presentations to his credit, he is a prominent voice on social, technological, and environmental issues within the Punjabi and Sikh communities. His advocacy work is grounded in a sound scientific background, given his PhD and decades of experience teaching physics at the college and university levels. He has published over 100 research papers and presented them at 60 national and international conferences on Physics and allied topics.

Dr. Singh has published...

In this enlightening episode of the Engaged Jain Studies podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD engages in a profound discussion with Eileen Goddard, a Religious Studies PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The conversation traverses Eileen's academic journey, highlighting key influences like her mentors Barbara Holdrege and Edwin Bryant, and her deep-rooted interest in South Asian religious traditions.

Eileen delves into her fascination with the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava tradition, exploring how her research focuses on the sixteenth-century Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava movement. She offers insights into Indian religious constructions of "perfected" minds and bodies, along with her broader interests in bhakti traditions, classical Sanskrit aesthetic theory (rasa), and gender and sexuality.

The discussion also reveals the intersection of Cogen Bohanec’s own work with Eileen’s, especially in areas like philosophy of religion, yoga studies, Jain studies, and Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava studies. They touch upon Eileen’s course, "Devotional (bhakti) Approaches to Compassion in the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava Tradition," which investigates the connections between divine love, human compassion, and contemporary humanitarian efforts.

Key topics include the role of compassion in scholarship, the ethical teachings of the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava tradition, and the influential philosophies of Rūpa Gosvāmin and Jīva Gosvāmin. Gender, embodiment, metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics within Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology are also thoughtfully examined, offering listeners a rich tapestry of devotional and academic insights.

Course Spotlight — 2021 | Devotional (bhakti) Approaches to Compassion in the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava Tradition — available for self-study on Monday, October 6, 2025.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Course 2021 | Devotional (bhakti) Approaches to Compassion in the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava Tradition
• The Compassion Studies Initiative is supported by a grant from the Uberoi Foundation.

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Eileen Goddard is a Religious Studies Ph.D. Candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She teaches courses on Indian religious traditions and philosophies at UCSB and the University of Houston. Eileen's dissertation research focuses on the sixteenth century Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition and comparatively analyzes Indian soteriologies of perfected minds and bodies. Eileen's broader research interests include Hindu and Indian philosophies, bhakti traditions, classical Sanskrit aesthetic theory (rasa), and gender and sexuality. Eileen completed her M.A. in Religion at Rutgers University and B.A. in Philosophy at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

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...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative, Jonathan Dickstein, PhD, interviews Laura Wright, PhD—Professor of English at Western Carolina University and the scholar widely credited with naming and framing “Vegan Studies.” Drawing on Prof. Dickstein’s guiding questions, Dr. Wright traces her own “radicalization” for animals, clarifies what Vegan Studies includes (and excludes), and articulates its aims as both an academic field and a lens for cultural critique.

The conversation explores how gender shapes public narratives about animals and food—why veganism is still coded as feminine, “elitist,” or emotionally naïve, and how such framings police bodies and politics. Building from Wright’s signature focus on “the vegan body as a contested site” across literature, popular culture, advertising, and new media, they examine how fiction and film illuminate lived experience and ideology. Listeners also get a preview of Wright’s forthcoming Arihanta Institute course, which uses novels and cinema (think Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals, Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, and films like Beatriz at Dinner and Raw) to interrogate gendered readings of veganism.

Course Spotlight — 1021 | Gender, Animals, and Veganism

• Starts: Monday, September 15, 2025 (materials available)
• Live Zoom Q&As: Fridays Sept 19, 26, Oct 3, Oct 10 • 9–10 a.m. PDT
• Format: Live online + self-study • ~4 hours recorded video • Weekly readings
• Focus: How gender shapes vegan identity; reading fiction/nonfiction and film through a Vegan Studies lens; why female-coded veganism is often dismissed or pathologized—and how to read against that grain.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Course 1021 | Gender, Animals, and Veganism with Laura Wright, PhD
• Vegan Studies Initiative @ Arihanta Institute | Courses, Speaker Series, Research & More!

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Laura Wright, PhD is Professor of English at Western Carolina University, specializing in postcolonial literatures and theory, ecocriticism, and animal studies. She is the author of Writing Out of All the Camps: J. M. Coetzee’s Narratives of Displacement (Routledge, 2006/2009) and Wilderness into Civilized Shapes: Reading the Postcolonial Environment (University of Georgia Press, 2010). She co-edited Approaches to Teaching Coetzee’s Disgrace and Other Works (MLA, 2014) and authored The Vegan Studies Project (UGA Press, 2015). She is also editor of Through a Vegan Studies Lens (UNV Press, 2019). Her work often centers on how the vegan body—male and female—is depicted as a contested site across literature, popular culture, advertising, and new media.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

Dr. Jonathan Dickstein specializes in South Asian Religions, Religion and Ecology, and Comparative Religious Ethics. He received his doctoral degree in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he wrote his dissertation on ancient Indian animal taxonomies and their relevance for religious ritual and dietary practice. Jonathan’s current work focuses on Jainism and contemporary ecological issues, and accordingly extends into Critical Animal Studies, Food Studies, and Diaspora Studies.

Jonathan has published in a wide array of...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative, Jonathan Dickstein, PhD, speaks with political science scholar Jishnu Guha-Majumdar, PhD about his forthcoming course with Arihanta Institute, 1020 | Foundations of Animal Ethics. Drawing on years of research and a deep commitment to justice for animals, Dr. Guha-Majumdar reflects on his own ethical journey, the interplay between theory and praxis, and why it matters that we understand why animals deserve moral consideration—not just how to act on their behalf.

Together, they explore key ethical frameworks—from utilitarianism to rights-based and care ethics—and discuss the evolving landscape of animal advocacy, including how our rhetoric and conceptual vocabulary shape public discourse and political action. The episode also previews what students can expect in the course, including a rigorous engagement with foundational theories, weekly readings, and live Q&A sessions throughout August 2025.

📚 1020 | Foundations of Animal Ethics launches August 4, 2025, through Arihanta Institute’s Vegan Studies Initiative and will remain available for self-paced study. All live Zoom sessions will be recorded and accessible, whether you join at launch or enroll at a later date. Whether you're an activist, student, or lifelong learner, this course invites you to rethink your assumptions about animals, ethics, and action.

Learn more and enroll:

https://www.arihantainstitute.org/course/1020-foundations-of-animal-ethics

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• 1020 | Foundations of Animal Ethics - Arihanta Institute
• CNS Journal | "Veganism as Left Praxis"
• VOX | "Vegans are radical. That’s why we need them."
• Vegan Studies Initiative @ Arihanta Institute | Courses, Speaker Series, Research & More!

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Jishnu Guha-Majumdar is an assistant professor of political theory in the political science department at Butler University. His academic research considers the relationships between animal advocacy, ecological advocacy, and antiracism.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

Dr. Jonathan Dickstein specializes in South Asian Religions, Religion and Ecology, and Comparative Religious Ethics. He received his doctoral degree in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he wrote his dissertation on ancient Indian animal taxonomies and their relevance for religious ritual and dietary practice. Jonathan’s current work focuses on Jainism and contemporary ecological issues, and accordingly extends into Critical Animal Studies, Food Studies, and Diaspora Studies.

Jonathan has published in a wide array of interdisciplinary journals on topics such as veganism and politics, yoga and diet, Jain veganism, and the ethic of nonviolence (ahiṃsa). Jonathan considers himself a scholar-practitioner, having spent many years not only in libraries but also in public advocating for justice for both humans and...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Sailesh Rao, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers. Listen as Dr. Rao describes the contours of a compassionate global food system, and understand why that food system must be plant-based in order to solve some of society's most pressing concerns including poverty, food insecurity, and climate change. See how the compassionate food system Dr. Rao describes is in alignment with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how it can help the UN meet several of these SDGs. Leave inspired to help the planet transition toward a compassionate, plant-based food system. Finally, learn about Dr. Rao's upcoming Compassion Studies Initiative course, 2020 | Compassionate Food Systems for Planetary Healing.

👉🏽✨ Pre-register now and unlock unlimited access to 50+ courses with a 14-day free trial to Arihanta's Institute's Course Membership! Join a global community of lifelong learners dedicated to positive change and a more compassionate, purposeful life.

Start your free trial!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Climate Healers | Transform yourself; transform our world.
• 2020 | Compassionate Food Systems for Planetary Healing
• Course Membership - Start Your 14-Day Free Trial
• Compassion Studies Initiative @Arihanta Institute
• Arihanta Institute | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Dr. Sailesh Rao is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers, a non-profit dedicated towards healing the Earth's climate. He is an environmentalist by occupation and systems engineer by profession. He invented the protocol for transforming early analog internet connections to more robust digital connections, while accelerating their speed ten-fold. Still today, any data accessed on the internet likely passed through a device implementing this protocol.

He is also a Human, Earth and Animal Liberation (HEAL) activist, husband, dad and since 2010, a star-struck grandfather. He has promised his granddaughter, Kimaya, that the world will be largely Vegan before she turns 16 in 2026, so that people will stop eating her relatives, the animals. He has faith that humanity will transform to keep this pinky promise to Kimaya's generation, not just for ethical reasons, but also out of sheer ecological necessity. He has been championing the Vegan Rewilding solution to our global environmental, health and ethical crises since 2009.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

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...

Can Jainism be radical? In this special live-recorded episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative, Jonathan Dickstein, PhD sits down with three emerging voices in the Jain community—Anjli Shah, Sahana Mehta, and Mohit Mookim—for an honest and thought-provoking dialogue about the intersections of Jain identity, social justice, and civic engagement.

Together, they explore questions: What does it mean to be a young Indian American Jain in the U.S. today? How are Jain values like non-violence, non-possession, and pluralism applied—or challenged—when confronting systemic inequality, racism, gender oppression, and climate collapse? Can Jainism, a tradition rooted in spiritual restraint, inspire the kind of structural change radical politics demands?

Tune in for a bold conversation on the future of Jain ethics, the role of intergenerational dialogue, and what it means to imagine a Jainism responsive to the moral urgencies of the 21st century.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Arihanta Institute | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living
• Vegan Studies Initiative @ Arihanta Institute | Courses, Speaker Series, Research & More!

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUESTS

Anjli Shah (she/her) is Relationships & Grants Manager at One Project, a nonprofit committed to nurturing a just transition to an regenerative democratic economy, where she helps develop grantee cohort programming and organize donors interested in shifting wealth and power to communities. Her work at the International Rescue Committee, Prevention Research Center, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have shaped her commitment to philanthropy that is accountable to social movements, and to a world beyond philanthropy. Grounded in the Jain axiom “Parasparopagraho jivanam” (“All life is bound together by mutual support & interdependence”), Anjli co-founded and led Jains for Justice, an informal collective that organized the Jain community around racial justice, gender justice, and civic engagement between 2019-2020. She is a former board member of the South Asian American Digital Archive. Anjli holds a BA in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, and is currently based in Los Angeles.

Sahana Mehta (she/her) is a South Asian organizer living in NYC. She is the High Net Wealth Program Manager at Resource Generation, a network of young people with wealth & class privilege working towards the equitable redistribution of land, wealth, and power. Politicized in 2013 through racial justice movements in the US and educational equity initiatives in India, Sahana has engaged with a number of intersecting social justice movements. Her work in South Asian communities has focused on challenging the rise of Hindu Nationalism, advocating for caste equity, and supporting diasporic gender justice infrastructure like South Asian SOAR. Sahana has worked with transnational gender justice organizations including MADRE, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, and Grassroots Global Justice Alliance to resource movements and challenge dominant philanthropic paradigms. Sahana is one of the creators of the archives for Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, a domestic worker-led organization in NYC.

Mohit Mookim (they/them) is a land and housing justice lawyer at the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit collective based in Oakland, California. Moh is also a member-leader with Resource Generation, organizing with other young people with class privilege redistributing wealth and power to social...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Nitin Shah about his humanitarian work grounded in Jain principles of ahimsa (non-violence), anekantavad (multiplicity of views), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness). Learn how Dr. Shah's early life experiences shaped his current work in compassionate humanitarianism through which he provides medical missions, natural disaster relief, and food service to the poor both in his local setting in Southern California and globally. Listen to how Dr. Shah explains the unique contributions other dharma traditions (Buddhism, Sikhism, and Hinduism) and world religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) to the practice of compassion. Finally, learn how to put compassion into action in your own life as Dr. Shah walks you through his upcoming Compassion Studies Initiative course, 2019 | Interreligious Approaches to Compassion in Action.

👉🏽✨ Pre-register now and unlock unlimited access to 50+ courses with a 14-day free trial to Arihanta's Institute's Course Membership! Join a global community of lifelong learners dedicated to positive change and a more compassionate, purposeful life.

Start your free trial!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• 2019 | Interreligious Approaches to Compassion in Action
• The Compassion Studies Initiative is supported by a grant from the Uberoi Foundation.
• Course Membership - Start Your 14-Day Free Trial
• Arihanta Institute | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Dr. Nitin Shah is Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Loma Linda University Health and a prominent leader of the Jain community. Dr. Shah has devoted his life to serving the underprivileged worldwide. Over the past 32 years, he has organized and led hundreds of humanitarian missions across 27 countries, personally traveling to 19 of them. His work has focused on providing essential medical care to underserved populations, driven by a deep commitment to global health equity.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

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