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.

Subscribe and stay tuned for more enlightening episodes!

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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...