Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is well known as the leader of India’s nonviolent struggle for independence from the British Empire. What is less well known is the great variety of traditions that went into making up Gandhi’s philosophy. These traditions include the Vaiṣṇava Hindu tradition in which he was born and raised, as well as the Jain tradition, a prominent tradition of his native state of Gujarat, which had a profound impact on his worldview and his advocacy of ahiṃsā–non-violence in thought, word, and action–in all aspects of life. This course will explore the considerable impact of Jain thought and practice on Mohandas Gandhi, and the role of the Jain tradition in his path to becoming the Mahātma: the great soul who has inspired generations not only of Indians, but of people around the world who yearn for the nonviolent transformation of global society. Of particular interest will be the teachings of Gandhiji’s Jain guru, Sri Rajchandra Mehta (1867-1901).

Course Details

Learning Area

Jain Philosophy, History & Anthropology

Instructor

Jeffery Long, PhD

Jeffery D. Long is the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy, and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, in Pennsylvania where he has taught since receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School in the year 2000.

In 2021, Elizabethtown College gave Jeffrey its Ranck Award for Research Excellence. In 2018, he received the Hindu American Foundation’s Dharma Seva Award for his ongoing work to promote accurate, culturally sensitive portrayals of Indic traditions in the American education system and popular media. And in 2013, he gave the inaugural Virchand Gandhi Lecture in Jain Studies at Claremont University. He has also spoken on ahiṃsā at the United Nations. Jeffrey is the author of several books, including Hinduism in America and Jainism: An Introduction, and co-editor with Christopher Miller and Michael Reading for Beacons of Dharma, and with Michael Long for Nonviolence in the World’s Religions.