The Discover India Podcast by Professor Pankaj Jain: Bhārat Darśan

Visit https://www.youtube.com/@ProfPankajJain for the much-awaited episode one of Naturally Musical - a venture Professor Pankaj Jain and Shri Manoj Govindraj have undertaken to share the often simple yet layered thoughts behind eco-friendly songs in Indian films🎵 Keep up with every episode to see how Prof. Pankaj Jain masterfully peels back the glass onion of lyrical complexity in Indian film mu...

The study of India took place in Europe and America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under the term Orientalism, `the study of the East' which sets the East, the Orient, as opposed to the West, the Occident. Scholars in the discipline of Orientalism and in the fields that have replaced the directionally biased term with neutral ones, such as Indology and South Asian Studies in c...

Indian Culture and Ecology: A Webinar for JNU Scholars by Prof Pankaj Jain

This book presents a substantive yet accessible introduction to the modern thought of Jainism. It examines the life and thought of some of the most influential 19th and 20th-century Jain ascetic leaders that remain little known in the Western world. The book's first part provides a detailed philosophical overview of Jain thought based on the translation of a seminal Hindi text Jain Darshan. Th...

ModernJainism : My Seminar at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

Despite a vibrant free press, a tenaciously independent judiciary, and 75 years of free and fair elections, India has somehow gained an international reputation as an authoritarian state bordering on fascism. The Economist Intelligence Unit considers India a "flawed democracy", Sweden’s Varieties of Democracy Institute calls India an "electoral autocracy", and the Washington th...

Did you know that the timeless Indian epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, hold secrets beyond their well-known tales of gods and heroes? Step into the realm of Jainism and discover the captivating universe of "Jain Mahābhāratas," in this fascinating India Studies Webinar curated by The India Centre. Join our expert guest speaker, Prof. Eva De Clercq from Ghent University, Belgium, as sh...

Karma in Jainism = Dust Particles on Soul

The pursuit of wisdom is never-ending. Researchers and scholars have provided their takes on the Bhagavad Gita for thousands of years. Professor Pankaj Jain is an integral part of this long list of academically and culturally gifted individuals who have shared the knowledge dispersed through the Bhagavad Gita so that laypeople can understand them. Professor Pankaj Jain is bringing you a weekly lin...

This lecture examines the emergent leadership of two female gurus in South Asia who have declared their status as Śaṅkarācāryās (i.e., heads of monastic institutions) based on revelatory experiences. They do this in order to change patriarchal monastic (akhāṛā) culture and challenge entrenched ideas of women’s inferiority in Hindu society. Bringing together ethnographic data and gender studies-cen...

This Earth Day, join a conversation with Dr. Pankaj Jain: an academic and an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of #sustainability. He has worked extensively to identify indigenous movements in India that are focused on protecting the environment and show how their extraordinary commitment springs directly from their roots in Sanatana Dharma.

The pursuit of wisdom is never-ending. Researchers and scholars have provided their takes on the Bhagavad Gita for thousands of years. Professor Pankaj Jain is an integral part of this long list of academically and culturally gifted individuals who have shared the knowledge dispersed through the Bhagavad Gita so that laypeople can understand them. Professor Pankaj Jain is bringing you a weekly lin...

This is an inaugural episode of a series on Jainism, one of the world's oldest traditions, thriving today in India, Nepal, Thailand, Japan, Kenya, Belgium, Canada, the UK, and the USA. Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by a Jain guru's teachings and through Gandhi, nonviolence became the mantra for Dr. Martin Luther King's Civil Rights Movement in the USA. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela a...

Uncovering the hidden gems of ancient Indian science never ceases to intrigue, especially the lesser-known early Indian scientific contributions, which include a comprehensive theory of mind, Pāṇini's remarkable Sanskrit grammar, Piṅgala's binary numbers, and more. But what sets apart the work of Kaṇāda? Join Professors Subhash Kak and Pankaj Jain as they take us on a fascinating journey of discov...

In this interactive lecture demonstration, Prof. Srinivas Reddy introduces the sitar, a prominent Indian instrument that embodies ancient technologies and modern innovations. He also discusses how the sitar represents the syncretic nature of Hindustani raga music regarding instrument design, raga exposition and aesthetic appreciation, as well as how the instrument is used in various genres, from c...

Indian Civilization is primarily based on Dharmic Principles. The nature of Dharma, however, is extremely subtle. Often, naively Dharma is equated with religion, resulting in confusing or misleading interpretations about India. Therefore, it is essential to understand Dharma's contours and India and its value system. 2nd Justice Ranade Memorial Lecture by Prof. Pankaj Jain attempts to do precisely...

At the end of WW I, a historical conjuncture incorporated technological developments, social change, political dynamics, and industrial structure into a rapidly growing global music economy. India’s position in that economy was determined by internal cultural dynamics but equally by its place within the corporate structures of British colonialism. Coincident with Indian independence, a second hist...

Professor Pankaj Jain shares examples from key Dharmic and Yogic texts and contexts from which Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists continue to derive their inspiration. Evidently, in Yogic and Dharmic contexts, religion, ethics, and environmentalism are intertwined with each other instead of distinctly evolved theories.   About the Theme:  In the West, the current paradigm of wishing to estab...

"1947 Partition is a small blip in the infinite Indian civilizational consciousness beyond time, beyond space." - Professor Pankaj Jain Questions discussed: 1. What/how you were taught about Partition in school?  2. Is Partition part of shared cultural knowledge - do people reference it in everyday conversation?  3. Do you feel any connection to this history?  4. We read Anita Desai...

What India Can Teach Us: A Webinar by Prof Pankaj Jain  As the currents of globalization sweep us into the twenty-first century, it calls for a global renaissance where knowledge systems inspired by Indian civilization have much to offer to the world. Prof. PankajJain, Head of Humanities and Languages, FLAME University, through this Upskill session, will introduce participants to the unique I...

Self, No-Self, and Self-Consciousness: Some Classical Indian Views, A Webinar by Prof Stephen Phillips The question of what accounts for personal identity through bodily, emotional, and mental change is one of many topics related to the positions taken on the nature of subjectivity and self-awareness in classical Indian thought. “Enlightenment” and yogic practice is another. This talk takes up Ved...

Hinduism and Ethics of Creation Care   Speaker: Professor Pankaj Jain  Respondent: Professor Cybelle Shattuck  Moderator: Dr. Robert A. Hunt   Partners:   The Interfaith Council of Thanks-Giving Square  Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum   SMU Perkins School of Theology.   Co-Sponsors: The SMU Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life  The Dallas...

Gandhi’s thoughts on non-violent political action and his programs for social reconstruction have been subjects of scholarly debates, often sharp, for a long. More recently, visual and literary representations of Gandhi that remind people of the meanings of an extraordinarily complex life have also received attention (Ramaswamy 2021). However, little consideration has been given to Gandhi’s aesthe...

Alternative ontologies and epistemologies: Is there an Indian way of knowing and theorizing in social sciences?  In an “informal essay” (1989), poet, translator, and folklorist A. K. Ramanujam asks an intriguing question, "Is there an Indian way of thinking?” Taking inspiration from the celebrated essay, without any misconception of equivalent competence, I ask, Is there an Indian way of know...

Climate Crisis and Indian Movies: A Webinar for Vancouver School of Theology by Prof. Pankaj Jain