Gandhi and Jainism in Los Angeles

The nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the last century's most revered figures and India’s most famous sons, has exerted enormous influence across the world. It’s less well known that Gandhi was himself greatly influenced by Jainism, many of whose practitioners live in Gandhi's native state of Gujarat. On June 3rd, four academics discussed connections between Gandhi and Jainism and parallels between Gandhian and Jain thought at a symposium (‘Different Roads, One Goal: Gandhi and Jainism’) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I was able to put the event together thanks to members of the Jain community’s establishment of the Bhagwan Abhinandan Jain Lectureship in Jainism and South Asian Religions at UCLA, which I’m proud to hold. It was a pleasure to see two of the generous donors, Dr Jasvant Modi and Dr Narendra Parson, in the audience, together with faculty members and undergraduate and graduate students.
Three invited speakers - Professors Christopher Chapple (Loyola Marymount University), Veena Howard (California State University, Fresno) and Tara Sethia (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona) - delivered a fascinating set of talks. Professor Chapple spoke about the actualisation of vows in the lifestyle of Jain communities and in Gandhi’s political and
economic thought. Professor Howard, speaking remotely over Zoom, discussed Gandhi’s engagement with the Jain doctrine of anekantavada, according to which human perspectives are limited and a complete view of reality is almost impossible. Professor Sethia’s paper was on Gandhi, ahimsa and Jainism. Ahimsa (non-violence) is a key Jain principle and a core value
of Gandhi’s, although Gandhi created his own understanding of ahimsa, which is not identical to the traditional Jain one. The afternoon ended with a very stimulating response to the three papers delivered by Professor Vinay Lal (UCLA).