Recently, the world-famous University of Oxford was home to a global academic conference on Jain Science. This was organised and hosted by Boden Professor Sir Jim Mallinson at Balliol College, ably supported by Kshitij Jain, a dynamic young scholar, and Dr Marie-Helene Gorisse from Birmingham University, and sponsored by Mr Rahul Mehta. A wide range of scholars from India, Europe and North America attended and spoke on a range of topics from scripture to narrative, poetry, history, politics, Jain diaspora and migration.
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, established by Shaunaka Rishi Das 25 years ago, also actively supported this initiative. While the Jains today may be numerically small, their influence on the science, economics and governance of India has always been very significant. Dr Jasvant Modi from California has recently funded a Post-Doctoral Jain Fellowship at Oxford.
It is important not to underestimate or undervalue the ground-breaking work of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in opening research and teaching on Indian Philosophy at Oxford. At the Bodleian Library, the university has the largest collection of Asian manuscripts in the whole world. Given its theological roots, Oxford has always been an important hub for the study of religions.
I have repeatedly said in this column that as a community, whilst we are brilliant ‘consumers’ of education, we do not understand the importance of influencing the curriculum. We also misunderstand the challenges of sharing our Dharma at the highest echelons of scholarship, in spite of our strong faith and dedication to community.
At this Jain conference two independent academics (Dr Bindi Shah and Professor Chihab Elkhachab) spoke highly of my personal legacy as founder of the Young Jains global organisation and Founding Editor of ‘Jain Spirit’ magazine in shaping global innovation in western Jain wisdom through Anglo-American engagement. I know how much blood, sweat and family sacrifice has gone into this, so it was heartening to see the legacy being recognised, whilst I am alive.
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One of the inspirations behind these weekly editorial columns is to awaken our community to its own wisdom, and to improve understanding of the structural and educational challenges in improving respect for our science and philosophy. My work on Business Ethics and Finance draws from Jain principles of Ahinsa, Aparigraha and Anekant, very powerful philosophies of self-discipline and respect which have helped Jains become such successful leaders today. Their relevance to the world today could not be more timely.
Please do ponder on how important you think Dharmic science is to our educational curriculum, and what the community ought to do to support bold initiatives like the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Make your voice and vote count.
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Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.