2008NEWSLETTER

FROM THE DIRECTORGreetings, Ahimsa Seekers and Supporters!

Ahimsa Center is completing its fourth full yearof operation. In this year, we not only chalkedup solid accomplishments in our ongoing activities and programs but also broke somesignificant new ground in education aboutnonviolence, and reached out in new ways toour various stakeholders and beneficiaries.

In the ongoing programs, the biggest undertakingwas the second Summer Institute for K-12 educators. This year we expanded the program, made it national and fully residential,and drew participants from all across the U. S.In addition, the Center hosted half a dozenpublic programs featuring a number of distinguished scholars and exemplars of nonviolence. Among these programs were theDaga Family Public Lecture delivered by A. T.Ariyaratne from Sri Lanka, and a Bhajan Concert of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite hymnsand spiritual songs.

In our new initiatives, a major milestone wasthe establishment on our campus of an interdisciplinary Minor in Nonviolence Studies. Other new areas of activity included a weekendmeditation retreat, and an executive dialogueon Corporate Social Responsibility, which wehope to continue on an annual basis.

Year 2008 is already shaping to be a promisingone. The coming highlights include a specialexecutive dialogue with Mrs. Rajashree Birla,Chair of the Aditya Birla Center for CommunityInitiatives and Rural Development; Hamiltonand Denise Brewart International Conference,“Rediscovering the Gandhian Wisdom:Building a Peaceful Future;” and the 2008Ahimsa Center annual public lecture namedafter Ramila and Jayesh Shah.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the university leadership—the President, Dr. J.Michael Ortiz and my Dean, Dr. Barbara Way,for their continuing encouragement and support; faculty and staff colleagues across disciplines for their ongoing collaboration andparticipation in various taskforces and committees; the Center’s Advisory Boardmembers for their valuable inputs and suggestions; the editors of various sections of the Ahimsa Newsletter for their time and contributions; and the growing number of students who are taking part in the Center’sprograms and events. Finally, I want toacknowledge with gratitude the critical support of our sponsors, and the active participation of our members.

Tara Sethia is a Professor of History andDirector of Ahimsa Center at Cal Poly Pomona.

Nonviolence Studies at Cal Poly PomonaThe College of Letters, Arts and SocialSciences at California State PolytechnicUniversity, Pomona has recently launched anew interdisciplinary degree program, a Minorin Nonviolence Studies.

Developed under the auspices of the AhimsaCenter, the minor received strong support fromthe University. It involved the collaboration offaculty drawn from very diverse disciplinessuch as History, Political Science, Sociology,Philosophy, Anthropology, English & foreignlanguages, Management and Human Resources,

Kinesiology & Health Promotion, RegenerativeStudies, Physics and Dance.

For the students enrolled in the minor, theCenter is very pleased to have several AhimsaAwards made possible by the generosity ofBipin and Rekha Shah of Atherton, California.

Steve McCauley, Professor of Physics, wasvery pleased with the unanimous support fromthe Academic Senate. “Senators with no affiliation with the Ahimsa Center,” he recalled,“made references to the many conflicts in ourworld and expressed support for this effort atCal Poly Pomona to have students explorenonviolence.”

While welcoming the news as beneficial forstudents, English Professor Andrew Moss sawan added benefit for faculty: “The minor,” henoted, “should offer to faculty significantopportunities for deepening their involvementwith nonviolence in all aspects of academicwork: teaching, research, and service.” Theapproval and implementation of this minor atCal Poly Pomona is indeed welcoming newsfor an institution of higher education, whose mission is to prepare students for the real world.

The minor according to Tara Sethia, Professorof History and Director of the Ahimsa center,“responds to the critical needs of our time.Students taking this minor will feel inspired topromote human dignity, advance social justice,and nurture social and ecological harmony.”

contd. pg. 5 Ahimsa Patron Hamilton Brewart (left), Ahimsa SponsorJasvant Modi (center), and Center Director, Tara Sethia

Ahimsa Awards donors Bipin and Rekha Shah

Ahimsa is nonviolence rooted in courage and compassion, fearlessness and forgiveness. It connotes reverence for all life. It evokes civility and

promotes lasting peace and justice in society.

Editorial Board

Executive Editor: Tara Sethia K-12 Education Section Editor: Christian Bracho Higher Education Section Editor: Thienhuong HoangCommunity Section Editor: Anila Strahan

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Deadline for submitting write-ups for the next Issue is July 1, 2008. Write-ups can be emailed to: ahimsacenter@csupomona.edu

For submission guidelines contact the Center Director, Professor Tara Sethia History Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768tsethia@csupomona.edu :: (909) 869-3868 :: www.csupomona.edu/ahimsacenter

TABLE OF CONTENTSFrom the Director 1

Nonviolence Studies at Cal Poly Pomona 1

Ahimsa Center Sponsors 2

Editorial Board 2

Contributions submission information 2

Ahimsa Center Hosts National Teacher Institute 3Inspiration by Dawna Tully 3

Nonviolence and Higher Education 4Editorial by Thienhoung Hoang 4Seeds of Nonviolence by Susanna Barkataki 4Visualizing Ahimsa by Chari Pradel 4Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Andrew Moss 5Ahimsa Club on Campus 5

2007 Featured Programs and Events 6-7

Nonviolence and K-12 Education 8Editorial by Christian Bracho 8The Power of One by Amita Desai 8Applying Ahimsa to Daily Life by Heather Penrod 8Teaching Nonviolence by Nicole Meylor 9Integrating Gandhi by Michele Milner 9

Nonviolence and the Community 10Editorial by Anila Strahan 10Gandhi at the Speed of Thought by Sarika Ravindran 10Karunya by Coomi B. Singh 10Nonviolence of the Mind by Aidan Rankin 10Experience in Compassion by Alexandra Pult-Korenberg 11

NewsworthyMusic: An Instrument of Social Upliftment by Louise Ghandhi 11

About the Ahimsa Center 12

Upcoming Programs of the Center 12Call for Ahimsa Center Membership 12

Ahimsa PatronsHamilton and Denise Brewart

Ahimsa SponsorsJasvant and Meera ModiPravin and Sudha ModyJagdish and Madhuri Sheth

Charter SponsorsNavin and Madhu JainPrem and Sandhya JainJAINABipin and Rekha Shah

Founding SponsorsHarish and Sunil DagaManilal and Savita MehtaTulsi and Gita SavaniJayesh and Ramila ShahNitin and Hiten ShahRavi and Vandana TilakRomesh and Kathleen Wadhwani

Major SponsorsRatan and Madhu BaidLunar DesignSanjay and Harshada KucheriaSuresh and Vimala LodhaVasan and Neerja RamanJeff Smith and Virginia Schutte

SponsorsNaren and Kusum BakshiNavin and Pratima DoshiThe Dalai Lama FoundationPradeep and Meenakshi IyerPramod and Roshni Patel

SupportersSubramaniyam and Ulhas BalaVikram and Upma BudhrajaSteve McCauleySankar and Malathi NarayanChetan and Nita Sanghvi

FriendsSajjan and Pramila AgarwalNavneet and Ritu ChughSaleem and Sabiha HaiBharti JainUdai Chand and Sushila JainKrishna and Eva MalhotraFeroz and Yasmin QasimMichael and Audrey SamuelNaresh and Priti SolankiDheeraj and Manisha SulakheSyed Qaisar Madad and Mehar Tabatabai

Ahimsa Awards DonorsBipin and Rekha Shah

AHIMSA CENTER SPONSORS

Gandhi, Nonviolence and the 21st CenturyCurriculum was the focus of a residential summer institute hosted by the Ahimsa Centeron Cal Poly Pomona campus, July 15-28, 2007.Thirty seven K-12 educators came from allacross United States to participate in this pro-gram. University President, Dr. J. Michael Ortizinaugurated this institute and underscored theneed for nonviolent solutions to our problems.Noting the significance of Gandhi’s vision forhumanity, he remarked, “ahimsa is a key tosettling differences and conflicts with civility.”

Themes covered in the institute included:Gandhi as a learner and leader; Gandhi as aman of politics and spirituality; his philosophyof swaraj and satyagraha, his nonviolent campaigns in South Africa and India; the evolution of Gandhi’s soul force; the power ofhis fasts; and, finally, Gandhi’s relevance to thecurrent discourse on sustainability and for thepolitical, social and ecological movementssince his time. Participants read and discussedhalf a dozen books and many articles, andviewed and analyzed documentaries pertinentto the themes of the institute.

Directed by Tara Sethia, Director of the AhimsaCenter, the institute featured four externalGandhi experts: Anthony Parel, Professor ofPolitical Science, University of Calgary; MarkJuergensmeyer, Professor of Sociology andDirector of Orfelia Center for Global studies, UCSanta Barbara; Joseph Prabhu, Professor ofPhilosophy at Cal State, Los Angeles; andSrimati Kamala, President, Gandhi MemorialCenter and Foundation, Bethesda, MD.Additionally, Cal Poly Pomona faculty membersThien Hoang, Assistant Professor of Education,Nirmal Sethia, Professor of Management, and

Tara Sethia, Professor of History, offered sessions in the institute. Karen Bzroska, LeadMedia Designer at Cal Poly Pomona, directedthe digital stories component of the institute.Christian Bracho, Ahimsa Center Fellow servedas a teacher mentor, and Louis Ghandhi as acoordinator of the residential institute.

One special event during the institute was aconcert of hymns and spiritual songs (bhajans)that were routinely recited in Gandhi’sashrams. Another special event was a visit tothe Jain Center of Southern California and adialogue with many community leaders there(photo on pg. 9).

In their evaluation of the institute, the participating teachers spoke highly about the stimulating nature of the institute, the inter-disciplinary content and the diversity of read-ing materials, and the caliber of speakers andexperts featured in the program. They charac-terized their personal experiences in the institute in words such as: “amazingly transfor-mative,” “intellectually rewarding,” “invaluable,”“enriching and relevant,” “empowering andennobling,” and “life changing.” Overall, theyemphatically communicated that the institutewell exceeded their expectations.

The teachers in the program have createdinterdisciplinary curriculum modules related tothe themes and topics of the institute, andhave accompanying digital stories. All of theserich and unique instructional resources areavailable on the Center’s web site.

INSPIRATIONBy Dawna Tully

During the last day of theInstitute I heard many ofthe participants share

their reflections of the Institute and mostincredibly the ‘next steps’ to integrate Gandhi’snonviolent principles with current projects andproposals for projects for peace. Deeplymoved, I wondered how could I contributeand celebrate our collective experience at theInstitute.

At the Institute there was a seminar aboutGandhi’s fasts and their spiritual and politicalsignificance for nonviolent social change. I

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Melissa Ardon, CaliforniaMary Carol Alexander, North CarolinaGeri Belle, MassachussettesElizabeth Benskin, Washington, DCKathleen Brown-Hauf, CaliforniaJosephine Mehaffy Chavez, New MexicoMary Condron, FloridaKathryn M. Djouallah, PennsylvaniaRebecca Eastman, MassachussettesNatasha Efseaff, CaliforniaMargaret Goldberg, CaliforniaSheri E. Halpern, New YorkRebecca Harrison-Drake, AlaskaLiza Hartman, CaliforniaDonna Hicks, MichiganMichael Irwin, MassachussettesLeila Joseffer, MassachussettesDeborah Kellar, CaliforniaVera Korneff, CaliforniaSangita Kumar, CaliforniaDennis Andrew Larsen, WisconsinCarol M. Lukens, WisconsinLily Ly, CaliforniaMaria Malo, CaliforniaMichele Milner, CaliforniaQuixada Moore-Vissing, MassachussettesPatrick O’Connel, CaliforniaKendra Parks, WisconsinBarbara Patricia Raspino, TexasQuetzal A. Roura, CaliforniaVikas Srivastava, California Alicia Stanco, CaliforniaChristine Tran, CaliforniaDawna Tully, CaliforniaRichard Updegrove, MinnesottaMaureen Wagers, WisconsinStephanie Young, California

“Gandhi, Nonviolence and the21st Century Curriculum”

Ahimsa Center Fellows, 2007

Ahimsa Center Hosts a National Teacher Institute

University President, J. Michael Ortiz

Institute Fellows wearing “Got Ahimsa?” T-shirt, designed by Sheri Halpern, a Fellow from New York

remembered how taken aback I was by theinterest others had in my own experience withfasting years before. Therefore, I thought,“Why not fast as an experiment to support thework of each of the participants in the AhimsaInstitute!” With little hesitation, I got theAhimsa Participant List, a calendar andplanned a fast once a week for 40 weeks tobegin October, 2007 and conclude June of 2008.Although my family at first wondered if I couldcontinue this, they now ask, “Who are youfasting for this week?

My thanks to all of you who have inspired meat the Ahimsa Institute to get in touch with apast spiritual discipline that has assisted me tore-connect in a new and profound way - whileat the same time honoring you and your workfor nonviolence and peace.

Dawna Tully is a Curriculum Resource Teacherat Sierra Madre K-8 School of the PasadenaUnified School District and has been teachingfor 16 years.

NONVIOLENCE ANDHIGHER EDUCATIONEditorial by Thienhuong Hoang

Higher educationoffers us a fertilefield for creating a culture of nonvio-lence. Higher education also provides us with an opportunity toreflect on the pastand to refine andcreate a new visionfor the future. Wefeel compelled toask fundamentalquestions such as:

How do we educate our students for coopera-tion and sharing? How can they learn to livetogether? How can they learn to celebratediversity rather than simply tolerate it? Whilethese questions are not new to the humanquest for harmony, never before in history havethey had the same urgency as they do now.

Quality higher education for all is the key todemocracy in everyday life. It can be a key to unlock among students the values, attitudes,and behavioral patterns consistent with a cultureof nonviolence. As such higher education canhelp students to keep up with new challenges,to stimulate creativity, to develop nonviolenttools for conflict transformation, and to serveothers in need. Building and sustaining a cultureof nonviolence, I feel, is the work not of somemiracle-working, superhuman personality but of each one of us in higher education

I am reminded of the words of Michael Ventura:“It is not ‘happiness,’ by which we generallymean nothing but giddy forgetfulness about thedanger of all our lives together. It is not ‘self-realization,’ by which people usually mean aseparate peace. There is no separate peace.We will go as far as we can because we mustgo together wherever it is we are going together.”

Contributors to this section, Nonviolence andHigher Education, address ahimsa through thearts and literature. As the editor of this section,I wish to thank all the contributors for sharingtheir perspectives. I encourage the readers ofthis column to contribute in the forthcomingissues of the Newsletter their views and questionspertaining to nonviolence and higher education.

Thienhuong Hoang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education, College ofEducation & Integrative Studies, at Cal Poly Pomona.

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Seeds of Nonviolence at theNavdanya FarmSusanna Barkataki

I took a course at the Navdanya Farm, India,on Gandhi and Globalization. The coursebrought us--the participants--up close and personal with three amazing teachers:Vandana Shiva, international biodiversityactivist, Samdhong Rinpoche, Prime Ministerof the Government of Tibet in Exile, and Mr.Satish Kumar, who walked the world for peace.Each teacher’s unique vision and approach fortaking Gandhiji’s thoughts and relating them toour times has nourished my life and is nowbearing fruit.

Vandana Shiva’s work on biodiversityprotection and earth sovereignty role modelshow just as we are enriched by earth’s bounty,so can we give back to her, by planting a seed. This little seed we plant will grow into aglorious tree or flower, enriching our eyes and hearts, as in a beautiful, cyclical paradox, whatwe give transforms into what we receive. Samdhong Rinpoche underscores thesignificance of bringing calm, peaceful decisionmaking to politics as he guides and comfortsthousands of Tibetans living in exile, keeping in mind each person’s well being. In every action we do, we make a positive difference by thinkingabout and honoring our ancestors, nurturing thecommunity with which we live, and keeping inmind the well being of future generations.

During the course, Satish Kumar engaged theparticipants in learning the ways to nourish our own selves (souls). Silence, fasting, amorning walk among the poplars, or whatever.Satish Kumar regards such ways as the daily doze of rest for the soul, a mental vacation. Or, making peace with ourselves through yogaand meditation, reading a good book, writing,drawing, or saying prayers. Some of us made a point to watch the sunrise and sunset everyday, staying in tune with the rhythms of thedays and seasons. Others played with theirchildren and still others played as if they were children.

This course translated the wisdom of the agesinto modern life and reminded us all how tonourish ourselves, the soil and society aroundus. Cultivating life like this becomes a trans-formational act, rendering all we do as healingand nurturing, caring and serving.

SusannaBarkataki is anahimsa fellowfrom Teacher-Institute onNonviolence andSocial Change.She is a highschool teacherand social activistin, Los Angeles.She is currently in

Bodhgaya (India) training teachers for theMaitreya School and preparing a book of poetry for the young.

Visualizing AhimsaChari Pradel, Ph.D.

The Art andArchitecture ofIndia (Art 407), anart history courseoffered by the Art

Department, introduces students to works andmonuments produced in the Indian subconti-nent since the Indus Civilization (ca. 2,500B.C.E) to the Mughal Empire (1526-1858).Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism played amajor role in the development of the visual artsin India. In fact, most of the monuments stud-ied in the course are religious. Therefore, stu-dents are introduced to the basic tenets andpractices of these religions in order to under-stand the visual material.

The study of the extant works and monumentsreveals that these religious traditions developedharmoniously sharing common religious goals,values, and ideas, some of which are visuallyrepresented.

For instance,Buddhism andJainism producedicons of Buddhasand Jinas orTirthankharas tobe installed in temples for wor-ship. These iconsnot only representthe spiritualbeings, but alsoembody nirvana,the state of libera-tion that ends thecycle of rebirths.

Furthermore, the icons suggest that meditation is one of the vehicles to achieve that state. Inthe same way, paintings and carvings narrat-ing the stories of the life of the founders, fablesand legends were used to convey religiousideas and values, such as compassion, charityand ahimsa or non-violence.

Dr. Chari Pradel, is an assistant professor of Art at Cal Poly Pomona. The photos ofRishabhanatha and Buddha above are courtesey, Dr. Sonya Quintanilla, San DiegoMuseum of Art.

Rishabhanatha seated in two stages of meditation.Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, ca. 1680. Amber,Rajasthan, India.

Buddha Shakyamuni in theearth-touching gesture.Bronze, 13th century, Nepal.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki:Bearing Witness in LiteratureAndrew Moss, Ph.D.

In a short story entitled “The Empty Can,”Kyoko Hayashi tells of five Japanese women meeting for a reunion thirty years after grad-uating from an all-girls’ high school. This is noordinary reunion, though. As survivors of theatomic bomb blast in Nagasaki on August 9,1945, the women share memories not only ofschool debates and eccentric teachers, butalso of the explosion itself, and of the conver-sion of the school auditorium to a site for med-ical treatment and, later, to place of assemblyfor a memorial to the students and teacherswho perished.

The story’s narrator, one of the five women,finds a singular memory returning to her like “a pain in the heart.” It is the recollection of ayoung student who, after the blast, began tobring the bones of her parents to school in ametal can. Only after an empathetic teacherdiscovered the girl’s secret (and led the classin a silent prayer for the girls’ parents) did thepractice cease.

The story displays the enormous emotional pullof memory, just as the five women carry within

their own bodies other vestiges of the blast:minute shards of glass still embedded deep intheir skin (from school windows that had beenblown inward), experiences of radiation sick-ness past, and apprehensions of radiation sickness in the future.

Like other works of fiction and non-fiction inKenzaburo Oe’s luminous collection, The CrazyIris, and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath(Grove Press, 1985), Hayashi’s “The Empty Can”points to the narrow and constraining nature ofmuch contemporary discourse about nuclearweapons. Reading the stories in this collectionalong with my students in English 235 (“Warand Peace in Literature”), I have come to realizehow important such literary texts are forbroadening the discourse, for exploring thesubjective dimensions of human experience,and for affirming – in a dangerously nuclearized world – the power of compassion.

Andrew Moss, an advisor in the NonviolenceStudies Minor, is a professor of English at CalPoly Pomona. The course that he teaches(English 235, War and Peace in Literature) is asupport course for the minor.

Ahimsa Club on CampusA student group has recently formed theAhimsa Club at Cal Poly Pomona. The Club is

a welcome addition in the wake of the newinterdisciplinary minor in Nonviolence Studiesand the educational initiatives of the AhimsaCenter on campus. Inspired by the theCenter’s programs, the Club’s founding president, Andy Lee, a graduate student inChemistry, feels the Club will “further advancethe benefits of such enriching programs tolarger number of students.”

Jolene Kladurous, a History Major and servingas the historian for the Club, finds herself inharmony with the Club’s mission in the contextof Gandhi’s message of ahimsa which inspiresher “to seek the true self rule” or what Gandhicalled, swaraj for “creating change for the better.” The Club’s leadership is planning its inaugural event in the Spring.

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Students pursuing this degree will gain strongintellectual foundation enabling them to under-stand the many dimensions of nonviolence, itshistory and its efficacy and motivate them toexperiment with nonviolent methods for socialjustice and conflict resolution. Moreover, theminor offers additional career opportunities forstudents, especially in areas of public service,social work, the non-profit sector and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Anthropology professor, Dorothy Wills,believes the minor will attract students in all majors because “it gives students an opportunityto think about how they will contribute to makingthe world a better place, whatever their careeror specialization. We are lucky to have theAhimsa Center on campus, and students in theminor will be able to benefit more fully from themany events sponsored by the Center.” For details about the minor visitwww.csupomona.edu/ahimsacenter.

Nonviolence Studies at Cal Poly Pomona (contd. from pg. 1)

Faculty, staff and students with Dean Barbara Way (center) at the Ahimsa Center Open House, celebrating the launch of the Minor in Nonviolence Studies.

Ahimsa Club Executive Board, from the left: SeemaBhakta, Shannon Nakamoto, Andy Lee, Hiral Ganatra and Jolene Kladurous

Faculty Advisors for the Minor: Tara Sethia, Professor of History and Director of Ahimsa Center (left): AndrewMoss, Professor of English and member of Ahimsa Center Advisory Board (center): Dorothy D. Wills, Professor ofAnthropology and Chair, Department of Geography and Anthropology.

Dr. Gilbert R. Cadena, Ethnic and Womens StudiesDr. Alane Daugherty, Kinesiology & Health PromotionDr. Zijiang Ding, PhilosophyDr. Lori B. Hacket, Psychology and SociologyDr. Toni Humber, Ethnic and Womens StudiesDr. Anita Jain, Ethnic and Womens StudiesDr. John Lloyd, HistoryDr. Andrew Moss, English & Foreign LanguagesDr. Jocelyn Pacleb, Ethnic and Womens StudiesDr. Da’an Pan, English & Foreign LanguagesDr. Nestor Ruiz, EconomicsDr. Tara Sethia, HistoryDr. Ann Stabolepszy, Inst. for New Dance & Culture Dr. Eileen Wallis, HistoryDr. Dorothy D. Wills, Anthropology

Faculty Teaching in the Nonviolence Studies Minor

Faculty and students at a dialogue with Rajmohan Gandhi Prof. Anthony Parel speaking on Gandhi as a Man of Prayer and Action

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2007 FEATURED PROGRAMS AND

Faculty and community leaders with Rajmohan Gandhi and Usha Gandhi Bhajan Recital: from the left are: Abhiman Kaushal on tabla; Prasad Upasani andSarkia Ravindran, vocalists; and Hiren Majmudar on harmonium.

Dr. Anil Sadgopal (at the head of the table) in conversation with faculty & community Kathryn Djouallah singing,“Lead Kindly Light”

Srimati Kamala delivering a lecture on Gandhi’s Truth and Ahimsa A Meditation Retreat with Dr. B. Alan Wallace

Prof. Mark Juergensmeyer shares his insights on“Nonviolence in the Time of Terror”

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EVENTS OF THE AHIMSA CENTER New Perspective on Gandhi fora New Century: A Dialoguewith Rajmohan Gandhi,February 2.

Impact of Globalization, Gandhiand the School Education inIndia. A Conversation with AnilSadgoplal, June 23.

Gandhi, Nonviolence and 21stCentury Curriculum: A SummerInstitute for K-12 Educators,July 15-28.

Teaching Truth & Ahimsa: TheGandhian Initiatives. A Lectureby Srimati Kamala, July 15.

Gandhi: A Man of Action andPrayer. Public Lecture byAnthony J. Parel, July 21.

Spiritual Songs from Gandhi’sAshram Bhajanavali: A BhajanRecital by Sarika Ravindranand Prasad Upasani accompa-nied by Abhiman Kaushal andHiren Majmudar, July 21.

Nonviolence in the Time ofTerror: A Dialogue with MarkJuergensmeyer, July 26.

Balancing the Heart and Mind:A Meditation Retreat with AlanWallace, August 11-12.

The Real Purpose of Business:Ahimsa Executive Dialoguewith R. Gopalakrishnan,September 8.

The Power of Love: DagaFamily Public Lecture by A. T.Ariyaratne, October 27.

From Violence Against WomenTo Affirming Life: A View onWomen and Health in India.Dialogue with Mira DakinSadgopal, November 8.

Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne delivers the Daga FamilyPublic Lecture, The Power of Love

The Daga family with Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne

Dr. Mira Dakin Sadgopal in dialogue with faculty and students

Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons, leads the first executive dialogue,The Real Purpose of Business

The Power of “One”By Amita Desai

In a world that seems to be preoccupied withviolence and war, how do we bring the lessonof nonviolence as an empowering value to ourstudents? That is the question that plagued meas a middle school teacher. At the AhimsaCenter Institute, I was inspired to create a lessonplan that met both math standards and taughtthe valuable lesson of nonviolence.

In this lesson, students investigate the exponentialpower of a unit in several modalities and transferthe concept to real life experience and com-mitment. Using at least 3 different numbers,students create a mathematical model of theexponential power of a number. Students thenuse manipulative material to explore the concretemodel of the power of a number (e.g., grains ofrice doubled, each square of a chess board).They expand the connection of the power of a unit to the realms of science, history andcharacter-building. This is achieved through adiscussion about the exponential power of ahistorical event, a personality, an idea, a scientificfact, or a word such as “ahimsa” and “satya-graha.” Each student then writes a personalcommitment statement that reflects the collectivebrainstorming, focusing on his/her personalpower to maintain nonviolence. We end byapplying the notion of individual power throughthe creation of a classroom quilt called “everyonecounts,” with each student creating one pieceof the quilt with his/her personal statement onpromoting “respect and responsibility” in theclassroom community. This allows them to fullyunderstand Dr. Martin Luther King’s idea that“we are all woven together in a single garmentof destiny.”

There are several questions a teacher maywant to consider in teaching this lesson.Students may ask themselves, “What is thecollective scope of every mathematical unit?How does this math concept apply to my life?How does each individual force become a collective power?” After the lesson, studentsmay want to reflect, or write on, these furtherquestions: “Is my voice valid? Does it count?Does it have a value? How do my thoughts/words/actions affect others? All of us? Me?”Lastly, students may need to ask themselves,“As a child, do I have the strength to affectchange in my environment?”

Amita Desai is amath teacher atKraemer MiddleSchool inPlacentia, CA.

The Power of PeaceBy Benoni Pantoja

I teach a 9th grade Ethnic Studies course andconstructed a curriculum on social justice andmulticultural education. One of the lesson plansdeveloped is entitled Nonviolence and Social

Justice—The Power of Peace. This unit intro-duces students to Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa.It allows students to discuss, analyze anddeconstruct the ideas of nonviolence versus vio-lence through a three week instructional plan.

At the beginning of the unit, we contrast theconcepts of violence versus nonviolence.After discussing the terms and evaluating the

cost of violence, we analyze violence in themedia, turning to songs that portray messagesof peace, unity and social justice. One contem-porary song we analyze is “Where is the Love”by the Black Eyed Peas. Students then selecta song with lyrics that promote social justiceand write an explanation of the song’s message.We end by comparing and researching fourphilosophical texts- the Bhagavad Gita, theDhammapada, the New Testament, and SamanSuttam- and four different social justice lead-ers: Mohandas K Gandhi, Martin Luther KingJr., Cesar Chavez, and Aung San Suu Kyi.Through this investigation, students see theuniversal connections and struggles we allface in standing up for human rights.

Overall the implementation of this lessonwas a success. The students were engaged,challenged and involved. The other day, I waswalking down the hall and one of my formerstudents blurted out “Ahimsa, right?” I smiled,enjoying that my Human Rights unit had left alasting impression on this young man’s mind.

Benoni Pantoja is a teacher at Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School in Los Angeles.

Applying Ahimsa to Daily LifeBy Heather Penrod

As a result of my participation in the AhimsaTeacher Institute, I created a unit for my WorldHistory classes that not only covers theCalifornia State Standards about the age ofimperialism, but also provides insight into theconcepts such as ahimsa, compassion,courage and forgiveness which inspired nonvi-olent protests against imperialism and racism.

One lesson in the unit explores the familiarconcepts of love, compassion and non-violence,showing that they are common to many worldreligions, not just in the teachings ofChristianity. As an introduction/warm-up to thelesson, students read quotes from theBhagavad Gita, Saman Suttam and theDhammapada. Students share their favoritequotes, explaining the meaning and signi-ficance of the quotes offered. After the classviews a scene from the film Gandhi, depictingthe resistance in South Africa, and respond toseveral questions, they review Gandhi’s “SomeRules of Satyagraha,” analyzing and evaluatingthe effectiveness of this method. As home-work, students keep a daily anger/conflict jour-nal and describe any conflicts they experienceduring the course of the day. Their task is totake one of the quotes they chose from theabove mentioned texts and demonstrate itsapplication to the resolution or minimization ofa conflict, recording the result of such applica-tion in their anger/conflict/compassion journal.

EDUCATION ABOUT NONVIOLENCE IN K-12Editorial by Christian Bracho

Integrating Ahimsawith Standards-based Curricula

With expansivestandards-basedframeworks some-times defining thecontent of every les-son, and high-stakestesting looming atthe end of everyschool year, it canseem that there isno room for ahimsa

in public schools. This was the challenge forthe teachers who attended the AhimsaCenter’s K-12 Teacher Institute on Nonviolenceand Social Change. Yet many teachers foundthat, regardless of their subject areas or gradelevels, there were numerous means to inte-grate ahimsa into standards-based curriculum.Some teachers utilized inter-disciplinaryapproaches to lessons, while others deepeneda curricular unit by bringing in related textsand/or media. As a result of the teachers’ workin that Institute, the seemingly impossible taskof integrating ahimsa with standards-basedcurricula was achieved.

The articles by Ahimsa Fellows in this sectionof the Ahimsa Center newsletter illustrate thepotential connections teachers can make toahimsa using their standards-based textbooksand materials along with classical and moderntexts related to nonviolence. For example,English teacher Nicole Meylor supplemented aunit on “Wisdom Literature” in a senior text-book, deepening students’ understanding ofBuddhism and Hinduism with lessons on meditation. At Kraemer Middle School, mathteacher Amita Desai used the mathematicalconcept of exponential power to help studentscomprehend the power they possess as individuals, and especially as a group, to affectchange. Social studies teachers HeatherPenrod and Benoni Pantoja both used excerptsfrom texts like the Dhammapada and theBhagavad Gita, along with readings on or byMahatma Gandhi, to facilitate students’ application of the principles of nonviolence to their own lives.

The diversity of these lessons demonstrates K-12 teachers’ capacity to develop meaningfulconnections to ahimsa in their pedagogy. Theuniversality of ahimsa provides entry pointsinto all curricular areas and grade levels,allowing teachers and students alike to discoverthe infinite connections between the spirit, thecommunity, and the environment.

Christian Bracho is an English departmentchair and teacher mentor in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District.

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This lesson proved to be the most successful of all the lessons in this unit. Students wereintrigued by the readings, and I was pleasantlysurprised when my class asked for their owncopies to keep. All the students completedtheir journals (a 100% completion rate!).Students even requested an extension of thisassignment so that they could continue theirjournal writing. What made this assignment sopowerful was the connection the studentsmade to the primary source material, incorpo-rating the nonviolent concepts as they wroteabout their daily lives. In this way nonviolencebecame a very personal and memorable expe-rience for each of them.

Heather Penrod is a social studies teacher atReseda High School in Reseda, CA.

Teaching Nonviolencethrough MeditationBy Nicole Meylor

In my role as asenior Englishteacher, I have looked fornew ways toincorporate nonviolence intomy classroom. Ifound the opportu-nity when we dida unit from the

senior textbook on “Wisdom Literature,”which connected excerpts from the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita to readings like theAnalects of Confucius and the Tao Te Ching.In our study we described the bonds we shareas human beings and recognized a commonfoundation of all religions- to find happinessthrough good and moral being. Studentsresponded with great enthusiasm to the con-tent of this unit, and asked me to deepen theirunderstanding through further exploration ofEastern religions and practices.

One way I expanded this unit on “WisdomLiterature” was to delve into meditation, helpingstudents understand its connections to ahimsaor nonviolence. As an optional exercise, I ledthem in a brief meditation, with many of mystudents giggling at first, giving away some oftheir uncertainty and skepticism. Suddenly,however, my room became miraculously silent-36 high school seniors with their eyes closed,meditating for a full ten minutes. This exercisegenerated even more student interest, leadingme to contact the Hsi Lai Temple for collabora-tion on this unit. A few weeks later, I gave stu-dents the option to participate in a standing,sitting, and walking meditation led by aBuddhist nun from the temple. She describedmeditation’s benefits in relation to academicsuccess and nonviolent resolution, andengaged students in a dialogue about herattire and lifestyle. It was a day I will not forget,and neither will my students. I know thisbecause during a fire drill my 6th period seniorsdecided they were going to go outside to ourassigned spot, and, in the midst of all of thechaos going on, my students, my little

peace–seekers, sat together as one and medi-tated without shame.

Nicole Meylor is an English teacher at LosAltos High School in Hacienda Heights, CA.

Integrating GandhiBy Michele Milner

After two weeks of being immersed in Gandhistudies at the Ahimsa Center Institute, I waslooking for an opportunity for introducingGandhi to Sequoyah, a Kindergarten through8th grade school in Pasadena, where I teachSpanish. I came to our first staff meeting ofthe year, effusive about the Gandhi Instituteand offered to support any teachers interestedin Gandhi's teachings. I also had ready thecurriculum I created as part of the fellowship.However, the search to disseminate theessence of Gandhi at a school level continued.

The celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.(MLK) at our school presented the perfectbridge for introducing Gandhi and the idea ofnonviolence to the school. In my speech atthat event I focused on the connectionsbetween Gandhi and MLK and how their legacies have informed my life. I underscoredthe significance and benefits for school children of the Gandhian tools of nonviolencewhich may allow them to face challenges intheir lifetime from playground bullies to issuessuch as sustainability, wealth distribution, andimpact of war.

During the event, many of my teacher-col-leagues joined in, linking their curriculum toideas of nonviolence. We then decided to discuss Gandhi and nonviolence in groups ofstudents divided by age.

With the youngest students, we discussedwhat we do when we are angry and do how toavoid violence? We focused on using ourbreath as a tool to accepting and transformingour feelings. With the older students, wewatched a moving digital story by ChristianBracho, from the Ahimsa Institute, called "TheWay You Dream" in which he linked Gandhi,Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thoreau's ideas ofnonviolence.

The Junior High students created and per-formed a conversation between Gandhi andMartin Luther King, Jr. (in Spanish) in whichthey talked about issues from Khadi and theloin cloth aesthetics to the Iraq war.

Students and teachers alike embraced theidea of nonviolence through singing We ShallOvercome, listening to a gospel choir, exploringdifferences between Martin Luther King, Jr.and Malcolm X, and creating a paper chainlink documenting their own acts of kindness.

Nonviolence is now part of our school vocabulary, wending its way into our culture,shaping our thoughts, and integrating Gandhiinto our llives.

Michele Milner teaches Spanish at SequoyahSchool in Pasadena, CA.

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Kindergarten through third grade students talk abouthow to manage anger with Ahimsa Center Fellow,Michele Milner.

Sequoyah students share a paper chain documentingacts of kindness.

Jain Center of Southern California Hosts Fellows from 2007 Ahimsa Institute

Gandhi at the Speed of ThoughtBy Sarika Ravindran

I was first introduced to Mahatma Gandhi atthe age of 11 from my maternal grandfather,who was a dedicated Gandhian. He and manylike him had learned and lived Gandhi’s way ofnon-violence, compassion, tolerance and for-giveness. I was told as a child that the ideasof Gandhi take a lifetime to practice. It is aslow and simmering process. But once itbegins to boil over, it becomes an unstoppablejuggernaut; spilling over and influencing spaceand activity around it. Did it not influence anentire nation in one generation and then sever-al others after it?

What I recall from reading Gandhi’s autobio-graphy, My Experiments with Truth, are thelines, “I have nothing new to say. Truth andAhimsa are as old as the hills.” Indeed, so oldare they that we might have learned to circum-vent and look around or beyond them today,toward answers that provide more instantresults.

In this moment, we’re essentially a world culturethat’s looking more outward rather thaninward. I’m looking for a car that drives fasterthan the one I drove yesterday, or a chip thatprocesses information faster than the one Iused the day before. Of course, I’m not lookingto become better than the person I was yester-day, or calmer than I was the day before.There are many others like me. We’re in a clubthat’s being trained to breathe faster, use“shrter wrds” to get across our messages, get“instant credit reports,” and generally havemore things done while we’re having a go atlife. Now we prefer faster cars to take usplaces, not our strong feet to get there.

Ahimsa Center programs offer one morechance for us to revisit the ways that we’vebeen trained to think as a generation. It offersour children a chance to write better things ona slate that is cleaner. Like us, they are beingtrained to produce faster results. That is thenature of the beast today. Imagine for amoment therefore, if they were trained to craftemails of compassion, build web-sites of toler-ance, blogs of peace, and support technologiesthat build on truth. Imagine a world where non-violence and compassion are not just practiced,but practiced faster! Could there be a doublewhammy sweeter than that?

The Ahimsa Center is a tool that offers to turnup the heat on a simmering philosophy. Itoffers us an opportunity to go back and visitthe hills.

Sarika Ravindranholds a Master's inStrategic PublicRelations from USC'sAnnenberg School ofJournalism. She is akeen student ofHindustani classicalvocal music and cur-rently trains under theeminent classicalvocalist, Smt. LakshmiShankar.

KARUNYACoomi B. Sing, Ph.D.

Dr. Coomi B. Singh isa sociologist andfounder member of anNGO called PASSAGESwhich focuses on thephysical, mental, legaland social issues per-taining to women,especially breast cancer patients. Sheis also a poet and awriter.

Various techniques help us to understand ourtrue selves. Meditation, breath awareness,visualization are some such methods. In myjourney to discover my soul or spiritual self, Ifound a true friend. I share with you a poem I have written and which is very close to myheart. I have named the poem (and my spiritual self) ‘Karunya’ which means compas-sion and wisdom.

Karuyna, my eyes see your beauty,my heart feels your pure joy.Your truth, purity and love,are like an eternal flame;a light that burns within my heart.You are the most divine thingthat I have seen on earth.

Karunya, the time you spend with me daily, when I meditate,I gratefully acknowledge.Being with you is ecstasy!A mortal, I cannot express my love;you are radiance, light and air.Your transparent purity moves my heart.

Karunya, in that magnificent garden,our sanctuary, you come to me,bringing your wisdom and experienceof thousands of years…your message, guidance and peace.My heart swells with love for you,and you will help as I walk this earth.Karunya, I know that you will never leave me.

I trust your wisdom and your love.You are the purest part of me;you are my essence, my soul.If only I could be like you!You nurture me with your devotion,I am comforted, I am safe.

Nonviolence of the Mind:Insights from the Jain Tradition By Aidan Rankin, Ph.D.

Jainism is a philosophy of balance. It emphasizesequality, but regards every life as unique, individual and sacred. It confers rights on allbeings (not just humans), but stresses theresponsibilities conferred by intellectual andspiritual maturity. And although each life isunique, all of life is interconnected, so that inthe words of Mahavira, the twenty-fourththirthankara of the Jains, “non-violence to allbeings is kindness to oneself.”

NONVIOLENCE ANDTHE COMMUNITY

Editorial by

Anila Strahan

Life in our globalsociety is fast,and is gettingfaster. The digitalage is shrinkingtime and space.Not too long ago,when we wantedto know the timeof day, we couldlook at our watch

and see the second hand sweep across thedial. But things have changed. Now evenwith our digital watches and gigabytes ofcomputer memory, we are finding it hard tokeep up. Most of us are working harder andlonger, and worrying about the things weneed. And just when we see a glimmer oflight, and hope that we can see the end ofthe tunnel, the all pervasive media with itsbarrage of glitz and glamour entices us withadvertisements and things we believe wemust have. And when our conscience givesa little twinge, we feel guilty. With our attentionexternally focused, we keep grasping formore and more things. Still life seems uncertain,and we sense that something is missingbecause we don’t feel happy. With our minds inthis chaotic state, it is easy to become intolerantand angry, and to lash out at others withwords that hurt, and with weapons that kill.

The true purpose of life, the Dalai Lama tellsus, is to be happy. But when the preoccupa-tions of daily life keep us distracted, how cantrue happiness be achieved? I believe weneed to direct our gaze to the inner-self, andto pay attention to what is going on in ourminds. We spend so much time competingwith others, judging others, and doubting others,but we spend no time to find out who we are.The sages tells us to “know thyself and thetrue source of happiness that is within youwill be revealed.”

The authors of the the following articles inthe community section share their insight forconnecting with the inner-self to achievecompassion, love, caring, non-violence, andhappiness. Paying attention to the inner-selfwe learn that our actions are directed by ourthoughts, and our thoughts get entangled inour emotions. Directing our gaze within canhelp us to stabilize our emotions, andimprove our practice of ahimsa—non-violence in thought and action.

Anila Strahan worked as Program Managerfor NASA. Her most recent work for NASAwas as Program Manager at the NASATechnology Commercialization Center at CalPoly, Pomona. She is currently completingher doctorate in Organizational Leadership atLa Verne University, La Verne, CA.

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This quest for balance extends to the way weformulate ideas. The Jain concept of anekan-tavada, or many-sidedness, recognizes that weare all on a journey to discover the truth andthat the more dogmatic one is the farthest fromarriving at truth. Like a summit of a mountain,truth can be reached by a variety of paths. It islike the clear light of a diamond viewedthrough many facets. However, unlike much ofpost-modernism, anekantavada acknowledgesthat objective truth exists, but is approachedthrough humility rather than certainty.

In the Western context, anekantavada chal-lenges the adversarial approach to politics, forexample ‘left’ versus ‘right’, ‘pro-choice’ versus‘pro-life,’ and the foreign policy of ‘either you’rewith us or against us.’ In an inter-dependentworld, surely it is more genuinely practical totake a more holistic view of a political or socialproblem, rather than adopt the polarized posi-tions that lead to the use of force. Peace is notjust the absence of war, but the nonviolence ofthe mind.

Aidan Rankin is the author of The Jain Path:Ancient Wisdom(Winchester,Washington DC: OBooks, 2006). In thisbook Dr. Rankinexamines the rele-vance of Jain values, especiallyahimsa, to the

problems of social conflicts and the issues related to the environment and the globalwarming. Book is available at www.o-books.com

India: My Experience inCompassion and PeaceBy Alexandra Mara Pulst-Korenberg

I desperately wanted to be compassionate, butas hard as I tried, I felt I always fell short.Stuck in a competitive college environment, itseemed that being selfless was a surefire wayfor me to fall behind the pack in the race to bethe best of the brightest. I was unfulfilled andunhappy. It was in my junior year of collegethat I came in contact with India. In my questfor compassion, this gave me the chance toget away from what I was, and to emerge as aperson pursuing love and caring. But as mymom wisely suggested, my journey began longbefore I boarded the plane.

I had little idea of what I could do in India.Therefore, when I got there, I relied largely onothers to show me the way. People wereextremely generous, some of whom I had onlyknown for a few days. They spent hours talkingto me to help me find what would help me inmy search, and to connect me with others whocould help. One of them even called his familyand friends all over India to plan my stay withthem. I had my first lesson in compassion.Throughout my time in India, I relied on thegenerosity of those who didn’t know me at all.I was truly welcomed with open arms by people.

These people and their selfless actions taughtme that it is possible to give without expectinganything in return. I learned that altruismexists. I saw the inner happiness of those whoare altruistic, and experienced the glow and

warmth that radiatednot only outward butalso within. Thosewho give are infinite-ly happier than thosewho don’t.

I used to get frustratedwhen I saw class-mates slandering afellow student orshunning someonebecause they didn’t

have the right friends. I used to figurativelysmack them in the face with my disapprovaland treatises on what was moral. It made meangry that people did heartless things withouta second thought. But I couldn’t have been fur-ther from the truth with my moral policing.

Gradually during my journey, I realized thatbeing the recipient of such generosity andcoming in contact with people who have thestrength to be beacons of good in a morallygray world was the path to compassion.Experience is not just the best teacher, it is theonly teacher that can inspire us to change. Notonly does experiencing selflessness showpeople that being good is possible in a worldfull of suffering, it also gives them a path to fol-low and hope that others will follow too.

It is my resolve to be a positive force in peo-ple’s lives. Force is not a teacher, and compas-sion cannot be shoved down throats—it isimbibed through every pore on your skin. Beingcompassionate is the only way hatred, anger,and jealousy will abate; it is the only way thosewho are full of negativity will realize their sor-row; the only way we will achieve peace. Keepgiving.

Alexandra Mara Pulst-Korenberg is completingher undergraduate degree at Yale University.

NEWSWORTHYMUSIC: AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIALUPLIFTMENT

By Louise Ghandhi

Over 400,000Venezuelan children,their families andcommunities havebeen touched by thebaton of Jose AntonioAbreu. The baton is amusical one, Abreu aneconomist and musi-cian, who founded aradical, governmentfunded, music educa-

tion program for the underprivileged in 1975,the National System of Youth and Children’sOrchestras of Venezuela, or El Sistema (theSystem). Children, 90% from poor back-grounds, all receive a free, intense musical

training as early as the age of 2 and participatein one of the ensembles, orchestras or choirsspread over 120 centers in the country. The results, musical and social, areprodigious.

“Essentially a project for human development”as Abreu characterized it, “the goal is to res-cue the children.” Los Angeles PhilharmonicAssociation President Deborah Borda wasmoved to tears when she visited Caracas tosee the System first hand. “We are talkingabout taking kids who are literally living on thestreet and changing their lives.” She callsAbreu “the Mother Teresa of music.”

Rescue children the System did. One gave upa life of arrests for armed robbery and drugoffences once given a clarinet: “it felt muchbetter in my hands than a gun.” Another, thecharismatic Gustavo Dudamel, now 26, wasrecently selected as director of the LosAngeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He says:“many of the boys from my class went on tobecome involved in drugs and crime. Thosewho played music did not.”

Abreu who has received many awards, includ-ing UNESCO’s title of "Ambassador for Peace"and the “Right Livelihood Award”, elaborates:“For the children that we work with, music ispractically the only way to a dignified socialdestiny. Poverty means loneliness, sadness,anonymity. An orchestra means joy, motivation,teamwork, the aspiration to success. It is a bigfamily which is dedicated to harmony, to thosebeautiful things which only music brings tohuman beings."

The System, cited as “a beacon of hope in atroubled world” and “an outstanding exampleof poverty reduction,” is spreading to othercountries. In Los Angeles, the Philharmonichas initiated musical-social projects in collabo-ration with Abreu who is developing networksof orchestras under UNESCO’s interdisciplinaryproject “Toward a Culture of Peace.”

Dudamel, the newest international rising star in classical music, is of the same spirit: “Music is all about harmony, but it’s not just about harmony of the music itself, it’s the need forharmony in the people who play the musictogether.”

Louise Ghandhi teaches History andGeography at Pasadena City College, GlendaleCommunity College and Citrus College.

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Jose Antonio Abreu is the winner of Canada’s 2008 Glenn Gould Prize.

Established in 2004 in the College of Letters,Arts, and Social Sciences at California StatePolytechnic University, Pomona, the AhimsaCenter is focused on interdisciplinary teachingand learning about nonviolence and its practical applications at personal, inter-personal, societal, national and internationallevels. Educational and outreach initiatives ofthe Center facilitate an understanding of ahimsa as a positive force informing the waysof thinking as well as living.

The Center provides an institutional forum toinnovatively serve and foster synergistic inter-actions among many important stakeholders.Educational initiatives of the Center, such as

the establishment of the Nonviolence StudiesMinor on our campus, help students acquirean appreciation of nonviolence at intellectualand practical levels. To integrate in the K-12curricula an interdisciplinary understanding ofnonviolence and nonviolent social change, theCenter has launched a fellowship program forthe K-12 educators and offers summer institutesfor them. Finally, for the benefit of the largercommunity, the Center organizes conferences,symposia, lectures, dialogues, workshops, andspecial events focusing on a deeper under-standing of nonviolence as a way of life.

The Center is playing a pioneering role by fos-tering a vision in which each individual is an

important player in building and sustaining aculture of nonviolence. It is a vision for cooper-ation and collaboration among fellow humanbeings on the basis of mutual respect, trustand self-restraint. It is a vision where one seesthat any violence inflicted on others is a vio-lence inflicted on oneself.

ABOUT THE AHIMSA CENTER

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE AHIMSA CENTER TODAY!The two-year membership will include admission to regular public events and to a world-class conference on Gandhi in 2008, plus discounted admission to special events. For more information, visit the center web site:

www.csupomona.edu/ahimsacenter or call 909-869-3868, or email ahimsacenter@csupomona.edu.

Dialogue with Rajashree BirlaGandhi’s Ideal of Trusteeship: TheRole of Business in Society April 27, 2008, 2:00-4:30 p.m.

What did Gandhi mean by his ideal role oftrusteeship for business leaders? How canhis ideal of trusteeship serve as a source ofinspiration and guidance for today’s businessendeavors in the domain of corporate socialresponsibility? Mrs. Rajashree Birla willaddress these important and timely issues,and will share with us her vision of the properrole of business in society.

Rajashree Birla is apacesetter in the area of corporate social respon-sibility. She chairs theAditya Birla Centre forCommunity Initiativesand Rural Development,the apex body responsiblefor development projects

and social welfare work across 40 companiesin the Aditya Birla Group. The Centre’s workcovers more than 3700 villages with 7 millionpeople, and involves running 41 schools and16 hospitals. She is also on the Boards ofDirectors of all the major companies ofAditya Birla Group in India, Thailand,Indonesia, Philippines and Egypt. Mrs. Birlahas received numerous awards and honorsfor her community and philanthropic activitiesand serves on the boards of several majororganizations. Birla family had significantinvolvement in India’s independence movementand was a major supporter of MahatmaGandhi’s nonviolent campaigns against theBritish rule. The family continues to activelysupport Gandhian institutions and initiatives. For more information including registration visit:www.csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter/

Hamilton and Denise BrewartInternational Conference on NonviolenceRediscovering Gandhian Wisdom:Building a Peaceful FutureOctober 17-19, 2008

The conference will highlight the urgent needto rediscover Gandhian wisdom grounded inAhimsa and Truth to help us chart a morepeaceful and more harmonious human future.This conference will bring together from allaround the world leading Gandhian scholarsand exemplars of Gandhian values.

Collectively we will celebrate Gandhi’s gifts tohumanity, and explore how we can apply hiswisdom to find enduring solutions for the vexingpolitical, social and personal problems weface.

The lessons derived at the conference will bevital for fostering a culture of nonviolence,and provide a major impetus for educationabout nonviolence in schools and colleges.

The special significance of the conferencelies in its timing which is close to two importantcentennials associated with Gandhi’s life andwork. In 1907 Gandhi first launched his revolu-tionary satyagraha campaign in South Africa,and in 1909 he wrote Hind Swaraj--widelyregarded as his seminal work, which arguesfor a civilization based on values such as non-violence and truth.

Inspired by the soul force, satyagrahabecame Gandhi’s modus operandi for com-bating political oppression and socio-eco-nomic injustice. Several movements in thetwentieth century followed the Gandhian paradigm and some are continuing to do so indifferent parts of the world.

The roster of distinguished scholars andpractitioners featured in the conferenceincludes:

Rajni Bakshi. Independent scholar and Journalist,author of Bapu Kuti, Mumbai. Akeel Bilgrami. Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy,Columbia University.Charles R. DiSalvo. W.A. Potesta Professor of Law,West Virginia University.Rajmohan Gandhi. Biographer and grandson of theMahatma, Professor at the University of Illinois, UC.Vibha Gupta. Director, Rural Women TechnologyCenter, Magan Sanghralaya Samiti, Wardha.Prasad Kaipa. Executive Director, Center of Excellencefor Leadership, Innovation and Change at ISB.Bernard LaFayette, Jr. Director,Center for Nonviolenceand Peace Studies,University of Rhode Island.Nipun Mehta. Founder, Charityfocus.org (a volunteerorganization).James O’Toole. The Daniels Distinguished Professor ofBusiness Ethics, Denver University. Anthony Parel. Professor Emeritus of Political Science,University of Calgary. Joseph Prabhu. Professor of Philosophy, CaliforniaState University, Los Angeles. Samdhong Rinpoche. Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) ofTibet and Professor, Dharamsala. Lloyd Rudolph. Professor Emeritus of Political Science,University of Chicago. Susanne Rudolph. William Benton DistinguishedService Professor of Political Science, Emerita,University of Chicago.Anil Sadgopal. Former Dean, School of Education,Delhi University; and Social Activist.Nirmal Sethia. Professor of Management and HumanResources, Cal Poly Pomona.Tara Sethia. Professor of History and Director ofAhimsa Center, Cal Poly Pomona.Savita Singh. Director, Gandhi Smriti and DarshanSamiti, New Delhi.

For more information including registration visit:www.csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter/

UPCOMING PROGRAMS OF THE CENTER

Ahimsa CenterCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona

3801 West Temple AvenuePomona, CA 91768

(909) 869-3868 ahimsacenter@csupomona.eduwww.csupomona.edu/ahimsacenter

Director: Dr. Tara Sethiatsethia@csupomona.edu