Goals and Objectives
To promote philanthropic giving for creating academic and intellectual infrastructure for the systematic study of “Dharma”, its interpretation and application in modern contexts, in formal academic settings.
Establishing a Center of Excellence
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Establishing a Faculty Position
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Providing Student Support
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Supporting Scholarship and Research
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Objectives
Promoting the systematic study of “Dharma’, distinguishing India’s unique civilizational insights in a modern day idiom and enabling its interpretation and application in the world
Ensuring that the systematic study of India and Indic Civilization is freed up from the rubric of “South Asian studies”, and enshrined in indigenous epistemological perspectives
Creating Visiting and Tenured Professorships, Endowed Academic Chairs, Fellowships, Scholarships, Centers and Academic institutions for the Study of Dharma
Establishing these centers of academic study within the institutions of higher education that are open to the vision of Dharma Civilization Foundation in the United States, Canada, India and beyond
Supporting and sponsoring research that examines the relevance of Dharma to contemporary concerns and globally significant issues
Establishing think tanks which develop position papers to aid the adoption of Dharma-centered policies towards the solution of challenges facing humanity
Our Projects
- Funded “Swami Vivekananda Visiting faculty in Hindu Studies”, at the University of Southern California (USC), for 2 years, at a cost of 120,000 dollars per year, occupied by Prof. Rita Sherma, (a scholar-practitioner).
- Funded “Swami Vivekananda Fellowship in Dharma Studies” at the University of California, Irvine, (UCI), for 2 years, occupied by Prof. Gerald Larson, former provost of University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
- Organized a major International Academic conference on the “Life & legacy of Swami Vivekananda”, on October 18th and 19th 2013, at USC, and attended by 29 scholars from around the World
- Held a day-long academic retreat following the above conference, on October 20th, at USC, in which over 25 professors from the field of Hindu & India-related studies, from North America, Europe & India participated, to explore the challenges and opportunities in the field
- Funding development of MA level syllabus in “Indic Civilizational Studies”, to be introduced in select US universities and some of the deemed private Indian universities, by a group of academicians, headed by renowned Prof. Kapil Kapoor, former pro Vice-chancellor of JNU, New Delhi
- Partially funded a MA level student in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Los Angeles and a PhD level student in Hindu Studies at Cambridge University, UK, with a goal to expand the community of scholars in the field.
- Negotiating an MOU with University of California, Irvine (UCI), to establish “Thakkar Family-DCF Chair” in Vedic Studies, at a cost of 1.5 million dollars.
Vision for 2014 & beyond
- Establishment of the Swami Vivekananda Endowed Chair in Hindu Studies at USC(the first ever, in any US university in this field), at a cost of 3.3 million dollars by involving over 100 volunteers to actively reach out to more than 1000 donors
- A nation-wide fund raising campaign to raise 3.3 million dollars to establish Swami Dayananda Saraswati Chair in Sanatana Dharma Studies, in Berkeley, CA (one of the largest institutions in the post-graduate study of World Religions). The Chair will be the nucleus for establishing the “Graduate School of Hindu Dharma Studies”. This effort will be in active collaboration with Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, PA
- Active collaboration with the Art of Living Foundation to establish a Sri Sri Ravishankar Chair in the field of Applied Dharma at USC.
- Active collaboration with the Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation, (New Jersey), to establish the Adi Shankara Chair in the study of Vedanta & Sanskrit
- Preliminary discussions are underway with several other major spiritual/religious institutions of Indic origin such as OSHO community, BAPS, Chinmaya Mission, Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba Trust, Ammachi, Swadhyaya Parivar (Shri Pandurang Athavale-Dada),etc. to create optimum academic presence & space for Indic Religions & Culture
- Plans to provide about 100,000 dollars to academicians and scholars, to pursue research and create position papers on strategically chosen areas and topics on “Applied Dharma”, in different fields of humanities and to organize a major International Conference, most likely in India, in the next 8 to 12 months.
- Organizing an academic conference at USC in September 2014, on the theme of “Applied Dharma & Health”
