The Dharmic Traditions of India
DCF aims to build robust academic infrastructure to enhance an accurate and authentic study of all the Dharmic traditions i.e. the Dharmic Religions that arose from the soil of India such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, in partnership with the respective heritage communities. DCF hopes to enhance philanthropy that supports the study of Indic Civilization, Culture, Indian Spirituality, India’s wisdom traditions and its knowledge systems in modern University environments.
Some initiatives that DCF has already undertaken in this regard are:
- Funded the “Swami Vivekananda Fellowship in Dharma Studies”, for the last 2 years (from September 2012 to June 2014), at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Under this fellowship, Prof. Gerald Larson taught undergraduate courses in the above 4 Indic religions, and his classes were attended over 100 students during each year.
- Funded a “Center for Dharma Studies” at Claremont Lincoln University (CLU), which was coordinated by Prof. Rita Sherma. The Center also launched the “International Journal for Dharma Studies” being brought out by the prestigious “Springer” publishers, to promote scholarly articles on Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.
- Supporting the project of bringing out a reference book for undergraduate students, for a comprehensive coverage of the four major Indic Religions and traditions. Dr. Veena Howard, professor of Indian philosophy at California State University, Fresno, is coordinating this project.
- DCF has been in close communication with prominent academic forums and persons from the Jain and Sikh communities, for a coordinated, collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership for the academic study of the above four Dharma traditions
- DCF is also in the process of creating a Center for Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), by creating a cluster of chairs in Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist studies. It will be aimed to produce World-class scholars and publications in this domain.
- DCF is currently exploring the possibility of developing a “Center for the Study of Indic Civilization and Dharmic religions” also called the “India Center” at the University of California, Irvine.
