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$800K Gift Introduces Jain Studies to CSUN

June 2, 2021

Exposure to a wide range of cultures and faiths is paramount to providing students with a well-rounded higher education, and to building an enlightened and inclusive society. With this shared objective, California State University, Northridge collaborated with Drs. Jasvant Modi and Meera Modi on their $800,000 gift to support the Bhagvan Ajitnath Endowed Professorship in Jain Studies in CSUN’s Department of Religious Studies, part of the College of Humanities.

The principal objective of the endowment is the creation and continued offering of courses on the fundamental...

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Pittsburgh religious leaders offer prayers, comfort and encouragement during COVID memorial service

March 19, 2021

Out of grief and sheer frustration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rev. Karie Charlton of Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside admitted that she cried herself to sleep at several points throughout the past year.

In sharing her story of grief and vulnerability, Rev. Charlton said she hopes others may feel inspired to make themselves vulnerable to their loved ones as well during such a difficult time.

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Religious Studies Department Creates Chair of Jain Studies Following $1 Million Donation

February 1, 2021

Following a $1 million joint donation from several individuals through the Vardhamana Charitable Foundation, Narendra & Rita Parson Family Trust and Shah Family Foundation, UC Santa Barbara established and began the search for a chair of Jain Studies within the Department of Religious Studies to further the study of Jain traditions at the university.

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Religious leaders call on Mandalay Bay to remove Hindu, Jain statues from cocktail lounge

June 24, 2020

Las Vegas leaders from various religious faiths called on Las Vegas Strip resort Mandalay Bay to remove statues of various Hindu and Jain deities from the Foundation Room night club.

The leaders, including Greek Orthodox Christian Priest Stephen Karcher, Buddhist Priest Matthew Fisher and Jewish Rabbu ElizaBeth Beyer, are calling the statues inappropriate and disrespectful.

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Jain Center of Southern California Raises, Distributes $125,000 for COVID-19 Relief

June 23, 2020

With the world “turned upside down” because of the pandemic and the ensuing hardship caused by death, unemployment, the challenge of putting food on the table and disruption in academic programs, the Jain Center of Southern California here said it is doing its best to offset the troubles.

Led by Dr. Jayesh Shah, Indian American president of JCSC, members have started a Coronavirus Humanitarian Relief Fund. They have not only been able to quickly raise $125,000 but have also put the money to immediate use to help people in the areas surrounding the temple and center.

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#NamaSlay, Or How Black Women Are Using Trap Yoga as a Mode of Spiritual Resistance | Religion Dispatches

July 18, 2017
As rapper Future mumbled over the speakers, I exhaled and crouched down for a very shaky approximation of a warrior pose. This was my first trap yoga class, and I was determined not to look like the novice I was. Studio 262 is a recent addition to South Los Angeles. Blocks away from the University of Southern California, the new space is becoming a hub for students as well as locals. Among their many class offerings, the one that caught my eye... Read more about #NamaSlay, Or How Black Women Are Using Trap Yoga as a Mode of Spiritual Resistance | Religion Dispatches