Explore the history, philosophies, and many meanings of the popular Jain concept known as “anekāntavāda”. Begin by exploring anekāntavāda’s rich history and understand why this term means much more than just “intellectual ahiṃsā”. Next, appreciate the philosophical complexity of anekāntavāda and its variant applications through nayavāda, syādvāda, saptabhaṅgī, and nikṣepa.
Finally, with this philosophy and history in mind, bring your fresh and deeper understanding of anekāntavāda into the present and apply it to one of many important questions of contemporary society.
Learning Area

Jain Philosophy, History & Anthropology

Yoga, Self-care and Spirituality
Instructor

Christopher Miller, PhD
Christopher Jain Miller, the co-founder and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Arihanta Institute, completed his PhD in the Study of Religion at the University of California, Davis. He is Professor of Jain and Yoga Studies at Arihanta Institute, Visiting Researcher at the University of Zürich's Asien-Orient-Institut, and Visiting Professor at Claremont School of Theology. Christopher's primary fields of research interest are Yoga Studies and Engaged Jain Studies, and he currently serves as the co-chair of the Yoga in Theory and Practice Unit at the American Academy of Religion as well as on the steering committees for the Dharma Academy of North America (DANAM) and the Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference. Christopher is the author of Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge 2024) and the co-editor of Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement (SUNY 2025) as well as Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age (Lexington 2020).