This advanced Sanskrit course is a direct continuation of Sanskrit 3 and forms part of Arihanta Institute’s ongoing faculty–student research project on Hemacandra’s Yoga-śāstra and its Svopajña-vivaraṇa commentary. Designed for students who have completed a foundational first-year Sanskrit sequence and can read intermediate prose and verse texts, the course applies grammatical and interpretive knowledge to the translation and analysis of this seminal Jain treatise. Through the close reading of Yoga-śāstra passages and their commentarial explanations, students deepen their understanding of Sanskrit syntax, Jain philosophical vocabulary, and classical scholastic style while situating the text within broader South Asian intellectual traditions. In addition to its focus on Jain philosophy and hermeneutics, the course provides a linguistic foundation for understanding the evolution of Indo-Aryan languages. Mastery of Sanskrit at this level equips students for further study of the Middle Indo-Aryan Prakrits, Apabhraṃśas, and later vernaculars—languages that are central to the study of Jain and wider South Asian literary traditions. Emphasis is placed on developing publication-quality translation and research skills, integrating philological precision, hermeneutic awareness, and critical engagement with primary and secondary sources. By participating in a collaborative academic environment—where faculty and students contribute to an evolving body of Jain Studies scholarship—students refine their ability to produce rigorous, well-annotated translations suitable for conference presentation or publication. The course culminates in an independent research paper demonstrating mastery of Sanskrit language and commentarial analysis within the context of Hemacandra’s thought and Jain philosophy more broadly. This course is not offered directly for university credit from Arihanta Institute. However, students who wish to receive language credit from their home institutions (including the MA in Engaged Jain Studies at Claremont School of Theology) are encouraged to contact their administrations to explore the possibility of having this course count toward academic credit through their home institutions. Many universities, particularly at the graduate level, provide mechanisms such as a “special reading course,” “directed reading course,” or other forms of independent study that allow students to work with a faculty member at their institution to tailor a course to their specific needs. In the past, Arihanta Institute students have successfully arranged with their home institutions to take our language classes for university credits from their home institutions under such frameworks, with our instructors providing the final grade and grading rubric directly to their institution. If you are interested in pursuing academic credit in this way, please consult with your home institution’s administration about the available options, and Dr. Bohanec will be happy to work with them to submit your grade for the course to them. Learning ObjectivesDevelop advanced Sanskrit reading, translation, and philological skills, demonstrating mastery of complex grammar, syntax, and vocabulary through accurate and idiomatic renderings of primary texts.Analyze and interpret Sanskrit commentarial literature with attention to Jain philosophical frameworks—particularly Hemacandra’s Yoga-śāstra and Svopajña-vivaraṇa—while engaging in comparative hermeneutic dialogue with Hindu and Buddhist traditions.Apply linguistic and hermeneutic methods to assess philosophical arguments, religious language, and the structure of commentarial reasoning in premodern South Asian texts.Situate Jain philosophical texts within broader South Asian and global intellectual traditions, including comparative study of dharmic and Abrahamic perspectives on ethics, epistemology, and contemplative practice.Discuss and critique nuances in South Asian philosophy, theology, linguistics, literature, and culture, demonstrating both technical precision and interpretive depth.Produce publication-quality translation and research projects, integrating philological analysis, hermeneutic reflection, and ethical awareness appropriate to graduate-level scholarship.

This course is designed for students who have completed an introductory first-yearcourse in Sanskrit and who are familiarized with the content of the Devavāṇīpraveśikā or an equivalent primer. Students will engage in the reading and translation of an important source from the Jain canon, along with its commentary. This course aims to deepen students' understanding of Sanskrit language and literature, as well as introduce them to the commentarial style and tradition. We may select specific texts that are relevant to students’ research and thus help students with their research in terms of translating primary sources. Learning Objectives • Develop advanced Sanskrit reading and translation skills.• Analyze and interpret complex Sanskrit texts.• Understand the commentarial style and tradition in Sanskrit literature with aparticular focus on the Jain tradition, but also in conversation with Hindu andBuddhist traditions.• Apply knowledge of Sanskrit grammar and syntax to translation.• Discuss nuances of South Asian philosophy, theology, languages, literature,culture, etc.• Assist and advise students regarding their research in terms of employment oftranslations of primary source texts.

Foundations of Jain Yoga Studies provides students with the historical and philosophical foundations for engaging in the study of Jain yoga. Students will learn about the history of yoga broadly, while also learning core methodologies used to study yoga in the field of Yoga Studies. With this new knowledge and skillset, students will learn how to study Jain yoga and see how it emerged in engagement with other yoga traditions since ancient times and into the present.  Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the foundational history and philosophies of yoga.Perform research using core methodologies used in the field of Yoga Studies.See how Jain Yoga emerged in engagement with other traditions using an Engaged Jain Studies methodology.Present their research on Jain Yoga.

Jain Yoga considers Jain yoga from ancient sources to the present. We will study secondary scholarship analyzing Jain yoga from critical perspectives, while reading translations from Sanskrit and Prakrit primary sources describing Jain yoga. Students will also practice and reflect on their experience of various forms of Jain yoga and meditation, experimenting with what it means to embody Jain yoga principles and techniques in their everyday lives in contemporary society. No prior experience is necessary. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the historical development of Jain Yoga in relationship to the broader historical and religio-philosophical milieus with which Jain authors were engaging.Identify key thinkers in Jain Yoga and understand the particulars of their unique Jain yoga systems.Demonstrate their ability to perform and present basic research and writing in relation to the field of Jain Yoga, Yoga Studies, and Jain Studies.Practice fundamental Jain yoga and meditation techniques and understand how these practices are relevant for their own lives in contemporary society. Student Reviews"Fantastic course to learn about Jain Yoga and its development." — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller's way of teaching is a wonderful way to learn, allowing the information to be relevant to each of the students in their course of study.”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "Excellent teaching, fantastic yoga demonstration videos, and group readings."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "It was very interactive and well-done. I believe that it was very effective the way that it was organized."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "All of the sūtra readings from the rare and no longer published books were most helpful."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Highlights of the course were the knowledge of the teacher and the students. It was a very powerful learning experience.”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is doing excellent work!”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024

Social Justice and Modern Yoga surveys the history and contemporary practice of modern yoga and its intersection with issues of social justice. Students will encounter both the major names and lineages in the history of transnational modern yoga as well as some of the lesser-known figures who have contributed to the development of transnational yoga into the present. The course is structured both historically and thematically, presenting topics including, but not limited to, yoga’s intersections with warrior asceticism, colonization, non-violent social justice movements, nationalism, Orientalism, the carceral system, racism, White supremacy, appropriation, gender, foodways, speciesism, pollution, necropolitics, biopolitics, neoliberal capitalism, and abuse. Students will be trained in the basic methods of writing yoga ethnography and social history and will complete an ethnographic research project on a topic of their choice related to the academic field of Modern Yoga Studies. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand central historical developments of transnational modern yoga.Understand how particular forms of modern yoga are entangled with particular issues of social justice.Perform and present the results of basic ethnographic fieldwork or social historical research pertaining to a contemporary yoga community with particular attention to an issue of social justice.Gain a working knowledge of some of the major issues and questions in the field of Modern Yoga Studies. Student Reviews"Learning from Dr. Miller was an incredible gift. His wisdom and knowledge of these topics are so helpful." — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is a tremendous resource of information. His style of teaching is helpful, conversational, and inclusive. I appreciate how he asked the class questions and got us thinking in new ways. I would highly recommend this course.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "The prerecorded lectures that Professor Miller shared before each class were very helpful. For a working professional like me this was a big relief!” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024  “Dr. Miller's passion for the topics came through in all classes and lectures.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “It was great to have students from other institutes to learn with. Continuing this is important for global perspectives.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is a tremendous resource of information. His style of teaching is helpful, conversational, and inclusive. I appreciate how he asked the class questions and got us thinking in new ways. I would highly recommend this course.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024

The “Haṭha Yoga and Jain Yoga” course carefully considers the development of the haṭha yoga tradition, the medieval forms of yoga that emerged after India’s classical period, and which are the predecessors of today’s forms of physical yoga. Students are offered the opportunity to undertake the postural, breathing, and meditation techniques found in medieval haṭha yoga texts as well as to see how these texts influenced, or were perhaps influenced by, the Jain yoga tradition in particular. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the historical development and context of haṭha yoga traditions, including their medieval and modern Jain forms.Analyze intertextual engagements between haṭha yoga texts and Jain yoga texts.Engage in primary postural, breathing, and meditation techniques from medieval haṭha yoga texts.Undertake and present their research in the field of Yoga Studies and Engaged Jain Studies with a particular focus on haṭha yoga traditions.