International School for Jain Studies (A Division of Amar Prerana Trust) Fortnightly Newsletter Vol#06 | Issue#8| No.02 | August 2023 Prof. S. Cromwell Crawford Dec. 13, 1927 – Aug. 11, 2023
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Dear Reader, Jai Jinendra! Born in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Prof. Crawford earned his Bachelor of Divinity from Serampore University in West Bengal, India in 1952, Master of Arts (Philosophy/Ethics) from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1959, and Doctor of Theology from Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California in 1966. He started his career as a lecturer at Union Theological College in Pune in 1952 and joined the Department of Religion at the University of Hawaii in 1965 as a professor which became his field of action. His scope of work is vast that made his presence felt in varied fields of theology, religion, philosophy, Ayurveda and many more. His fluency in English, Latin, Greek, French, Hindi and Sanskrit enriched his comprehension and assisted him in authoring several books and papers. ISJS recollects the sweet time spent with Prof. Crawford and cherishes his able guidance to which this institute pays heartfelt tribute and pledges to live to his expectations. 2 It was just yesterday when the International School for Jain Studies ‘ISJS’ opened its eyes to the vision of Dr. S. Cromwell Crawford, an enterprising individual, who foresighted the bright future of ISJS in the hands of Dr. Shugan C Jain. The expertise of Dr. Crawford, his learned wisdom of Hinduism, his attachment to India, and his love for Jain tradition had created vast opportunities in the Jain arena.
Professor S. Cromwell Crawford : In humble memories of ISJS Shugan C Jain In January 2005, I met him for the first time, more as an aspirant for starting International School for Jain Studies, than as a friend or colleague. Since then, our relationship changed to colleagues and friends. He came to India again on the inauguration of ISJS in 2005 wherein we spent some time together discussing how ISJS should be run and its potential to promote Jains studies globally. He insisted that I first complete my doctorate to be associated with ISJS. As luck would have, we both attended the convocation in Udaipur in 2007 where he was honored with D. Litt. and I with Ph.D. We used to meet frequently in the USA and India during which he would provide me with contacts to universities, professors and the literature useful to conduct ISJS activities effectively. But the best came in 2007, when he and his wife spent almost three weeks with us at our home in New Delhi. During that time, he delivered a series of lectures at important universities that was beneficial to ISJS. That was the predominant time when I gathered his wisdom on Jain and Philosophical studies. After his visit, Prof. Jaini spent three weeks with us at our home and made a statement: ISJS will soon need to organize its classes at Red Fort as the interest in enrollments kept on increasing. I think in 2012, ISJS did have the highest enrollment of over 80 participants and Prof. Crawford had sent a complimentary message to me. Our contacts were getting less frequent due to technological inadequacies and perhaps his advancing age and my preoccupation with establishing ISJS. TRIBUTE PROF. S. CROMWELL CRAWFORD 3
ISJS and I owe a lot of our significant developments as an international body to him. He was a strong blend of Indian-British-American citizen and, above all, a promoter of religious harmony and peace globally, also due to his stay with the University of Hawaii – a place where East meets West. I pray for peace to his soul and strength to his wife Mrs. Matild Crawford. 4 The Father of International School for Jain Studies is no more Sulekh C Jain Professor Cromwell Crawford, renowned educator of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii for nearly 40 years breathed his last at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 11, 2023. He was 95 years old. He is survived by his wife Matild who is a neurosurgeon from Hungary. Cromwell Crawford did Doctor of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California in1966; Master of Arts (Philosophy/Ethics), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana in 1959; and Bachelor of Divinity (Theology/ Philosophy/ History of Religions) with Distinctions, Distinctions, Serampore Serampore University, West Bengal, India in 1952.
Dr. Szabo Cromwell Crawford retired as the Chairman and Professor of the Dept. of Religions at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. He was there for nearly 40 years and guided many Ph.D. students in religious studies. Cromwell authored many books and research papers. He did significant and somewhat pioneering research in Bioethics and Hinduism. He inspired us Jains, too, to present the same subject from a Jain perspective. His latest two books on Bioethics and Hinduism were published by the State University of New York Press and have been best sellers. He was regularly invited to speak at JAINA and YJA conventions. He was an advisor to Jain Spirit magazine, Ahimsa Times, the Jain web portal www.jainsamaj.org (Ahimsa Foundation), and several other religious institutions. He was a pure vegetarian and followed the principles of Jainism. Dr. Crawford was familiar with India, Indian culture and spoke Hindi. He was born at Jhansi, Madhya Pradesh. His parents were English in British army. Dr. Cromwell had been to India many times and was invited and decorated by Govt. of India, Acharya Mahapragya, and others. Cromwell felt that the studies in Hinduism and Buddhism were well represented in academia but not in Jainism. At each JAINA convention and in private meetings he exhorted some of us Jains in the USA to fill this void. He often said that • Jainism is least known and most misunderstood in academia and in the general American public. • Study of Jain dharma and the Jain community has not been on the radar screens of the academia and as a result, the study of Jain dharma has significantly lagged that of other religions in the colleges and universities of North America. 5
6 • The main impediments were the lack of younger and English-speaking Jain studies scholars and the lack of a viable structure to train new scholars. • Only a handful English-speaking scholars were available in those days and fewer young Jain scholars were being trained to take the place of the aging group of established Jain scholars. He did not just stop at giving speeches. Being a visionary, he, in the form of the International School for Jain Studies (ISJS) conceived an innovative, action-oriented and doable plan. The sole aim of this program was to educate and train young scholars in Jainism who eventually will occupy academic positions in universities around the world. With the concept and the details of this plan, towards the end of 2004, he, and I (Dr. Sulekh C. Jain (Past president of JAINA)) travelled to India and met with many Jain leaders and prominent monks of all 4 Jain traditions in many parts of India. Initially, the reception to this concept was lukewarm or poor and there were not many takers, but we were not ready to give up. Towards the end of our 6-week tour in India, we met Dr. Shugan Chand Jain of Delhi who liked the idea and volunteered with his tan, man and dhan to make this happen and in 2005 ISJS was born. These were the reasons ISJS was established in 2005.
7 He clearly laid down the following mission and working of ISJS: • In a nutshell, the program is to welcome students and faculty members from any recognized/accredited university to India for structured courses on Jainism. • ISSJ should be a comprehensive resource to facilitate the establishment and promotion of Jain academic studies at universities and research institutions in the world so that a rational understanding of Jain studies develops within academia. • ISJS is to be built on collaboration and cooperation of institutions and individuals all over the world. • By making India a classroom, ISJS will provide an experiential introduction to Jainism and its culture. • ISJS must be non-denominational, non-sectarian, and secular in its approach. • It will not preach or proselytize. • The main emphasis of ISJS is on increasing awareness, knowledge, and interest in Jainism among scholars, teachers, and students. ISJS is not a university or a college. However, with its principle of collaboration, several universities now accredit the programs. ISJS seeks to use the resources and infrastructure of all its collaborating organizations. It does not compete with any institution or organization. ISJS has been a game changer and more than 1000 scholars and students (from many countries and universities) constitute its alumni community. We owe all this glory, success, and achievement of ISJS to Prof. Dr. Cromwell Crawford. Where we are today is all because of him. Click here to read the welcoming remarks by Prof. Cromwell Crawford to the inaugural ISJS class of 2005.
8 True Visionary and Academic Pioneer Manish Mehta Professor Cromwell Crawford was a true visionary and academic pioneer who collaborated with Dr. Sulekh Jain and Dr. Shugan Jain and others in conceiving and cofounding the “International School for Jain Studies (ISJS). My family and I happened to visit Hawaii in the summer of 2009, and we enjoyed a few memorable hours with Prof. Cromwell and his wife Matild (Mati) in their lovely home. This was our first meeting, and he and Mati took a genuine interest in getting to know me, my late wife Varsha and sons Anshul and Vishal, and both were very hospitable and friendly. I also had the pleasure of working with him and the distinguished ISJS-JAINA ALC leadership team in 2012 to help draft a proposal effort led by Claremont Lincoln University for establishing the Virchand Raghavji Gandhi Chair Professorship for Jain Studies and Non-Violence, which was submitted to the Govt. of India. Prof. Cromwell also delivered a keynote lecture at the Claremont Bioethics Conference 2012. Though the VRG Chair proposal did not receive the Indian Government's funding, we were all highly influenced by Prof. Cromwell's passion and dedication to promoting awareness of Jainism to a wider
9 dedication to promoting awareness of Jainism to a wider Western audience and especially, to target the academic community. Those experiences and interactions with Prof. Cromwell lit the fire in me and inspired many other philanthropists to donate and promote Jain studies on American campuses so that our philosophy and traditions can be passed on to new generations of students and faculty. May his beautiful soul be reborn once again as a Jain and attain Moksha in the future. MONTHLY LECTURE SERIES ON JAINOLOGY Online monthly lecture concluded on NON-VIOLENCE, ANIMAL RIGHTS, AND DIET IN JAINISM The 7 th lecture of the online monthly lecture series was delivered on “Non-violence, Animal Rights, and Diet in Jainism” by Dr. Andrew Bridges, Bhagwan Shantinath Lectureship at California State University, Fullerton, USA on August 17, 2023. The session was chaired by Prof. Meenal Katarnikar, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai. Find the link to the lecture The next lecture in the series will be conducted by Prof. John E. Cort, Denison University, USA on “Print and its Defenders: 19th Century Jain Debates on the Ethics of Printing” on September 16, 2023. The link to attend the lecture will be shared soon.
10 ACTIVITIES Ghent Delegates at ISJS A delegation from Ghent University, Belgium visited ISJS on August 23, 2023 in Pune. Prof. Eva De Clercq, Prof. Tine Vekemans, and Ms. Inge Claerhout from the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University discussed the academic activities and explored further possibilities of joint programs and opportunities between the two institutions. 10-DAY ONLINE PROGRAM on fundamentals of Jainism in Hindi concluded ISJS conducted a 10-day online program on Jainism in Hindi from August 19, 2023 to August 28, 2023. In those ten days, eighteen lectures were delivered on various topics to introduce Jainism to the participants. Besides lectures by subject experts, participants also got an opportunity to interact online with a Jain ascetic. A mix of participants from India and abroad had registered for the program. Click here to read the full report.
4th Bhagwan Mahavira Prakrit Fellowship starts on September 1 The 4th Bhagwan Mahavira Prakrit Fellowship program by ISJS begins on September 1, 2023, at Pune for nine months. It aims to encourage studies of Jain scriptures and texts written in Prakrit to promote scholarship in Jainism. The participants have arrived in Pune and the program opens with an induction session on Friday. The program is designed to prepare scholars of Prakrit who can teach Prakrit grammar and literature to future generations. Till now, nine participants have benefitted from this program. Spread in nine months, for an exhaustive study of Prakrit, the 12th-century text of Prakrit grammar Siddha-hemshabdanushasan by Hemachandra will be taught along with excerpts from various Prakrit texts. The participants will start with introductory lectures and three chapters of the prescribed text simultaneously. The evaluation will be based on participants’ performance in their monthly exams, final exams, and viva voce. Call for Papers: ISJS-Transactions ISJS invites research papers for its upcoming issues. The journal is open for scholars/researchers/faculty members for their research papers on various aspects of Jainology, viz. philosophy, philology, culture, religion, history, archaeology, art and architecture, science and many more. Research papers can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected]. Find guidelines before sending the abstract and research paper across Check out the recent issue 11 ISJS PUBLICATION
12 In this section, ISJS invites original articles, and write-ups from Jain professionals, teachers, and practitioners. You can send your articles/write-ups/opinions to us at [email protected]. In this issue, we have an article in Hindi titled “Jain Dharma, Darshan, Nyaya Aadi me Antar” by Prof. Veer Sagar Jain, Lal Bahadur Shastri University, Delhi. The write-up elaborates on the terminology used in Jain academics and shows their intended meaning in Jain tradition. The facts and the views expressed in the article are those of the author only. The email address of the author is [email protected]. A reader may send his/her questions or comments to the author directly. To read the write-up Click here SPEAK UP JOIN ISJS’S WHATSAPP GROUP ISJS has created a WhatsApp group to update its global members with new activities/ initiative of ISJS. International School for Jain Studies (A Division of Amar Prerana Trust) C/o Firodia Hostel, 844, BCC Road Shivaji Nagar, Pune — 411004 (MH) E-mail: [email protected] | Web: www.isjs.in Click here for subscription & previous issues ISJS posts all its activities and reminder messages in this group. To join the group, Click here