M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya
Events
Book Club (Spring 2025)
Blending biography, reportage and personal experiment, Garfinkel asks how Gandhi’s moral disciplines — truthfulness, nonviolence and rigorous self-scrutiny among them — hold up amid contemporary instability and conflict. Together we will read closely, reflect candidly and engage in sustained conversation about what moral truth might require in our shared civic and institutional life — and where Gandhi’s legacy continues to inspire, unsettle and provoke.
The first 20 participants to register will receive a free copy of the book, with the expectation that they attend at least three sessions.
Dates: Wednesdays, Feb. 11 and 25; March 11 and 25
Time: Noon – 12:50 p.m.
Location: RSU 216 and 215
Register: Here
Facilitated by Dr. Veena Howard, Gandhi scholar and director of Fresno State’s M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya.
Super Power of New you-Mind Beyond Matter
[Tuesday, November 18, 2025]
Registration Recomended: Super Power of New you-Mind Beyond Matter Registration Link
Peace and Dharma Ethics, Nonviolence, and Justice in the Religious Traditions of India International Conference
[Thursday and Friday, October 2–3, 2025] In collaboration with the Department of Philosophy,
M. K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya, and the Jain and Hindu Dharma Initiative
at Fresno State.
Registration recommended: Peace and Dharma Registration Link
Click image below for more flyer details
Conference Abstracts-AUM and Peace and Dharma conference
Fresno State Student-run Newspaper Article-M.K. Gandhi Center holds two-day peace conference
Open House
[2024.12.09]
Peace Walk
[2024.10.25] On October 25, 4:30 pm, a group of peace walkers who are walking the globe for peace, conducting a Gandhi-MLK Peace Pilgrimage, will be walking through Fresno and visit us in the Peace Garden. See below for the program and, better even, come! Click on the image to get to see the full flyer [with more details about the peace walkers on the back side].
Peace Garden Event: Mandela Monument to be unveiled & Conversation between Dr. Siyabulela Mandela and ASI President Faith van Hoven
[2024.09.05] On Sep 12, 5 p.m., the illustrous group of monuments in the Peace Garden
will get a new member. In this free and open-to-all event, the new Nelson Mandela
monument will be unveiled [you may have seen the wooden box and wondered...], there
will be African Drumming, singing [by, e.g., the Fresno State Chamber Singers], and
a keynote address by Dr. Siyabulela Mandela. Do come and join us for the ceremony!
On the following day, Sep 13, 2 pm, Dr. Mandela will engage in a public conversation with ASI President [& Philosophy student] Faith van Hoven. Don't miss it!
Click on the images below to open the PDFs.
Tangible Truths
Art Forms in Janism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (In collaboration with M.K. Gandhi and
Jain & Hindu Studies)
April 18, 2024 9:00AM-5:30PM
Peters Ellipse Gallery in Fresno State Library, 2nd Floor
Open and Free to Public
Organizers: Dr. W. Saam Noonsuk Noonsuk@csufresno.edu and Dr. Veena R. Howard Vehoward@mail.fresnostate.edu
Commemorating Women's History Month
A Series of Three Interactive Workshops: Cultivating Joy, Inner PEace, and Purpose Amid Life's Struggle
Fridays: March 1, March 8, March 15 2024 12:00-12:55PM
The Philip Levine Reading Room, Located on the 2nd Floor of Fresno State Library (Room 2124)
Open to Students, Staff, Faculty, And the Pubic
The President's Lecture Series
In collaboration with the M.K. Gandhi Center, President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval proudly
hosts Mallika Chopra Author and Public Speaker
5 - 6:30 p.m. PDT, Wednesday, October 18
Moderated Q&A following the lecture.
The Ruiz, Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union
Registration is required to attend.
To attend in person, register here by using code 2310.
Note, there is limited in-person seating.
A livestream option is also available, register here to receive the link.
Fresno State is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact the Office of the President at.559.278.0178 to request disability accommodations.
Mallika Chopra is a mom, media entrepreneur, published author, and a notable voice
in the fields of parenting, meditation and the power of intention.
She is the author of 8 books, including "Living With Intent - My Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace and Joy" and the Just Be Series - Just Breathe, Just Feel, and Just Be You - a trilogy of illustrated how-to books for children (and the adults in their lives). These books provide simple tools to understand and support social and emotional knowing, resilience, meditation, mindfulness and self-reflection.
In her newest book, Buddha and the Rose, she and illustrator Neha Rawat breathe life into this simple but poignant story of awareness, wonder, and the joy of being present and open to seeing the world in new ways.
Mallika has taught meditation to thousands of people, and is currently a mindfulness consultant for the animated series, Stillwater, on Apple TV+. She enjoys speaking to audiences around the world about intention, balance and living a life of purpose.
Mallika has a BA from Brown University, an MBA from Kellogg Business School, and an MA in Psychology and Education with a mind body spirit concentration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
This event is in collaboration with the M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya. The center is housed in the Department of Philosophy at Fresno State and encourages the study, analysis, and applications of Gandhi’s philosophy of self-transformation and social change through the practice of inner peace and uplift of all (sarvodaya).
For more information, please contact the Director of the Gandhi Center, Dr. Veena Howard, at vehoward@csufresno.edu.
Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist
The Story of a Courageous Women Breaking Boundaries - A Documentary Screening
Thursday, March 16, 2023 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Peters Educational Center
Link to Register for Event
The event is open and free to attend! Free parking is also provided. Use the parking code: 269408.
A welcome will be given by Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, President of California State University, Fresno. There will also be a conversation and a Q & A with the Director and Producer Cynthia Lukas as well as Gandhi Scholar Dr. Veena Howard.
A documentary on the journey of Kasturba Gandhi. This new documentary will reveal details about Gandhi unknown to the public before now and introduce the world to his wife and equal partner of 62 years. This is the first feature film ever made about Kasturba Gandhi, whom Gandhi called his "guru" and "teacher of Nonviolence." History missed this story. . .and it is about time her story is told! This film documents her unique and fascinating story through Gandhi experts, Gandhi relatives and all of the existing archival photos and photographs of her and Gandhi.
Generously Supported by: The Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies
For more information contact the Event Coordinator: Dr. Veena Howard at vehoward@csufresno.edu
Freedom Inside?
Presented by: The Department of Philosophy & The M.K. Gandhi Center & Jain and Hindu Dharma Initiatives
Monday March 6, 2023
Yoga and meditation programs in prisons no doubt offer crucial respite and healing, but what sorts of political effects do they have? Farah Godrej argues that while these practices could unwittingly exacerbate systemic forms of inequity and injustice, they also serve as resources for challenging such injustice. In fact, activists such as M.K. Gandhi tracedtheir ethical and political commitments to their grounding in yogic or meditative traditions. Drawing on interviews and collaborations with incarcerated practitioners (particularly women) and fieldwork inside prisons, Godrej examines both the promises and pitfalls of yoga and meditation when taught inside prisons.
Farah Godrej is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. Her areas of research and teaching include Indian political thought, Gandhi’s political thought, and comparative political theory.
For more information contact the Event Coordinator: Dr. Veena Howard at vehoward@csufresno.edu
Generously Supported by: The Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies
The Highway to Healing: Understanding the Ocean of Oneness
The M.K. Gandhi Center: Sarvodaya and Inner Peace and the Jain/Hindu Dharma Initiative at California State University, Fresno
October 3-4, 2022
The philosophy and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Jain/Hindu Dharma traditions offer pathways to find inner and outer peace and harmony. The principle of interconnectedness of all beings (humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms) and the contemplative practices (yoga, shared art/music projects, acts of service, etc.) have the power to cultivate joy, harmony, and good health in turbulent times.
The two-day program at Fresno State focusing on healing “HighWays” combines a keynote lecture on Mahatma Gandhi, a Jain/Hindu symposium, cultural programming, and a classical Indian music concert. The program’s main objective is to explore various tools offered by Gandhi and the works of Jain and Hindu thinkers. It also highlights how India's classical music can help deal with suffering caused by stress, trauma, and disconnectedness. Each event showcases specific tools to awaken joy and inner peace in the face of adversity.
Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu
लोकः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तुMay all people be happy, May all be disease-free, May all attain wellbeing, And let no one be overtaken by sorrow. —A Prayer shared by Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions
Awakening Joy in Turbulent Times
A Public Lecture by Nipun Mehta
Monday, Oct. 3, 2022
“Negative emotions—the aggregate of stress, sadness, anger, worry and physical pain—reached a record high last year,” wrote the head of Gallup in the Economist this month. Yet, in the natural world, we see that some seeds only sprout in the extreme duress of wildfires. Could new capacities be awakening within us as well? Just as a murmuration of starlings self-organizes into the need of the moment, can we also come together to offer each other resiliency? In America today, 46% say they *always* feel alone. What HighWays of healing might lead us back to that innate joy of being in community and in service to the sacred? Nipun Mehta will share stories of yesterday’s social change giants, today’s everyday heroes, and tomorrow's leaders that might help rekindle our capacity to respond to suffering with profoundly creative acts of compassion.
Nipun Mehta is the founder of servicespace.org, an incubator of projects that support a gift culture. In his mid-twenties, Nipun quit his job to become a “full-time volunteer” and over the last 15 years, his work has reached millions, attracted more than 500 thousand volunteers, and mushroomed into projects like DailyGood, Awaking Circles, and Karma Kitchen. Among his many prestigious accolades, President Obama appointed him on a council for social change and the Dalai Lama recognized him as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion.”
The Healing Power of Music - Classical Indian Ragas
Tuesday, Oct. 4 in the Wahlberg Recital Hall
Internationally renowned artists Pandit Gourisankar, Veena Chandra, and Dr. Lovely Sharma combined for an evening of Indian Classical Music in the Wahlberg Recital Hall, Music Building at CSU Fresno. Veena Chandra is a Sitarist, composer and professor; Dr. Lovely Sharma is a Sitarist, Musicologist and Music Therapist; and Pandit Gourisankar Karmakar is a leading Tabla maestro of the current generation.
Highway to Healing was sponsored by the Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies, the JP and Renu Sethi Foundation, and the Associated Students, Inc.; and was partnered with the College of Arts and Humanities, the Philosophy Department, and the Asian American Studies Program.
Civil rights leader celebrates new Gandhi Center
Feb. 18, 2022
On Feb. 18, Rev. James Lawson Jr. joined a Zoom gathering with Drs. Ravi and Naina Patel, community members, campus leaders, students and faculty from Fresno State as they announced the creation of the “M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya.” Read the article by Fresno State News
Gandhi, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Continuing Struggle for Justice and Peace
Sept. 4, 2020