Dharma

Veena R. Howard is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Fresno. She is the author of Gandhi's Ascetic Activism: Renunciation and Social Action (2013).

• 1.Toward an Understanding of Dharma: The Questions ofIdentity, Hybridity, Fluidity, and Plurality 2. Hindu Dharma: Unity in Diversity—A Pluralistic Tradition 3.Jain Dharma: The Eternal Law of Ahimsa 4. Buddha Dharma (Dhamma): “Reliable Teachings”—According to the Buddha and Buddhism 5. Sikh Dharam: Path of the Seeker of Truth Appendix: Sufism in India

'Dharma is an ambitious volume that dares to teach Indian traditions of practice, inquiry, and spiritual insight in ways not governed solely by categories already familiar in the English language. Once "dharma," "dhamma," and "dharam" seize the space usually occupied by "religion," then the dharmic traditions - Hindu and Buddhist, Jain and Sikh, and South Asian Sufi - can be appreciated for characteristics not predictably shared with the Abrahamic religions, and for continuities among themselves that might slip by unnoticed when the categories of analysis are imposed from afar. If Dharma's good example is followed by scholars studying and teaching still other traditions globally, then the achievement of this helpful and original book will be all the greater.' - Francis X Clooney, SJ, Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard University, 'In the diverse landscape of medieval India, the founder of the Sikh tradition pronounced that "there is only one dharam". Veena Howard's excellent introductory volume explores the complex and multifarious definitions of this one "dharma", and urges us to reflect on our spiritual identities across cultures. Written by eminent scholars, the volume brings together accessible and comprehensive chapters on the different "religious" traditions of India, disclosing both their shared patterns and their distinct impressions. The appendix on "Sufism in Asia" is particularly useful in contextualizing how a West Asian tradition worked out in South Asia. Sikhism emerged of course between these two cultures. In our dangerously divided world, Dharma makes a splendid contribution to the academy and is moreover an ideal resource for better understanding and appreciating our South Asian neighbors.' - Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Crawford Family Professor of Religious Studies, Colby College, Waterville, Maine