In 1893, when Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi was thrown off a train in South Africa because of the color of his skin, he focused his intention on mobilizing his fellow Indians against racism without using the violent methods of the oppressors, Dr. Veena Howard, director of the M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya, wrote in a recent article.
Inspired by Gandhi, Civil Rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta used nonviolent tactics as they honed their powers of intent to fight the forces of oppression, Howard added. As Fresno State opens the physical location for the Gandhi Center, author Mallika Chopra will visit campus to talk about how to move from thought to action to outcome and live the lives we intend to live.
The M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya will hold a grand opening event at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, at its new location at the Fresno State Library (Room 3109).
Following the grand opening, the President’s Lecture Series will feature media entrepreneur and author Mallika Chopra, presenting her talk “Living with Intent,” at 5 p.m. at the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union at Fresno State. It will also be streamed online. The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The author of eight books, Chopra’s work educates on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.
“Mallika Chopra’s philosophy of living with intent and the Gandhi Center’s concept of inner peace and sarvodaya, or the uplift of all, reflects Fresno State’s values of exploration, inclusion and community,” said Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval. “It is fitting that her talk is not only part of my President’s Lecture Series but also serves as a grand opening event for the physical location of the Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya inside the Fresno State Library.”
With a vision to provide Fresno State students the tools for personal transformation and inspire dedication to serve the larger community, the Gandhi Center was born out of a $1.5 million pledge from the Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation to establish an endowed fund to create and support the center in the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State. In 2022, the Gandhi Center was announced alongside a lecture with civil rights activist Rev. James Lawson.
“The center, as a virtual space, began one and a half years ago with an endowment by the Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation. We’ve been doing programming and events on campus, but now we have a physical space,” Howard said. “The space in the Fresno State Library has the whole set of 100 collected works of Gandhi as well as books on different peace activists and leaders. It will encourage students to think about not just Gandhi as a person but Gandhi as an idea — the idea of justice, peace and serving others; the idea of standing up for what is right.”
The Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation said in a statement, “With the amazing faculty and staff at Fresno State, we are excited to see the center serve as an incredible hub for spreading Gandhian teachings and values throughout the Central Valley and the world at large.”
Dr. Honora Chapman, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, added, “We are so grateful to the Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation for trusting Fresno State to fulfill their vision of a center that promotes the transformative Gandhian concepts of nonviolence and uplift for all. With a physical space for the Gandhi Center on the third floor of the Library, a building visited by over 1 million people annually, our students and others will surely be inspired to learn more about Gandhi’s philosophy and to put it into practice.”
Sarvodaya, a Sanskrit term generally meaning “universal uplift” or “progress of all,” is connected with the principles of equality, justice, sustainability and dignity. It focuses on the development of the entire person and the construction of a nonviolent, peaceful and equitable society. Gandhi embraced sarvodaya, proposing programs that were meant to create economic, social, religious and political welfare. These programs addressed all aspects of human life, including health, education, growing local and organic food, developing moral citizenry, sanitation practices, interfaith harmony, industries and local government structures.
Steps away from the new Gandhi Center space, the library’s windows overlook the Fresno State Peace Garden, which occupies a central place on the campus. Spearheaded by Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, professor emeritus and a supporter of the initiative, the Peace Garden holds the bust of Gandhi, which looks east toward additional monuments of leaders Jane Addams, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez.
These leaders were influenced by Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, soul-force and sarvodaya. As the Peace Garden is reflected in the library’s glass facade, so is Gandhi’s philosophy reflected in Fresno State’s values of exploration, excellence, inclusion and community.
