Image: Drs. Ravi and Naina Patel join Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval in cutting the ribbon for the M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya in the Fresno State Library. Photo by Jessica Piffero.
A diverse group of peace activists, community leaders and dignitaries gathered amidst the cool, diffused white light that emanated from windows, offset by the warm murals of flat-topped mountains and etched portraits of those whose land we occupy. The reception, in the Table Mountain Reading Room inside the Fresno State Library, was the preamble to the ceremonies to follow and a chance for visionaries to gather and break bread ahead of the grand opening of The Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya space nearby.
The group was greeted briefly by Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, who acknowledged city officials, community members and donors key to the creation of the Gandhi Center. Following Jiménez-Sandoval, Consulate General of India Dr. K. Srikar Reddy spoke on inner peace, nonviolence and sarvodaya, or uplift of all.
Full of food, tea and fellowship, the group migrated to the M.K. Gandhi Center on the third floor of the Fresno State Library, where they joined a growing crowd of students and community members for the opening ceremony. Dr. Veena Howard, Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department, Endowed Chair of Jain and Hindu Dharma and Director of the M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya, opened with the land acknowledgment.
“The Fresno State campus sits in the midst of the San Joaquin Valley, a valley rich in the traditions and representation of Native American peoples and cultures. We are grateful to be in the traditional homelands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples, whose diverse tribal communities share stewardship over this land.”
Three students, Avnika Konduru (3rd grade), Vashisht Jasti (3rd grade) and Aryaman Patel (2nd grade), with the Chinmaya Mission Balvihar Fresno, began the ceremony by chanting the first chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā. Shailey Shah followed with a short Jain prayer, and the crowd joined in as she sang Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite song.
Howard then welcomed campus leaders and donors and made a special mention to Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, Professor Emeritus, activist and the visionary behind the Fresno State Peace Garden. With the bust of Gandhi and statues of other civil rights and social justice activists, the Peace Garden inspires an analysis of Gandhi’s philosophy and inner peace and uplift of all, she explained.
“For me, who studies Gandhi in its depth and breadth, he has come to represent an idea—an idea of understanding truth, love, care for all, and uplift of all—which needs to be analyzed, understood, and reimagined for our current times,” said Howard. “The mission of M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya is to work toward that goal.”
The Gandhi Center was born out of a transformational gift from the Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation to establish an endowed fund that created and supports the center in the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State. Additional funding has been provided by the Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies, the JP and Renu Sethi Foundation and Fresno State.
At the podium, Dr. Ravi Patel told his story of growing up in poverty in South Africa. Gandhi’s activism began through his experiences in South Africa, and Patel explained his connection through their similar struggles at different points in history.
“He realized that there is a deep, deep connection to uplifting humans all over the world,” said Patel. “He wanted to be a powerful attorney in South Africa. He left all his clothes there and just went in simplicity, back to India. And he was the man who converted, changed and liberated India – and had no title, still. It’s just amazing that such an individual existed.”
Patel went on to say he and his wife Naina are excited about the center and what’s to come and thanked Howard for her vision.
“The commitment to Gandhian values and her tireless efforts have given birth to a remarkable institution which has the potential to be a beacon of peace and enlightenment, not only for Fresno but for the entire world,” said Patel. “I am confident that the center will grow and expand for the betterment of the world.”
Dean Honora Chapman expressed her gratitude to the Patels for their generous support as well as to Dr. Howard for her tireless leadership as director of the center, endowed chair of Jain and Hindu Dharma, and chair of the philosophy department. Dean Chapman noted that this center is the first of its kind in the world, with its focus on inner peace and upliftment of all, aspirational goals that will inspire our campus and community.
President Jiménez-Sandoval emphasized the importance of establishing the physical Gandhi Center at Fresno State. “The center’s space in the library is appropriate. It is consistent with Fresno State’s dedication to diversity, discovery and distinction. The center also represents the values of justice, of equity, of respect, of inclusion,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “Gandhi has become the icon and inspiration for positive social change and peace in today’s world that is so disrupted. His philosophy of non-violence changed the course of human history by illuminating a path–an alternate path–for the individual to make a lasting change through peaceful and creative action.”
Jiménez-Sandoval pointed to the north-facing windows and explained how the Peace Garden and the Gandhi Center create a synergistic ecosystem with the visual representation of peace and now a place of reflection and learning nearby.
“Thanks to Dr. Kapoor for his unwavering efforts to help create the space of our Peace Garden. The leaders honored in the Peace Garden: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Addams, Cesar Chavez, and soon-to-be-a-new addition, Nelson Mandela, were inspired by Gandhi’s commitment to the methods of peace, to the methods of care, to the methods of love for each other,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “I love the term ‘sarvodaya’–uplift of all, care for all, progress of all. Just to say, ‘sarvodaya’ unleashes multiple warm suns, multiple rays of positive energy. ‘Sarvodaya’ is more than a word. It is a prayer. It is an affirmation. It is a collective commitment to keep working towards furthering the greater good.”
The final speaker of the opening ceremony was two-time U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, who performed his call-and-response poem, “We Walk with Gandhi,” which was written for the event (see full poem below).
With that final dose of inspiration, campus leaders, faculty, donors and a student lined up to cut the ribbon. After several jovial moments, the ribbon was cut, and The Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya was open to all.
Most in the crowd made their way to the Lynda and Steward Resnick Student Union for the final event of the evening–author and public speaker Mallika Chopra. Her talk on “Living with Intent” inspired guests to find their true purpose and intent through the messiness of life.
“Having the Gandhi Center in the center of the library is really remarkable,” said Mallika Chopra. “To have a place someone can go by themselves or with others to be honest about conflict and explore it, it’s a big deal to have that space in the university. I applaud you. To have this space for students because they are leaders of tomorrow.”
While the physical space was dedicated on October 18, 2023, the virtual M.K. Gandhi Center was formed on Feb. 18, 2022, in a virtual event that featured a Rev. James Lawson Jr. talk. Since then, the center has worked to integrate Gandhi’s life into existing coursework in the Philosophy Department and Smittcamp Family Honors College, challenged graphic design students to create works for an interdisciplinary art exhibit, engaged in research and publications, hosted the “Highway to Healing” two-day symposium and engaged students. The new space brings the overall vision closer to fruition to inspire a new generation focused on nonviolence, inner peace and sarvodaya.
We Walk with Gandhi
Author: Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States, Emeritus
Ahimsa Ahimsa Ahimsa
the rivers open their song
Your truth walks with us
we walk on
The trees and leaves agree
Your truth blossoms
It drenches all beings, Gandhi
Your truth walks through hate
And on the coals
and embers of suffering, Gandhi
All borders, boundaries & souls
Ahimsa we chant, non-violence we chant
Ahimsa in your name our name now
All of our lives across all continents
we meditate, we pray, we sing out loud
The root of love the source
of wisdom, the buried dreams
the inner ocean of peace, your song
We find our way, together, we belong
Your heart, your determination
Your melody of peace across the lands
for peace for all, oceans of unity
and tides of compassion
We carry and cross the waters,
Violence melts as we hold our hands
At the highest mountain, we say
Let us save all beings
All is fire, all is war, all is fury
We sit, we meditate, we protest
Gandhi, this is our way
Ahimsa Ahimsa Ahimsa we breathe
We walk, we fast we put on the Dhoti
The hand spun yarn, we walk humble
we speak kindness, kindness only
We follow the road of peace for all
In the storm of wars, we persevere
in the hurricanes of vengeance, we chant
under the skies of fire, we follow you
We continue, Gandhi
We hold each others’ life
Our mouth is dry, our eyes wet
Our heart sings and brings
the thunder of sisterhood,
the rains of brotherhood
What shall we do now, we say
Where are we now, we say
Will we drown in the massacres?
All is still, all is waiting, all is
Ahimsa, we say, Ahimsa, we chant
We will not turn back, Gandhi
We will walk, we will protest
Towers of hatred, walls of violence
tremble and fall as we go with you
We are made supple
Or voices of flowers in the darkness
Our heart of honey & incense in the light
Ahimsa, Ahimsa, Ahimsa all is bright
If we suffer, we suffer for others
If our wounds are open
We shall close them for others
If we are lost and falling
we will stand to heal others,
We follow your teachings
Let us save all beings, Gandhi
So we walk endlessly
Each life into each life
We lift up all hearts
We shall bring peace
to all, Gandhi
We shall struggle,
For all, Gandhi
We shall offer our love
to all, Gandhi
Now is the time Gandhi
As it has always been
Infinite and divine
We walk with you
We wear your garlands of all life
We water the buried flowers
They will blossom Ahimsa Ahimsa
Non-violence, non-violence
In each petal in each breath
In each grain of rough-cut salt
We hear your voice from afar, Gandhi
Become Ahimsa, become non-violence
Become peace, become kindness
Become truth , become each other
Become love
Walk with courage, we say
Walk with strength, we sing
Strength of Gandhi, we chant
Our Redwood trees hear you
The Giant Sequoia carries you
Let us bow, to Gandhi, they say
The time is now
We shall flourish
Ahimsa, Ahimsa, Ahimsa
Through the fires & the bombs
Today, today, today
We walk with Gandhi
We continue with your garlands of peace
We shall heal the world, song by song
We walk with you,
Great teacher, Gandhi
We bow to you at the highest mountain,
Peaceful, humble and strong
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 