Cogen Bohanec
Affiliate Assistant Professor
PhD, Graduate Theological Union
Cogen currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute and is an Affiliate Assistant Professor at Claremont School of Theology (CST). He has taught numerous classes on South Asian Culture & Religions and Sanskrit language at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley. Dr. Bohanec specializes in comparative dharma traditions, philosophy of religion, and Sanskrit language and literature, and has numerous publications in those areas. He has a PhD in “Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion” with an emphasis in Hindu Studies from GTU, where his research emphasized ancient Indian languages, literature, and philosophical systems. He also holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at GTU where his research primarily involved translations of Pāli Buddhist scriptures in conversation with the philology of the Hindu Upaniṣads.
Jonathan Dickstein
Affiliate Assistant Professor
BA, University of Pennsylvania; MA University of Colorado, Boulder; PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara
Jonathan Dickstein is an Assistant Professor at Arihanta Institute, specializing in South Asian religions, religion and ecology, and comparative religious ethics. He received his doctoral degree in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he wrote his dissertation on ancient Indian animal taxonomies and their relevance for religious ritual and dietary practice. Dr. Dickstein’s current work focuses on Jainism and contemporary ecological issues, and accordingly extends into Critical Animal Studies, Food Studies, and Diaspora Studies. He has published in a wide array of interdisciplinary journals on topics such as veganism and politics, yoga and diet, Jain dietary ethics, and the ethic of nonviolence (ahiṃsa). Jonathan considers himself a scholar-practitioner, having spent many years not only in libraries but also in public advocating for justice for both humans and nonhumans alike.
Christopher Jain Miller
Affiliate Professor
PhD, University of California, Davis
Christopher Jain Miller, the co-founder and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Arihanta Institute, completed his PhD in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis. He is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Zürich’s Asien-Orient-Institute and Affiliate Professor at Claremont School of Theology. Christopher’s primary fields of research interest are Yoga Studies and Jain Studies, and he is the author of Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge 2024) and the co-editor of Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Approaches to Jain Social Engagement (SUNY 2025) and Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age (Lexington 2020).
Aizaiah Yong
Affiliate Associate Professor of Spirituality and Executive Director of Collegeville Institute
PhD, Claremont School of Theology
Aizaiah G. Yong (he/him) is an ordained Pentecostal Christian minister and practical theologian who has served in religious and higher education leadership for over a decade devoting his energy to healing and advocacy work that centers QTBIPOC communities. He is a distinguished international speaker, and his background includes keynote presentations, guest sermons at a diverse range of ecumenical ministries, psychospiritual private and community-based practice, faculty teaching experience, and seminary administrative leadership. His recent book, Multiracial Cosmotheadrism: a Practical Theology of Multiracial Experiences (Orbis Books, 2023), received the internationally acclaimed 2022 Raimon Panikkar Prize for the English language and critically explores how multiracial people transform efforts towards racial and planetary justice. Additional research interests of his include: contemplative spirituality, spiritual care, critical mixed-race studies, internal family systems, as well as interreligious/intercultural facilitation. Aizaiah believes that healing is a collective work that is received when we relate to ourselves, one another, and the world with authenticity, curiosity, and perseverance.
Benjamin Zenk
Affiliate Instructor
PhD, University Hawaii
Dr. Benjamin Zenk is an Instructor of Management in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in the United States. There, he teaches critical thinking, business ethics, environmental ethics, and introductory business. Dr. Zenk also works with the UHH Department of Philosophy where he has taught intro to philosophy, ethics, reasoning, symbolic logic, histories of Indian and Buddhist philosophy, and comparative philosophy. He teaches Jain Philosophy and Professional ethics with the Arihanta Institute and has been invited as a visiting lecturer with other higher educational institutions.
He received his PhD in philosophy from the University Hawaii at Manoa in 2018 on the topic of cross-cultural philosophical disagreement. Prior to this, he received an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Dr. Zenk utilizes a broad array of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary materials in his business and philosophy courses, stemming from his studies of world philosophy, logic, and ethics, as well as both German and Sanskrit language and literature.